Emotional Solutions

01/04/2025

And so, it can finally begin...

28/03/2025

Using every ounce of my strength to remain on task, whilst I have prescriptive amphetamines flowing through my body. Oooh look a squirrel. Arse.

27/03/2025

One Day Like This – A Short Story Inspired by Elbow

The kettle clicked off with a tired sigh. Steam curled into the morning light like a breath held too long. He stood there for a second, staring into the silence, tea bag in one hand, the other bracing against the counter as if the kitchen might float away without him.

Today wasn’t supposed to be different.

And yet, it was.

He noticed it first in the sky—a blue so unapologetically bold it made the bricks on his street seem redder, the trees more defiant in their green. He watched as light kissed rooftops and draped the world in a kind of cinematic forgiveness.

No one else seemed to notice.

But he did.

It wasn’t that his problems had disappeared. The debts were still there, the diagnoses, the long silence between phone calls. But something had shifted. A thread of warmth unravelled in his chest, quiet and real. A feeling he couldn’t name… except to say that it wasn’t panic, and it wasn’t numbness. It was peace, maybe. Or something like it.

He put on his coat, not knowing where he was going. He just knew he needed to walk.

And as he walked past the postman with the bandaged hand, the dog that barked at shadows, the woman crying behind her steering wheel, he started to smile. Not because the world's problems were fixed. But because, for once, it didn’t need to be.

It was enough just to be in it.

He passed a stranger, nodded. They nodded back.

Connection.

He reached the park where the path split and birds filled the air like a choir trying to out-sing yesterday. He sat on a bench and tilted his head to the sun.

"Throw those curtains wide…"

He whispered the lyric like a prayer. Not because it would change anything, but because he had changed, and that was enough.

Some days sneak up on you like that—not loud or grand, but quietly revolutionary.

One day like this… a year would see him right.

And now, for you reading this:

What part of your world feels the most out of focus right now… and what might happen if you gave it your full attention, just for today?

When was the last time you felt fully present in a moment, without needing to change or fix anything?

What curtain might you throw wide, just a little, to let something new in?

Let the answers find you throughout the day.
There is no right or wrong answer.
This moment might just be your 'one day like this'.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have an amazing day.

Mark

27/03/2025

Rewiring my Hardwired Neurodivergent Mind, by Blowing my Own Trumpet.

For my entire life, I have been both free and trapped at the same time.

Free from the emotional burdens that so many neurodivergent people struggle with; anxiety, shame, stress, yet completely unable to feel something as simple as pride.

I can look at my achievements, list them, acknowledge them, even understand them logically. But I do not feel them. Not in my heart. Not in the way others do. This has shaped every single part of my existence and is the double-edged sword of my reality.

I developed my U R, Y theory to explain this paradox, from the unique way I process my reality, the way emotions function in my world. But in a cruel irony, I could never fully live it, because my puzzle was always incomplete.

I started my life’s work inside a neurotypical world. I finished it in a neurodivergent one.

Now I see the full picture: it works in both. It can bridge the gap. It can be the missing link that allows people to see emotions in a completely new way—a way free from society’s stigma and shame.

But here is my challenge.

This will only work for me if this post fully resonates with me. Because that is my reality—I must feel it, or it does not exist. And to feel it, I must become everything I have never been.

For the first time, I must be fully in control of my chaos and blow my trumpet
I must take ownership of my reality, step into it fully, and finally experience what has always eluded me.

This is not just rewiring my mind. This is redefining my existence.
And I invite you to question your own.

Have you ever felt like you were living half a truth? Have you ever built something so powerful that even you couldn’t access its full potential?

I have. And now, I’m stepping into it.

🧠🔥💬 Read it. Feel it. Share it. The revolution has already begun.

Likes, comments and shares whilst not needed emotionally, they are wanted, because I understand the LinkedIn algorithm organ grinder likes them, and they are greatly appreciated.

Thank you for reading this far.

Mark

27/03/2025

Tearing Down the Wall – A Neurodivergent Awakening

🎙️ “The Wall Came Down, and I Stepped Through” For as long as I can remember, I have walked with chaos in my shadow — a chaos not born from trauma, but from something else entirely: a truth so rare, so raw, it defied all the models built to contain it. Where others sought stillness, I was...

27/03/2025

If everyone had the same opinion, about the same thing, at the same time, would that make it a fact?

Like

26/03/2025

Triggered? Good. You’re in the right place.

Right now, something has just happened inside you. Maybe it’s a flash of irritation, a jolt of curiosity, a thought of unprofessionalism or a deep-seated discomfort. Whatever it is, you felt something, and that’s the entire point.

Being an Emotional Human demands an emotions response to everything in life; other people’s words, the tone of a message, a glance from a stranger or even a post like this. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself:

Is this a reaction, or is it a response?

Reaction vs. Response: The Space in Between

A reaction is instant. It’s driven by emotion, impulse or conditioning. It comes from deep within, often before you even realise it.

A response is different. A response is considered, chosen and intentional. It comes from awareness and understanding and not a reflex.
Take this moment as an example.

If you felt anger, where did that come from?

If you felt amusement, why?

If you felt nothing, do you know why?

Every emotional experience tells a story about you, not the trigger itself. You are the common denominator in everything that affects you.

What If You Took Control?

