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Kevin Smith talks about a childhood event that led him to seek mental health treatment.
in an interview with people magazine, salesperson The director sought treatment at the Sierra Tucson Center in Arizona in January 2022.
“It was scary,” Smith said. “At that moment, I wouldn’t have been ashamed of not being by your side anymore. I called my friend and said, ‘I’m in a strange, dark place. I’m going somewhere else to get help.’ is needed.
Smith created a “larger than life” personality he called “the other man” to help him cope. He said that a girl had forced him to perform sexual acts on him, and told himself he was “just playing doctor in the alley”. However, after re-telling the incident to a therapist, they helped Smith realize it was sexual abuse.
“When a third party directs you to do something that goes against your core values, it’s sexual abuse,” Smith said.
Smith said that when he was nine years old, his teacher made fun of him in front of the classroom.
“I felt like I didn’t care,” Smith said. “That’s when ‘the other guy’ started showing up. I decided to entertain me and make people love me before they realized I was fat.”
Smith added: ‘The other guy’ has become my favorite piece of clothing,” Smith said.
The writer-director recalled being surrounded by fellow patients during treatment, including veterans living with PTSD.
“At first, it was hard to share someone talking about watching a friend get killed and saying, ‘My fourth grade teacher said I was fat,'” Smith said. said. “But I have learned that there is no differentiation [between levels of trauma] to the human nervous system. Internally, trauma is trauma. ”
Smith modified his lifestyle by quitting smoking marijuana and using less social media.
