Tag: mental health
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The Lingering Feeling of Virtual Worlds
A Brave New World of Images Recently, I did a virtual reality experience about the Titanic. It included: Perhaps you know me by now, but I approach these things the way I would an art exhibit. I am fascinated by the way technology affects us- emotionally, physically, and psychologically. And this Titanic experience reminded me of the all-too-real… Read more
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The Price of Seeking Help: When Mental Health Records Become Liabilities
At the Doctor’s Office I had a doctor’s appointment today to fill out some occupational health forms for a new job. They checked my ears, eyes, lungs, weight, reflexes, medical history, and more. But there was an awkward moment. My doctor told me that he would unfortunately need to indicate my past “Emotional Problems” on… Read more
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You Are Allowed to Leave: 60+ Valid Relationship Deal Breakers
What are “Valid” Deal Breakers? Many people stay in unhealthy relationships because they are not sure if what happened was “bad enough” to justify leaving. And when these toxic behaviours are repeated, they become “normal”, which makes you even less likely to question them. So, I want to list some valid deal breakers. This isn’t… Read more
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I Read 52 Books in One Year- Was it Worth It?
Trying a Different Approach to Learning After I finished my master’s degree, I felt more disenchanted than inspired. But why? I had the diploma, the debt, and the societal recognition. What was missing? That was in 2016, and since then education has experienced seismic shifts: rising costs, increased online learning, emerging AI technologies, and an… Read more
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This Reading Challenge Was a Strange Mix of Privilege and Desperation
Excess & Limitations Last year, I began my 52-Book Reading Challenge because I needed a change. If you have read some of my content, you can probably tell the types of things I was struggling with at the time: health issues, toxic relationships, and questioning lifelong unhealthy beliefs. That being said, the opportunity to read… Read more
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Death is the Only Boundary That They Won’t Cross
Innocent to Aware When I was young, I believed that every person on earth was a blessing. And then I grew up. My thoughts on this have been refined by time and trauma. I still believe that every person is born a blessing. But whether or not they stay one is based on their behaviour.… Read more
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5 Ways to Calm Down in 1 Minute or Less
Do you ever feel yourself getting wound up and out of control, unable to stop the feeling? For me, I start to grit my teeth, my breathing gets faster, my hands ball into fists, and I have trouble concentrating. In this state, life feels overwhelming and effort seems pointless. But I have learned 5 quick… Read more
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More Images to Help Regulate You
I’m learning to look for the beauty in the world- not only that, but intentionally cultivate and create it. There is so much to notice and make, once you get past all the noise. I want to lose myself, getting up close to pretty things; to examine them and question them; to philosophize with them… Read more
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Images to Help Regulate You
I used to think that being online was over-stimulating, but now I realize that not only can I find peace online, I can intentionally cultivate it. So instead of endlessly scrolling social media, I have been taking time to appreciate beauty- without metrics, comparison, or anxiety. Just pretty things to calm my mind and help… Read more
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I Had a Great Year, So Why Am I Sad?
When I look back on 2025, so many wonderful things happened. I met someone special, went on exciting adventures, began to express myself, and enjoyed other people expressing themselves too. I should feel great about it. But instead, I am trapped in a feeling of tension and misplacement- like I am not actually able to… Read more
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Book #52- Reflections on “The Psychology of Money”
Book #52 The Psychology of Money By Morgan Housel The Making of a Financial Mindset When I was a child, I would sneak $20 bills into my parents’ bedroom dresser when they were fighting. Like most married couples, their fights were about money. And, like most children, I believed it was my responsibility to fix… Read more
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Causes of My Depression That Had Little to Do With My Brain
Is Depression Caused By a Malfunctioning Brain? Right off the bat, I want to stress that I am not a doctor, so this post is in no way intended to provide medical advice. What I am hoping to achieve is to normalize the topic of depression and humanize it with lived experience. Depression can make a person… Read more
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Book #49- Reflections on “Lost Connections”
Book #49 Lost Connections By Johann Hari Hari’s Relatable Story of Depression For over a decade, Johann Hari struggled with depression. He was told it was due to a chemical imbalance in his brain and that antidepressants were the solution. The dosage steadily grew and so did his struggles with the medication’s symptoms. Yet, things… Read more
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The Long Road to a Split-Second Decision: How Character is Built Before the Moment
The Making of an Impulse Our split-second decisions might feel erratic, but they aren’t random. They are connected to our long-term behaviour. It isn’t an obvious, direct correlation. Sometimes we can surprise ourselves in the moment; we might be overcome with panic, confusion, or another strong emotion. But other times our responses are entirely predictable.… Read more
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A Split-Second Impulse, a Lifetime of Consequences
The Impact of Our Impulses I recently read The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom and reflected on the lessons it teaches in my latest post. But something else struck me. In each of the five lessons, one factor played a critical role, sometimes for good, sometimes for bad: the impact of our split-second decisions.… Read more
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An Uncomfortable Pattern in 46 Books
