An Interview with Esther Perel

I have a hard time asking for what I need. Actually, let me be more clear, I have a hard time being a person who needs anything. In my 50 years I have loved deeply. But, to be honest, I am not sure I have ever let myself be loved, deeply. Turns out no one can love you, deeply, if you do not allow them to care for you, deeply. 

At 50, I have grown tired. I am tired, exhausted really, from the burden of caring for others while rarely allowing myself to receive care in return. So, I called the international advisor on relationships and intimacy, Belgian-American psychotherapist, author of the book Mating in Captivity, and member of Oprah Winfrey’s Supersoul 100 list of visionaries and influential leaders, Esther Perel to ask for help. 

I asked her to help me figure out what I might be missing and to see clearly what I fear. Here is our session together. It is raw, vulnerable and totally on-point. I know many of you have been curious too, “Do they love me for me, or for what I do for them?” and “Am I enough?”.

Here is what Esther had to say to me about these tender questions. I hope some part of you feels seen, heard and understood through my therapy session with Esther Perel: