Jon Hamm: 'Medical attention is medical attention whether it’s for your elbow or for your teeth or for your brain'
Yes, I admit, I've never watched the show "Mad Men" (I apologize if I just disappointed some of you). But, as of today, I have a newfound admiration for actor Jon Hamm (maybe, just maybe, enough to add "Mad Men" as my next show to binge watch on Netflix).
In a recent interview with InStyle Magazine, Hamm talked publicly about regularly seeing a therapist. This is such an important topic considering research shows men are less likely to seek help for mental health issues than women are.
In the interview, Hamm said, "Medical attention is medical attention whether it’s for your elbow or for your teeth or for your brain. ... And it’s important."
After the death of his father, Hamm struggled with chronic depression. Since then, he has been prescribed antidepressants and has been going to therapy for more than 20 years. In 2015, he checked himself into rehab for 30 days for alcoholism and said, "There's something to be said for pulling yourself out of the grind for a period of time and concentrating on re-calibrating the system."
He said he knows some are skeptical of therapy but that "it works."
"We live in a world where to admit anything negative about yourself is seen as a weakness, when it’s actually a strength. It’s not a weak move to say, ‘I need help.’ In the long run it’s way better, because you have to fix it.”
Mental illness and therapy are not easy things to talk about. I should know. Talking about my struggles on this blog and on social media is probably the toughest thing I've ever done. And the people who pay attention to what I'm doing are millions less than for Hamm. Hamm could have easily hid this part of his life from the public. But he chose not to. Instead, he decided to use his fame to raise awareness of something that is so important. And there's nothing stronger or braver than that.
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