advice
Advice and tips on managing mental health, maintaining a positive outlook and becoming your happiest self.
Resistance Is Not the Enemy
Iron sharpens iron. Brakes save lives. Friction preserves form. Modern culture treats resistance as failure. Anything that slows momentum is framed as obstruction, anything that introduces friction is assumed to be opposition, and anything that interrupts progress is labeled a setback. But this instinct misunderstands how both physical systems and human growth actually work. Resistance is not inherently hostile. In many cases, it is the only thing preventing collapse.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast11 days ago in Psyche
The Refiner’s Fire Is Not the Whetstone
There is a difference between being sharpened and being transformed, and confusing the two leads to frustration when growth does not feel productive. Sharpening implies refinement of existing form. Fire implies change in composition. Both processes are uncomfortable, but they operate on different levels and for different purposes. When people expect sharpening and receive fire instead, they often assume something has gone wrong, when in reality something deeper is taking place.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast11 days ago in Psyche
You See From Where You Stand
"The room remains full whether you can see it or not." One of the most persistent misunderstandings about perception is the assumption that seeing is the same as knowing. People often believe that if something feels clear, it must be complete, and if something feels obscure, it must be absent. But awareness does not work that way. What you perceive at any moment is not a measure of what exists. It is a measure of what your current position allows to pass through.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast11 days ago in Psyche
You Are Not Empty, You Are Overloaded
You are not empty. You are not broken. You are not dull. - You are overloaded. - People often describe certain mental states as “having nothing in their head,” but that description is almost always inaccurate. What feels like emptiness is usually saturation. The mind has not stopped producing content. It has lost spare capacity. The system is busy allocating energy toward coping, regulating, or enduring, and there is little left over for reflection, synthesis, or creativity. This distinction matters, because mistaking overload for emptiness leads people to judge themselves harshly for conditions that are largely structural and biological.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast11 days ago in Psyche
Rewards, Punishments, and Your Phone: Are We Just Puppets?
You know how sometimes you read something and go, “Oh… so that’s why I keep doing that thing even when I know better”? That’s what this book by Yoesoep Edhie Rachmad, which is republished by the United Nations Economic and Social Council, found.
By Anie the Candid Writer Abroad11 days ago in Psyche
Transcribing the voices in my head. AI-Generated.
The author used artificial intelligence in the brainstorming of this article. I love the feeling of a pen in my left hand making contact with heavy journal paper. I force myself to write neatly because my handwriting is generally messy. When I concentrate on writing neatly, however, I do. This unusual brain exercise sharpens my mind.
By David Heitz12 days ago in Psyche
Let Grief Be Loud.
When I first started writing about grief, I thought it would be too hard, but it turns out to be the easiest thing I’ve ever done. It has been so easy reaching into my soul and spilling my feelings. Whether people read the poems or I’m posting without results, writing about grief and putting it out into the world has been so healing. Though I’ll never heal, I’m thankful for that, because it means I’ll always have something to write about.
By April Kirby.14 days ago in Psyche
Why Are Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Therapists, and Counselors Called “Shrinks”?
Most of us have heard someone say, “I’m going to see my shrink,” with a shrug or a half‑smile — but have you ever stopped to wonder where that slang word came from? It’s one of those cultural words we have heard, and we begin using them without knowing what they actually mean.
By Margaret Minnicks15 days ago in Psyche