Good & Bad Themes During My Book Reading Challenge Throughout my year-long Reading Challenge, I have intentionally selected books that span a wide range of topics, voices, and experiences. And many positive themes keep appearing- like the importance of self-expression and community. But some disheartening patterns have surfaced too, such as the prevalence of sexual… Read more
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Writing About Women Who Share a Name With Their Pain
A Recurring Dilemma While writing my latest post about I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy, I ran into the same dilemma I had when discussing Shari Franke’s memoir The House of My Mother. Both books involve daughters reclaiming their voice from abusive mothers, and each presented a particular challenge when it came to writing about them.… Read more
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Book #46- Reflections on “I’m Glad My Mom Died”
Book #46 I’m Glad My Mom Died By Jennette McCurdy An Unexpected, But Familiar Story I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy is an account of the author’s life as a former child star, which was heavily influenced by her overbearing mother. It reminds me of another book I read during my 52-Book Reading Challenge: The… Read more
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Blooming & Wilting Under Another’s Gaze
When a Gaze Grows a Person Have you ever had someone look at you with stars in their eyes? Their face lights up. Both of you seem to expand to a place where every colour is brighter, every smell sweeter. You feel warm inside. Loved. This person could be your mother, father, partner, perhaps even… Read more
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Book #45- Reflections on “Women Don’t Owe You Pretty”
Book #45 Women Don’t Owe You Pretty By Florence Given So, You Think You’re Really Pretty? When women are asked if they think they are pretty, the “correct” answer is supposed to be no. It demonstrates humility and shows others that you aren’t vain. So when the concept of pretty privilege entered into mainstream conversation a few… Read more
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Jekyll & Hyde as a Couple: The Hidden Pattern in Toxic Relationships
Something Familiar About Jekyll & Hyde After reading The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I wrote a blog post exploring three ways the “Hyde” in each of us can appear in modern life. In both that post and Stevenson’s novel, Jekyll and Hyde represent two sides of a single person: Dr. Jekyll is… Read more
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Book #43- Reflections on “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”
Book #43 The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde By Robert Louis Stevenson Last week I read Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and was surprised by how relevant its themes are to our modern world. This week, for Halloween, I picked up The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and it feels jarringly applicable… Read more
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What Shakespeare Understood About the Power & Peril of Imagination
What a Lunatic, Lover, and Poet Have in Common “The lunatic, the lover, and the poetAre of imagination all compact.”1 -Theseus, A Midsummer Night’s Dream This famous line from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream means that lunatics, lovers, and poets are each entirely full of imagination. They don’t see the world as it objectively is, but rather… Read more
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Confused Affections
By all the vows that ever men have broke (In number more than ever women spoke), – Hermia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream A Man Teaches a Girl About Love I was a young teenager when a man forty years older told me: “You just have to tell a girl you love her a thousand times and then she will sleep with you. You don’t even have to mean it.” He was… Read more
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Book #41- Reflections on “Frankenstein”
Book #41 Frankenstein By Mary Shelley Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a classic that has been on my reading list for a long time, and Halloween felt like the perfect season to read it. Two things struck me about this book: (This post will contain spoilers.) Adapting to Mary Shelley’s Writing Style Since this book was… Read more
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Book #38- Reflections on “The Power of Now”
Book #38 The Power of Now By Eckhart Tolle Are You Living in the Past, Present, or Future? The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle is the type of book that I could read once a year and still gain new insights from. It is about relinquishing your addiction to past or future thinking and instead… Read more
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An Anecdote About Social Trends
Changing Relationship Dynamics in Graduate Housing When I did my master’s degree in 2015, I lived in an international residence with 175 other graduate students. In theory, it should have been a wonderful experience. But it wasn’t. There were many strange and dark moments during my time there. A decade later, I was talking to… Read more
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The Role of Technology in Education
What is the Role of Technology in Education? In the future, will technology act as a supplement or a replacement to the way we teach? The needs of modern students are shifting and so are my views about what education should look like. Fiction, AI-driven apps, and my own experiences with formal schooling and self-directed… Read more
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The Inner Logic of Video Games
I have mused lately about the importance of the inner logic of fictional stories. By inner logic, I mean the rules a fictional world sets for itself- both the way its characters behave and the way its world functions. This inner logic grounds fantasy with a sense of realism. It is what makes fictional worlds “make… Read more
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The Terrifying World of Imagination
Imagination is a wonderful thing. It allows us to envision and create ideas before they exist in reality. It is a powerful personal and collective tool. However, imagination can also go awry. All of these imaginings aren’t always good or accurate. Recently, I read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. It is about a fictional dystopian world… Read more