Melinda Gates

Melinda Gates Instagram – I used to be a therapy skeptic.
 
It’s not that I was against it—I knew plenty of people who swore by therapy, and I didn’t hesitate to suggest it to loved ones. But I thought of it as something for other people. A good friend helped me see it differently.
 
One day, years ago, when it was obvious I was feeling stretched thin, she pulled me aside and gently asked: Are you talking to a therapist? I wasn’t, but I told her I’d consider it. The first therapist I went to wasn’t a fit, and I started making excuses to postpone or cancel our sessions. But when the issues I was dealing with escalated, and I had a particularly terrifying panic attack, I knew I owed it to myself—and the people around me—to try again.
 
Thankfully, the second therapist I saw changed everything. (In fact, I still see her almost every week—ten years later!) It took time and a lot of effort and patience on my part, but she helped me reconnect with the inner voice I had lost touch with over the years. Learning to trust that voice not only empowered me to show up more authentically at home and at work, but it helped me navigate some of my hardest moments with clarity and conviction.
 
Therapy isn’t the same for everyone, and it can take time to see how it works for you. If you’re a therapy skeptic like I used to be, I get it. But I’ve learned that sometimes we owe it to ourselves to try the thing we’re unsure about. I did, and I’ve never been happier to be proven wrong.
 
I write about the role therapy played in my life in my new book, The Next Day, which you can learn more about at the link in my bio. | Posted on 04/Apr/2025 22:34:06