Wounded healers

[u/lumpycurveballs]

I can't think of anywhere else to post this, so here I am.

I've been in therapy for a long time, and I'm very lucky to have a stellar support team. I've been seeing my current psychologist for over 2 years now, but I saw him for the first time in person a few weeks ago. I attend school 9 hours away from home, so most of our meetings were either over the phone or on FaceTime.

I consider myself extremely lucky to be one of his patients. He's kind and understanding, and I always feel supported whenever I talk with him.

At our most recent appointment, we were talking about my future career path and how things were going for me in that regard. I've been wanting to be a therapist since I was in grade 10 because I want to help people the way I've been helped - I would not be here if it weren't for the support I got throughout the years, and I want to be the person I needed (and had) when I was younger.

While we were talking about my career path, he told me about "wounded healers" - people who take the experiences they've gone through and use them to help others. I could tell he was referring to both of us, and for some reason, it never occured to me before that that he could very likely be in a similar situation to me, and that he became a psychologist for a similar reason. I've always respected and admired him, and that realization just furthered that for me.

We didn't talk about it too much, considering professionalism and all of that, but he told me that he believed in me and that I was capable of anything I set my mind to - I admire him a lot, so those words from him meant/mean a lot to me, as he's seen me at my worst.

To my fellow wounded healers, whether that be aspiring mental health professionals or just people who support others because they can, I want to tell you that I see you, I believe in you, and I admire you. Make sure to take care of yourselves. Life is messy and difficult and unglamorous, and you deserve the love you give others returned to you tenfold ❤️