Darkness to Dialogue: Living Well With Mental Illness

Design Your Own Behavior-Signal Mirror: Track The Subtle Patterns That Shape Your Mental Health Design a “Behavior-Signal Mirror” for Your Daily Life Here’s how: Pick two kinds of external signals you can reasonably track without obsession: like hours slept, time spent outside, or phone checks after 9 p.m. Then, pick two internal signals,  such as mood rating (1–5), rumination notes, or anxiety level. Twice a day (morning and evening), record both external and internal signals. Keep it simple: a notebook, phone note, or small tracker. After 3–5 days, reflect: 👉 What external patterns tend to precede worse internal states? 👉 What actions seem to lift you up? Examples: “After <6 hours of sleep, I felt flat all day,” or “When I got outside twice, my anxiety dropped.” Use what you notice to make small, meaningful shifts, prioritize consistent sleep, take short walks when restlessness creeps in, or unplug earlier at night. 💬 Why This Tip Matters  In acknowledgment of Mental ...

Summary Emotional alexithymia, a difficulty identifying and describing emotions, is a lesser-known but critical factor in men’s mental health , especially among those living with trauma and mental illness.  This post unpacks the science behind emotional alexithymia, its connection to trauma and socialization, and how healing begins with learning to recognize and name emotions. My Own Struggle to Name What I Feel For much of my life, I felt like I was swimming in emotional fog. I knew something was wrong, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was. When people asked me how I felt: I often answered with vague words like “fine” or “okay,” even when my insides churned with something more complicated.  I thought maybe I was just closed off or didn’t care enough, but over time, I realized it was harder than that.  It was as if my mind had lost the words to name my feelings. So, what does this have to do with men's mental health? Well, watching men around me, family, frie...