Kevin Smith Reveals He Underwent PTSD Therapy During Recent Mental Health Treatment
Kevin Smith is getting candid and honest in a new interview, where he openly discusses his decision to seek help.
The 52-year-old Clerks star and filmmaker spoke to People about seeking out help for his mental health after he was convinced that he was losing his sanity.
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During his interview with the outlet, Kevin recalled that it was last January where he made the first move into getting help from an incident that he says was not only “scary” but also as a “complete break from reality.”
“At that moment, I wouldn’t have been averse to not being around any longer. I called a friend and said, ‘I’m in a weird, dark place. I need to go somewhere and get help,’” he shared.
During his treatment at a health center, Kevin says that he focused in on a few childhood traumas that ranged from sexual abuse as a kid, as well as being shamed for his weight by a fourth grade teacher.
He says that this educator had made fun of his “gut” in front of his classmates.
“I felt disgusting, like I didn’t matter. That’s when ‘the other guy’ started to appear. I decided to be entertaining and make people love me before they noticed I was fat,” he shared.
Kevin then said that he allowed that to be the first thing you notice about him throughout his life: “I was already a self-loathing mess. ‘The other guy’ became my favorite piece of clothing to wear. I’d just let him take over.”
He also revealed that he was in group therapy sessions with military veterans struggling with PTSD, and was worried that his trauma didn’t equal their own.
“In the beginning, it was tough to share when somebody’s talking about watching their friend get killed and I’m like, ‘Well, my fourth-grade teacher told me I was fat.’ But I learned that there’s no differentiation [between levels of trauma] to the human nervous system. Internally, trauma is trauma.”
Now, Kevin is in a much better place as he’s stopped smoking weed, and also cut down on his screen time and hectic work schedule.
“I’m really interested in seeing if I can finally be comfortable sitting by myself… and just be alone with my thoughts,” he added, before admitting that he’s also “terrified to see everyone’s reaction to [all of this]. But I know there’s somebody out there who doesn’t know this stuff—like I didn’t—who could get something out of this.”
Last year, Kevin also had a biting reaction to Warner Bros. Pictures axing Batgirl.