This week’s Off The Cuff guest, Dr. Justin Puder, heard it all as a kid who grew up struggling with mental health in small-town Ohio. That struggle, as well as the early loss of his father and brother from cancer and drug addiction respectively, introduced young Dr. J to therapy for the first time.

“[The therapist] didn't call it meditation. She didn't call it mindfulness. She's literally like, ‘We're just gonna do something together here.’ And she had me lay down and essentially she did a guided meditation. … I remember within minutes, like just two minutes into it, like I had opened my eyes because I was so excited. It was the first time I experienced peace in months.”

The experience inspired him to become a licensed psychologist himself. Now, Dr. J primarily works with teens at his Florida practice, where he specializes in mindfulness-based approaches to anxiety and stress reduction.

In this episode, Dr. J discusses growing up around mental health stigma at home and at school, the life-saving importance of destigmatizing therapy, the dangers of self-diagnosis, and how social media can both help and harm mental health.

“We've gone from like, again, never talking about mental health to sort of swinging. I feel like the pendulum swung far the other way, where it's just like, everybody wants to have the sticker label of some diagnosis. [But] clinging to a label isn't actually going to help you, in the long run, understand how to get better.”

If you’re unsure whether therapy is right for you, Dr. J shares some tips: Work through a mental health workbook written by a licensed expert. You’ll learn more about the psychological principles that make therapy work, and gain a better understanding of yourself in the process. Journal. You’ll become more comfortable putting your thoughts, fears and struggles into words, which can help you when you decide to talk to a therapist. Remember that your well-being and mental health are worth the effort.