Words
Here you’ll find an ever-expanding collection of articles focused on mental health, self-worth, masculinity, and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are and why we struggle. These articles aren't about giving you easy answers or quick fixes. They're about looking at familiar struggles differently, questioning what we've come to believe about ourselves, and making better sense of what we're going through.
You can read them chronologically below or brose by topic:
Stuck In a Story: How We’re Shaped by Our Narratives
When we connect the dots of our experiences in a way that tells us we’re lazy, cruel, careless, or not good enough, we inevitably story out the moments that suggest otherwise.
So stories of inadequacy make success feel like a fluke.
Stories of weakness make strength invisible.
Stories of inferiority make capability a footnote.
Floor By Floor: Anxiety and Avoidance Behaviours
Avoidance is effective in the short term. That’s why it sticks. It gives us immediate relief and helps us get through the moment.
But it teaches us that we need to avoid the things we are afraid of in order to be okay. And this can come at a huge cost if those fears keep us from the things that are important to us.
A New Kind of Grief: Job Loss and Mental Health
What we’re going through is heartbreaking, shocking, overwhelming, and traumatic. I wish I could tell you there was some sort of quick fix to help you feel better, but having lived through job loss and been surrounded by others going through it as well, it’s clear that this is a uniquely complex and painful experience… If nothing else, I hope this helps you to name your feelings a bit more clearly.
There’s Cartography in Every Scar: Emotions as Signposts
It may seem unbelievable that anything of value could come from our hard, awful feelings, but they can carry vital information. Our emotions are signposts and trail markers, giving us crucial data about who we are, and what we need, opening up an opportunity to map a better and more authentic course for our lives.
Night Thoughts: Why Anxiety is Worse at Night
During the day, you have endless distractions — emails, conversations, tasks, deadlines, commutes. Even if you’re stressed, you’re doing. You’re engaged. You’re in motion.
At night? Everything stops — except your thoughts.
Screaming Robots: Externalization in Action
Choosing not to define yourself by the problem but seeing it instead as a thing, person or creature that you struggle or wrestle with can be a powerful paradigm shift. Simply put, the less you see the problem as being part of you, the easier it is to resist.
Maybe That Lion’s Not a Lion: How Jumping to Conclusions Trips Us Up
It might sound simplistic. “Don’t jump to conclusions” has become so cliché that it’s easy to dismiss such advice and believe we aren’t susceptible to it. But the reality is we’re all prone to this thought pattern. When we don’t have all the information we need, our minds use past experiences, beliefs, biases and more to fill in the blanks.