Trigger Warning: Domestic Violence and Suicide Ideation
Wes Woodson is the author of the book "I Have Anxiety (So What?)"and the Founder of TheHidden Company whose mission is to use the power of storytelling through merchandise, engaging content, and more in order to eradicate the mental health stigma.
Wes has dedicated his life to mental health and ending the stigma that caused him so many problems throughout his life.
In this episode, "I Have Anxiety, So What", Wes and I talk about the following:
- His feelings of being different, less intelligent, and less skilled than his peers while growing up
- His efforts to hide the things that made him unique from everyone and the anxiety that caused
- His obsessive need for external validation caused by his feelings of not being good enough and feeling different than others
- Being a survivor of domestic violence and the trauma that caused him
- Suicide ideation and being hospitalized due to fears of harming himself
- Attending an outpatient program which Wes calls "Anxiety School" and how it has helped lead to his recovery and his current mental health movement/journey
