Simon Cowell struggled with the idea of therapy, but it ultimately had a “super positive effect” on his struggles with depression.
“I made the appointment, and I sat down, really embarrassed, and I said, ‘Look, I just don’t know where to start,'” the “America’s Got Talent” creator and judge recalled with a laugh in Wednesday’s episode of the Mirror’s “Men in Mind” podcast.
Cowell, 63, explained that he had to train his mind to look at therapy like “going to the gym,” and once he got into the routine, he understood it.
“Within about 20 minutes, it was as if I’d known [my therapist] for 10, 20 years. He put me so much at ease. And you realize you’re talking to a professional, and they don’t judge you — they listen to you,” he raved.
The former “American Idol” judge confessed that he initially had the age-old mentality of “Don’t cry, be a man” and thought therapy was only for people who have “gone through something pretty traumatic,” but he quickly learned that seeking help is “nothing to be ashamed of.”
“We’re not all made of steel, and there’s going to be times in our lives where you just need somebody to talk to,” he noted.
Cowell started his therapy journey after COVID-19 made him “petrified” and heightened his depression.
“I’ve suffered from depression over the years … but that was just something I just thought, ‘Well, that’s my character trait. I get down,’ and it’s something you deal with,” he began.
However, the pandemic became “the real catalyst” for the music executive when he felt anxious seeing several friends “really ill.”
”So, I thought, ‘God, if I catch this, maybe the same thing’s going to happen to me, Eric and Lauren,'” he remembered, referring to his 9-year-old son and longtime fiancée, Lauren Silverman. “I didn’t know what was true or not. I just didn’t have a clue other than I was petrified about catching it. Just petrified.”
After quarantining for most of 2020, Cowell struggled with transitioning back to the “real world.”
“Then fortunately I met some friends who had benefited from therapy, and that’s when I thought, ‘You know what? I’ve kind of looked after my body through diet and exercise pretty well over the years, but what have I done about my brain and my mind?’” he shared.
The TV personality has since become an advocate for therapy and tells others how it “has had this super positive effect” on his life.
“I wish I had done this 10 or 20 years ago,” he added. “It’s like a weight has lifted off my shoulders.
“If you’d said to me, ‘Simon, we’re going to be sitting down … in your garden, talking about mental health,’ I’d be going, ‘Have I lost my mind or something?’ I’m not a doctor, I’m not an expert, but in my own way, I’ve started to understand it more and done things myself for my mental health in a positive way.”
