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Belongs to: Therapist reacts to Alice in Chains Nutshell
I am a 54 year old disabled veteran that has an alcohol addiction (I quit drinking 10 years ago but still crave the numbness daily). I have also suffered with self harm, severe recurrent MDD and BPD for my entire adult life. I understand your perspective of making small choices over time and I personally feel that is why therapy is so vital, but the feeling that you have no one, no choice and no future paired with an addiction makes it very difficult to reach out to people for help, even if you see them every day. When you mix all that with the negative stigma of mental illness, especially in the military, then you feel that their is no way out. This is how I feel anyway.
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Hello, and may I first say thank you for your service! I don’t know which country you’re from, but it doesn’t matter when you think about the bravery, sacrifice, and dedication. I admire that and appreciate it!
Secondly, as much as I admire your military service, I admire your bravery to open up. Sure, it’s relatively anonymous, but there’s a lot of internal “stuff” to overcome to even hear replies from others, even when it’s anonymous because it hits VERY close to home.
I can relate to the struggle to reach out, as I have been “the rock” of my family (both my family I was born into, and my own wife and son now) forever. I was the steady, masculine presence and I was proud of that. When my son was born, it was like a light switch changed overnight. I had no idea what was happening inside, but for the first time in my life, I felt like “…I’m not sure I can handle this…”. My son had a bit of a rough start, which made it enormously worse. But within a couple weeks of his birth, I was faced with some of the darkest and deepest times of my life. I felt like I shouldn’t need “therapy” because I’m the man of the family, I’m the protector, I need to be that rock for my wife and newborn son. They need that from me!
I somehow found the strength to reach out to a therapist, and I can honestly say that I cannot be certain where I would be today without having done that. It was the single most impactful and fundamentally crucial decision I’ve made in my life! What therapy helped me realize is that my family needs me to take care of me first, so that I can be a happy, healthy father and husband to them. It helped me realize that me “paving that path” is setting a great example for my son.
I’m certain there are negative experiences with therapy, and I am by no means saying I know what you need in your life! Rather, just to provide my support if you need a helping hands from a stranger to overcome that stigma of mental health. It’s one of the key reasons I volunteer with HeartSupport. I have seen the amazing transformation in my life, and I want to help others overcome the stigma. I support you and I wish you the best!!
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