What if, instead of reacting to everything, you created space between what happens and how you respond?

What if, you questioned your own triggers instead of blaming them on the world?

What if you stopped handing over your power to everything outside of you?

This isn’t about suppressing emotion. It’s about understanding it. Owning it. Using it as a tool, not a weapon against yourself.

Because the real answer isn’t out there. Your answer is within you, within your unique reality.

If this is something you would like to explore more, then I am always open to a friendly, informal chat.

Thanks for reading this far.

Mark

25/03/2025

Where does your mind go when sweeping the shop floor of your reality?

It’s late in the evening, and the world outside has quieted.

The shop floor is empty, the bell above the door long since silent, and all that remains is the gentle rhythm of the broom across the pavement outside. It’s in this moment, the closing ritual of another day, that the mind drifts.

Where does yours go?

Do you replay the conversations you had, the ones you wish had gone differently? Do you plan for the future, making mental checklists of things to do tomorrow? Or maybe you find yourself slipping into nostalgia, revisiting moments that felt simple, familiar and safe?

For some, it’s a time of deep reflection, an unspoken conversation with the self. For others, it’s a moment of escape, a chance to let the mind wander through dreams of what could be.

Seeing Ronnie Barker as Arkwright in Open All Hours stirs up a feeling of familiarity. A time when small corner shops were the heart of a community. A time when life, though not always easy, had a rhythm that made sense.

So, as you sweep the shop floor of your reality, where does your mind go?

Thank you for reading this far.

Mark

25/03/2025

🌍 The Changing Face of Social Norms: Evolution or Emotional Chaos? 🤔

For generations, social norms have provided stability, guiding our behaviours and shaping communities. But as the world accelerates, these "rules" are crumbling faster than ever. The digital revolution, AI, shifting global values and increasing emotional demands are rewriting the playbook of human interaction.

Are we collectively redefining what it means to be part of society, or are we entering an era where personal survival takes precedence over shared values?
With the speed of change, many are finding that their emotional resilience is being tested daily. Long-standing expectations around work, relationships and identity are being challenged. What was once considered "normal" now feels outdated, yet nothing new has fully taken its place.

Are we in the middle of a transition towards a more inclusive, emotionally aware society, or is the uncertainty leading to increased unhealthy stress, isolation, and division?

How do you see this shift playing out in your own life?
Have you experienced moments where the "rules" no longer made sense?
Do you feel more connected or more disconnected in this evolving landscape?

As always, your opinions are encouraged and actively welcomed. 👇

Thanks for reading.

Mark

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25/03/2025

You, Me, Them, Everybody! No matter who we are or what we do to live, thrive, and survive, there are universal threads that connect us all.

In a world that often highlights our differences, it is easy to forget the common ground we all share, our emotions, our struggles, our need for connection and our desire to be understood.

Elwood Blues’ words in The Blues Brothers resonate deeply with me:

"Please remember, people, that no matter who you are and what you do to live, thrive, and survive, there are still some things that make us all the same. You, me, them, everybody, everybody!"

This is the foundation of my work, a different way of cutting through barriers, stigma and labels to find the emotional commonality that unites us all. We are more alike than we are different. When we can embrace that truth, we open the door to a more compassionate, connected and empowered world.

How do you see this playing out in your own life and work?
Where do you find that shared human experience?

24/03/2025

Writing about my reality in the third person feels strange but reassuring. Using AI to help me also feels strange, but reassuring.

The Moment Everything and Nothing Changed

Mark had always known he was different. He felt it in the way his thoughts raced ahead of conversations, in the way he saw patterns in chaos, in the way the world moved too fast and too slow at the same time. But it wasn’t until that moment, that single electrifying quiet moment, that everything and nothing changed.

It was supposed to be an ordinary day, just like all the others. Except, deep down, he had never really had an ordinary day in his life. From childhood, Mark had felt like he was playing a game where everyone else had the rulebook, and he was left to figure it out through sheer force of will. He had adapted, compensated, and camouflaged. He was the joker, the problem-solver, the one who could talk his way in and out of anything. Yet, underneath the mask of competence, there was a dissonance he couldn’t explain.

Then came the diagnosis.

Just a few words. Letters on a page. ADHD. Autism. Labels he had heard before but never applied to himself. And yet, as he read, he felt something he hadn’t before, a quiet, undeniable recognition. It was as if the world had shifted and remained perfectly still all at once.

It was his Hogwarts letter. The moment Hagrid burst through the door and told Harry Potter: You’re a wizard, Harry.

Because the truth was, Mark had been playing a different game all along. He had been a wizard in a world of Muggles, unknowingly wielding a magic that no one else could quite see. His hyper-focus, his ability to connect the dots in ways others couldn’t, his relentless pursuit of understanding—it had all been magic. But without knowing the source, without knowing how to channel it, that magic had often felt more like a curse.

Until now.

With a single piece of knowledge, his past rewrote itself in real time. The failures? Not failures, but mismatches. The exhaustion? The price of masking. The chaos? Simply the raw energy of a mind unfiltered. He wasn’t broken. He wasn’t wrong. He was different. And in that moment, the weight of a lifetime of misunderstanding lifted, even as the world outside remained unchanged.

And now, for the first time, Mark could step forward, not as someone trying to fit in, but as someone ready to stand out.

24/03/2025