May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Let’s talk about the courage behind the curtain

Created in Midjourney

Every May, we put a spotlight on mental health.

But if I’m being honest, for many of us, this isn’t a once-a-year conversation.

It’s a daily negotiation between showing up for others and remembering to show up for ourselves.

I didn’t used to talk about my mental health. Not in boardrooms. Not in strategy sessions. And certainly not in leadership roles where being “vulnerable” often read as being “unfit.”

In reality: the mind is the operating system of our leadership. And when we don’t maintain it, no amount of productivity hacks or morning routines can compensate for what’s left unspoken.

I work with leaders, writers, and visionaries who look like they have it all together—but quietly carry the weight of anxiety, burnout, imposter syndrome, and the fear of being found out. Not because they’re weak. But because they’re human.

Mental Health Awareness Month isn’t about awareness for the sake of checking a box.

It’s about rewriting the narrative: that your mental health isn’t a liability—it’s your inner foundation.

Your well-being isn’t a footnote—it’s the foundation.

When I left everything I knew in Poland at 21, with two suitcases and fifty bucks in my pocket, I didn’t realize that I wasn’t just crossing an ocean. I was crossing into a lifelong relationship with fear, uncertainty, and resilience.

That journey became my invitation to examine what courage really means. Not the loud kind. The quiet kind. The kind that shows up every morning, puts pen to paper, and says “this matters.”

If you’ve been hiding your pain behind productivity… If you’ve been afraid to say “I need help” because you’re the one everyone else leans on… If your creativity has gone silent because your nervous system is stuck in survival mode…

Your well-being is not a side project. And courage isn’t about pushing through—it’s about pausing long enough to ask what you truly need.

This month, I invite you to take a breath.

Not the shallow kind—the kind that reaches your gut.

Write something raw.

Speak to someone safe.

Take a walk with your fear—and listen instead of trying to fix it.

Because healing isn’t always loud.

But it is leadership.

And if you’re ready to explore how writing can become your ritual of healing and self-trust, I’m right here beside you.

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📝 Journaling Prompt:

What part of your story have you been afraid to write down—because it still feels too raw, too unfinished, or too messy?

Write about it as if no one is watching. Let the words come out imperfect. Let the truth spill. Don’t edit. Don’t polish. Just tell the story your body has been holding onto.

Bonus: End with this sentence—“And even in this, I am still becoming.”

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✨ Call to Action:

This May, give yourself the gift of unfiltered truth. Start a daily writing ritual—not to be productive, but to be present. Not to publish, but to process.

If you're ready to use writing as a path to healing, clarity, and self-trust, I invite you to join me at Courage to Create. This isn’t about perfect words. It’s about honest ones.

Because the act of writing is the act of returning to yourself.

Ready to begin?

Grab a notebook.

Take a breath.

And let’s write.

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