"Why do I need therapy? I'm not going through anything that serious."

That's what I said in 2020. COVID was just starting, I had this strong need to talk to someone, and when I reached out to friends I found most of them were feeling the same way.

One of them suggested therapy, and I pushed back, because in my head therapy was for people in crisis and I wasn't in crisis.

"I'm not going through anything serious either. I just want to ensure I am more resilient for whatever comes next. You don't have to wait for a crisis if you can prevent it"

What she said kicked off a turn of events that led me to where I am today. Personally and professionally.

Therapy wasn't an emergency service, it was training. I reached out to my aunt who is a psychologist to recommend me a therapist she trusted, and I've been with that same therapist ever since. 6+ years.

As I saw the changes in myself, I talked about it. Openly.

What we discussed, what I was working through, what landed. Not as advocacy, just as a normal part of how my week was going.

And slowly, the messages started. "Would you mind sharing your therapist's number?"

I've passed that number on to more than 50 people now. Everybody is already thinking about this. Asking is the hard part. Being the person somebody finally asks is a real privilege.

Every one of those messages makes me proud, because I know what it means to make that ask.

Those 50 started referring people too. Friends, siblings, colleagues. If each of them tells two more, and those two tell two more, you can see how quickly this moves. A few hundred people finding help, all of it running back to one friend correcting me in 2020.

We've since started a referral program at Emoneeds and it's been most effective than anything else we've tried.

Today things are very different from 2020.

Now, almost every day someone reaches out, a colleague, a friend, a family member, for themselves or for someone they love, and they just ask.

So if you talk about your therapy experience, thank you for being part of the normalization movement. You are helping the next 200 people take that first step.

If you are someone who has been on the fence about trying it, my DMs are always open 😌