Tag Archives: mental health

Serving the Community: The Story of Servol, Charles Jordan MBE and What Was, What Is, and What Could Be

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This article traces the history of Servol Community Services from its founding in 1979 by Charles Jordan MBE, exploring its mission, growth, and the pressures facing modern social-care charities. It reflects on recognition, institutional memory, and the quiet sacrifices behind community work, ending with a personal appeal to honour the charity’s origins and reconnect present delivery with its founding spirit.

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The Hidden Costs of Masking: What Research and Autistic Voices Reveal

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This article explores the hidden psychological, physical, and social costs of autistic masking, drawing on current research and lived experience. Combining academic insight with personal anecdotes, it examines how masking impacts wellbeing, identity, and burnout, and argues that masking is not an individual adaptation but a response to structural neurotypical norms and inequality embedded in modern social and professional life.

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The Problem with High-Performing Autistic Masking

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This reflection explores the psychological and emotional toll of high-performing autistic masking, the survival skill that demands total authenticity in artifice. Drawing parallels to method acting and philosophy, it considers how masking can blur identity itself, offering insight into the lived experience of neurodivergent authenticity and exhaustion.

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Beyond Masking: The Other Forms of Camouflaging in AuDHD Lives

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This article explores the broader spectrum of camouflaging behaviours among neurodivergent people with AuDHD, extending beyond masking. It describes overcompensating, over-explaining, role-playing, disappearing, hyper-mirroring, caregiving, channelling intensity into acceptable pursuits, and intellectualising emotions. A comparison table shows how these strategies differ from masking while still leading to exhaustion, identity confusion, and misdiagnosis.

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Burnout-Proofing Your Startup Team: Lessons from The Zensory

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This Cyber Runway Scale session focused on preventing burnout in startup teams, addressing the mental and physical toll of high-growth environments. Experts shared strategies for work-life balance, team resilience, and sustainable leadership to ensure long-term success in cybersecurity startups.

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Alexithymia and Neurodiversity: Understanding Emotional Processing Challenges

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Alexithymia, a term derived from Greek meaning “no words for emotions,” refers to difficulties in identifying, describing, and processing emotions. While not a standalone diagnosis, alexithymia is often co-occurring in neurodiverse individuals, including those with autism, Asperger’s syndrome, ADHD, and the Dys family (dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, etc.). Understanding alexithymia in the context of neurodiversity helps to foster empathy and create supportive environments for those who experience it.

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The Lifelong Bond Between Oliver Sacks and Leonard Shengold: A Journey of Healing and Transformation

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The lifelong relationship between neurologist Oliver Sacks and psychoanalyst Leonard Shengold bridged the fields of neurology and psychoanalysis, blending Sacks’ focus on neurological disorders with Shengold’s exploration of trauma. Their five-decade-long therapeutic bond profoundly shaped Sacks’ work, emphasizing the interplay between identity, resilience, and human experience, and illustrating the value of interdisciplinary collaboration in understanding the mind.

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Soul Murder: The Effects of Childhood Abuse and Deprivation by Leonard Shengold

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Leonard Shengold’s Soul Murder: The Effects of Childhood Abuse and Deprivation examines the profound psychological damage caused by childhood abuse and neglect, using psychoanalytic theory to explore how trauma disrupts development, fosters dissociation, and impairs adult relationships. Through clinical case studies, the book highlights the enduring effects of “soul murder” while advocating for greater awareness and compassion.

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Navigating the Twentysomething Years: Insights from Meg Jay and Rosie Gilderthorp

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Discover why your twenties are a defining decade and how to navigate its challenges with insights from Dr Meg Jay and Rosie Gilderthorp. From embracing uncertainty to balancing mental health in a social media age, this article offers actionable advice for young adults and therapists alike. Dr Meg Jay and Rosie Gilderthorp’s conversation offers a compelling roadmap for navigating the complexities of the twenties, emphasizing the importance of growth, resilience, and intentionality during this pivotal decade.

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