Going To Therapy

In this episode, Miriam wants to talk about going to therapy as a black African woman.

 

Miriam is the only person in her family to go to therapy and has started sharing what she has learnt with them and wants to be open and honest about her experiences. She hopes that her own experience of therapy will aid her in coaching others, particularly in regards to overcoming trauma and finding a way forward.  We all deserve to take control of our lives and we all have the power within us to change things.

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

  • Why is it so difficult for many cultures in Africa to go to therapy? There’s a lot of shame and taboo attached to going to therapy, many people see it as a last resort, that you would only go if there is no hope for you.
  • Miriam first went to therapy when she started her masters degree. During her first session, she spent the whole time crying. Recounting her family history and her upbringing was so hard, she decided to park the idea of therapy for a while.
  • Towards the end of her degree she had a nervous breakdown where she could not do anything. It was the first time she was unable to study for an exam but thankfully her previous hard work meant she still passed. After her degree Miriam moved back to Switzerland, after seeing a GP she was diagnosed with chronic depression and decided to see a therapist again.
  • Finding the right therapist can be extremely difficult. It took Miriam quite some time to find the right one, she didn’t feel comfortable or understood with the first therapist she saw. She was later matched with a therapist that at first she questioned but she actually ended up having a great connection with this therapist who ended up helping Miriam start her work.
  • Although Miriam has stopped and started therapy for various reasons over the years, she has learnt something from each session and every therapist.
  • Miriam believes that if we do not talk about emotional pain it stays within us and makes us sick, both mentally and physically.

 

BEST MOMENTS

 

“It felt like starting over and over again”

 

“The fear of failing has always followed me”

 

“I was so scared because I had this conviction deep down that my mother didn’t love me”

 

“That was a huge relief it was like the first mental block had been lifted”

 

“We have to free ourselves from our stories”

 

“I cannot be the mother I want to be, or the wife I want to be, without being the person I want to be for myself”

 

VALUABLE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOST

Miriam is a Trauma Informed Coach, an African, a mom of three daughters, a blogger and writer.  After graduating from the London School of Economics, she built her international career in the fields of banking and international development, working for organisations such as the World Economic Forum, Lombard Odier Private Bank, JP Morgan, the Mastercard Foundation and the United Nations. She now uses her passion for psychology and dedicates her time to coaching others to free themselves from the burden of childhood trauma.  Her wish to help other women connect to their inner wisdom, love themselves and follow their passion. In her effort to destigmatize mental health and normalize mental health conversations in black communities, she wrote her memoir about surviving childhood and finding her worth.  

CONTACT METHOD

Instagram:@overcomingyourstory

Instagram: @_miriamnjoku/

Facebook 

Linkedin

CLUBHOUSE: @miriamnjoku

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