Thomas, thank you so much for writing this. For someone who grew up intensely private, I find myself sharing more openly and publicly about my mental health struggles than ever before, to the extent I started questioning my reasons for doing so. Was it attention-seeking? A cry for help? None of those reasons sounded right. Your article provided some much needed clarity. You coined it perfectly — therapeutic writing. What you expose loses its power. It’s the suppression and masking that wreaks havoc on our self-esteem and prevents us from true healing and moving forward. Just as you stated, writing and sharing about our fears and struggles is a way to lessen their importance — not by minimizing them but by removing the added guilt, shame and embarrassment we experience when we expend so much energy trying to hide them. When we’re able to clear our heads, we have more mental space and emotional capacity to cope and work through our problems. I can’t thank you enough for reminding me why I’m doing what I’m doing.