3 Key Takeaways From Our "Ask A Therapist Q&A" w/ Walter H. Stamp II, MA, LGPC
On Mondays, Magnolia Green Grooming Co. hosts its "Magnolia Mondays" event on Instagram Live where we engage in candid conversations with men on topics related to mental health, wellness, male friendship, dieting, fitness and more.
On Episode 4 of Magnolia Mondays, we sat down with our friend Walter H. Stamp II, MA, LGPC. Walter is an experienced therapist and healthcare services professional with an M.A. in Counseling focused in treatment of addictions from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Washington D.C. He's also currently obtaining his PhD in Counseling Psychology from Howard University.
We had an insightful conversation with Walter and thought it would be beneficial to share a handful of key takeaways for our followers who are unable to catch the entire episode. We look forward to bringing Walter back for another impactful and informative conversation soon and hope you find this helpful.
Lesson #1: Therapy can be seen as simply getting a "tune up".
For most people, scheduling routine maintenance on your vehicle is second nature and Walter explained therapy can be viewed the same way. We learned that anyone can benefit from therapy, and it's important to note that don't have to experience a severe trauma first to give it a try. It's okay to check in on yourself to make sure everything is running the way you'd like it to.
Lesson #2: Engaging a therapist can be quite helpful when experiencing any significant life change.
Let's face it. Life stops for no one. Weddings, funerals, graduations, breakups, births, new jobs, and many other significant life events present unique challenges that we don't always know how to navigate. Many of us may not even think to look to therapy when experiencing significant life events that aren't tied to a significant trauma or negative event, but Walter recommended that we consider therapy for any transitional phase in our lives because they allow us to approach them with an improved sense of self awareness and clarity.
Lesson #3: Self-care is self-prioritization and self-preservation.
You may have noticed that self-care has become an overly used buzz word in today's popular culture. Walter emphasized that thinking of self-care as "self-prioritization" can restore meaning to the phrase. When thinking of it this way, self-care becomes a way to build awareness. That awareness is important because it allows us to recognize our internal red flags and address them early. And if we're intentional enough about building that awareness, in time we build more confident versions of ourselves. Activities like taking a long walk, journaling, and even disconnecting from social media are all things we can do to remove outside influences and prioritize our own thoughts and feelings. We challenge you to re-evaluate the way you view self-care and think of it as self-prioritization. Or, as one of our IG live attendees put it, think of it as self-preservation.
Follow us on Instagram @MagnoliaGreenCo for more meaningful content! Be sure to tune into our Magnolia Mondays series exclusively on Instagram Live for more candid conversations meant to cultivate a more deeply rooted version of you!