Jessica Alba revealed she and her 15-year-old daughter Honor started therapy after too many arguments.
The star said she asked for help when she felt like she was at the end of her rope: “I thought, I don't want to live like this,” she said.
In her coverage of the new issue of Real Simple magazine, Jessica praised the benefits of therapy while acknowledging, “It's a process and I'm not perfect.”
She shared that she decided to seek help when “Honor was probably 11 years old and we were arguing about stupid stuff all the time.”
The 42-year-old film added that 12-year-old Haven was also with them.
Eventually, Jessica managed to improve some of her behaviors and Honor was able to more easily understand that her mother was “just being a mother.”
Jessica Alba revealed she and her 15-year-old daughter Honor started therapy after too many arguments: “I thought, I don't want to live like this,” she said
In her coverage of the new issue of Real Simple magazine, Jessica praised the benefits of therapy while acknowledging that “it's a process and I'm not perfect.”
The 42-year-old film star went into analysis about four years ago with her two daughters Honor and 12-year-old Haven
Jessica recalled: “I thought, 'I don't want to live like this.' This is no fun. I didn't want there to be a wedge between us.'
She explained: “As her mother, if I say something, she will take it as an argument or an attempt to control her.” “I wanted there to be someone who could explain things in a way that I couldn't. “
She said: “What I said to Honor was, 'I want to be a better parent to you, and this is your forum to talk about basically anything that's bothering you about what I do.'”
The analyst helped temper Honor's perception of her mother's behavior, but also helped Jessica change the behavior herself.
“It kept me in check. For example: “Yes, I totally do that. And I'm sorry. I'll work on that.” It also gave her a little bit of perspective – that I'm not the bad guy; I'm just a parent. “She’ll come out the other side and I’ll still be here,” Jessica said.
“I just wanted to get to that point, and it worked.” And the therapist showed me that it's natural for children to disagree with their parents, and that being a parent isn't always about that “To be right or sensible at the moment,” the home goods mogul revealed. “I won’t be at the front, it’s a process and I’m not perfect.”
Therapy is, in Jessica's enthusiastic assessment, “such a valuable tool to help you process your feelings.” That's what this issue is about!'
The process “gets you talking about what's going on with you and brings to light the things that don't feel good or might be confusing, or things that make you happy,” the actress said in the magazine.
Eventually, Jessica managed to improve some of her own behaviors and Honor was able to more easily understand that her mother was “just being a mother.”
She explained: “As a mother, if I say something, she will take it as an argument or an attempt to control her.”
She said: “What I said to Honor was, 'I want to be a better parent to you, and this is your forum to talk about basically anything that's bothering you about what I do.'”
Jessica explained, “The therapist showed me that it's natural for children to disagree with their parents, and that being a parent isn't always about being right or rational in that moment.”
“And if you just unpack it, you can process it, and then you can repeat good behavior and find the behaviors that you want to redirect. What a great tool for anyone.”
Last year, Jessica revealed that she and her daughters initially went to therapy together but had now found their way to separate couches.
“We're not doing this together anymore.” “They're doing it on their own,” the mother of three told People magazine. “You’re older now.”
Jessica is married to Cash Warren and has two daughters, Honor and Haven, and a six-year-old son named Hayes.
Cash, the son of Hill Street Blues actor Michael Warren, met Jessica when he worked as an assistant director on her critically acclaimed 2005 film Fantastic Four.
They spontaneously decided to get married at a Beverly Hills courthouse one day in 2008 when Jessica was heavily pregnant with Honor.
A few years ago, the couple spoke openly about a psychologically sensitive moment they experienced with their younger daughter.
On an episode of her YouTube show Getting Honest, Jessica revealed that she burst into tears when Haven caught her and Cash having sex.
Jessica is married to one Cash Warren and in addition to their two daughters Honor and Haven, they have a six-year-old son named Hayes
On an episode of her YouTube show Getting Honest, Jessica revealed that she burst into tears when Haven caught her and Cash having sex
“It was the worst,” Cash said. “We liked spending five minutes in our bedroom laughing and thinking, 'I can't believe it, we just ruined our daughter! We ruined them!”
“I started crying! “I started crying,” Jessica said, explaining that she then called Cash's sister Koa, who is “so good at helping us through challenges.”
Cash shared that “even” his sister “didn't have any advice” — and Jessica noted that “Haven had already texted her by the time we called Koa.”
The family had an “emergency meeting” where Cash said, “Haven, this is the last time you're going to come into our room without knocking?”
The result is: “Now she's knocking.” It was like she had learned her lesson!' Cash said with a laugh as Jessica reiterated that she was “100% crying.”