You’re NOT “Crazy”

What therapy actually says about you, and why that matters

I hear this a lot.

“Am I crazy for going to therapy?”

Short answer: no.
Longer answer: still no, and I brought snacks if you think it does.

Here’s why.

“Crazy” is not a clinical term.
You cannot open the DSM and say, “Hmm… what are the diagnostic criteria for crazy?”
It’s not in there. Not even hiding in the appendix like a gremlin with a clipboard.

“Crazy” is an everyday word.
It’s a label people reach for when curiosity would take more effort than judgment.

When I hear someone called crazy, what I hear is:
“That person is incapable of maintaining their sanity.”
I can’t prove I can do that all the time.

And look. Some days, I maintain my sanity like I maintain a houseplant.
I’m well intended; I try to remember to water it, and fret over whether I remembered to, and whether it was enough. All the while, the plant is sitting there like - “A-hem.”

But that still isn’t what therapy is.

People who go to therapy are not losing control.
They’re doing the opposite.

They’re self-aware enough to notice something isn’t working.
Honest enough to say, “I could use another set of eyes on this.”
Responsible enough to get support instead of pretending everything’s fine while the wheels quietly come off and roll into traffic like, “Be free, my children.”

That’s not crazy.
That’s competent.

Going to therapy is no different than going to a doctor and saying,
“I’ve got this pain. Can you help me understand what’s going on?”

The only real difference is stigma.

We don’t call someone crazy for seeing a cardiologist.
We don’t whisper when someone goes to physical therapy.
But emotions? Trauma? Grief?

That’s still treated like a personal failure instead of a human experience.

And here’s where Agatha would kneel in the garden, touch the soil, and say something like: “Of course it’s hard, love. You’ve been carrying weather.”

Let’s be clear.
Therapy isn’t a sign that something is wrong with you.
It’s a sign that you’re paying attention.

If anything, refusing help while insisting you’re “fine” as everything burns behind you?
That’s the move worth questioning.

So no. You’re not crazy.

You’re doing maintenance on a nervous system that’s been through some things.
And that’s just called being human.

Also, if you ever catch yourself thinking, “Maybe I’m too much,” remember:
Forests are also “too much.”
That’s why they’re amazing.

Thanks for being you,
Brian

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