Tiffany Haddish has never been shy about sharing her journey navigating the foster care system or her mental health, and the actress is now opening up about the “full-blown breakdown” that served as a turning point in the work she does for her overall well-being.
In a recent interview with Yahoo Life’s The Unwind, Haddish shared that at 21 years old, a mental health crisis motivated her to go back to therapy. “I had like a breakdown — a full-blown breakdown — and went back into therapy,” she said. “And that changed everything and gave me a different perspective.”
The Girls Trip actress continued by talking about her challenge to find the right therapist, sharing how one found humor in Haddish’s ruminations, something she was “irritated” by.
“I get it. I’m a humorous person,” she said. “But if I’m pouring my heart out, I don’t need you laughing in my face.”
Still, the Emmy and Grammy-winning actress doesn’t shy away from noting the significant impact that therapy has had on her life as she’s navigated adverse experiences, including facing homelessness and coping with her time in foster care, both of which have taught her to become more vocal about her needs.
“If I did not have therapy now I probably would be doing therapy in these streets,” she said. “I’d probably be talking to a whole bunch of people about things I don’t need to be talking to them about.”
The star continued, “As I’ve gotten older, I try my best not to downplay how I feel about something. If I feel strongly about it, people are gonna know I feel strongly about it. If I’m uncomfortable in a situation, I think people should know that, ‘Hey, I’m uncomfortable right now.’”
Haddish’s lessons in self-love and self-care expanded as she shared her current understanding of what these practices truly mean to her on a deeper, more intuitive level.
“Right now self-love means listening to your inner feelings, listening to your body and honoring that,” she said.
“If you’re hungry, eat something,” she added. “If you’re thirsty, drink something. If you’re happy, express that happiness and share that happiness with others. If you’re upset, why are you upset? And how can you fix that, if you can fix it at all? And if you can’t fix it at all, I wouldn’t say, like, mope and whine and complain about it, but definitely express that you’re displeased with something and move on. And don’t just express it to every single body, but express it to who needs to be hearing it.”