Andrew Goldberg, PsyD

School felt like a prison.

 

Gray walls. Rigid rules. A system built for obedience. The three phrases I heard more than anything were:

 

Sit still.

Be quiet.

 

And because I couldn’t do either, it was followed by their third line:

 

Get out!

 

For most kids, that third line would have been embarrassing.

 

For me, it was freedom.

 

Once I was out the door, I was back where I wanted to be.

 

Inside my own mind.

 

My mind was like an amusement park on a perfect summer day. The sun shining. Bright lights flashing. Bells ringing from carnival games. The screams and laughter of kids flying past on roller coasters.

 

But school felt like the line for the ride.

 

And the line never moved!!!

 

Then puberty hit, and the park fell on hard times.

 

Storm clouds rolled in, drowning out the sun. Rides broke down. The laughter faded, and the park was abandoned.

 

All except for one ride that was still running:

 

The haunted house.

 

Shame.

Insecurity.

Anxiety.

 

I was trapped with no exit.

 

Then one day drugs came along, and for a moment I was back at the amusement park.

 

But that moment never lasted.

 

I kept chasing it, trying to find my way back to that park. Before long, I was a heroin addict, getting into the kind of trouble that comes with that life.

 

But that type of life doesn’t last long.

 

It brought me to my knees quickly.

 

I was lucky.

 

At twenty years old, I made my way into rehab.

 

Unfortunately, some of my friends weren’t so lucky.

 

Little by little, things started to change.

 

The storm passed. The sun began to shine again. And the amusement park reopened.

 

I stopped going into the haunted house so much.

 

It would have been nice if it had closed for good.

 

But that’s not reality.

 

In the early days of recovery, therapy and community were my lifelines.

 

Over time, those lifelines became something deeper.

 

They became my life force.

 

After that, I played in a few bands and taught yoga while returning to school. Over those years, I earned two master’s degrees and a doctorate in clinical psychology while living in New York and California.

 

Today, I’ve dedicated my career to creating tools that make mental and emotional wellness more accessible, affordable, and easier to use.