Happiness On Demand Hello Reader, Summer has finally arrived here in Finland, and I'm taking some time to slow down and enjoy the long, bright days (it’s been raining for two days straight as I’m writing this 😂). That also means the blog and newsletter will be a little quieter for the next two or three weeks. But I didn't want to disappear to a summer hideout without leaving you with something meaningful. Now that I’ve had time to slow down and actually enjoy the summer, I've found myself...
about 1 month ago • 7 min read
Happiness On Demand Hello Reader, I have always been emotionally avoidant. Avoiding meaningful connections. Avoiding relationships. I've always run away when things got even mildly "real". Lately, though, I’ve been feeling different. I would even go so far as to say that I’ve finally solved my issues around relationships (fingers crossed). Fortunately, I didn't need years of therapy to heal. I only needed 20 years of self-help. (It's a joke, because why would anyone choose the longer path......
about 2 months ago • 9 min read
Happiness On Demand Hello Reader, After I recovered from depression, I wanted to understand the causes. This was the second time that I had a run-in with depression, but the reasons behind this episode were very different from the first. So I wanted to figure it out. What is the true cause of depression? Is there even one? And I’ve written about this many times before, but it’s worth saying again: There isn’t one universal cause for depression. There can be many causes (and there often are...
2 months ago • 5 min read
Happiness On Demand Hello Reader, On sunday I announced that I'm finally publishing my mental health journal on Substack. Since day one, I've known that the journal entries that helped me heal from depression weren't meant just for me (I actually announce it to myself in the first entry). At least for me, my journal is an integral part of my mission: Helping people overcome anxiety and depression. It has been, and still is, the mission I’m working on, and I’m sure it’s the path I am meant to...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Happiness On Demand Hello Reader, It’s been one of those weeks where I’ve had to ditch everything I’m doing and just be still, relax and collect my thoughts. What the “gurus” and experts out there don’t usually tell you is that everyone has setbacks. Even the ones who’ve seemingly “made it” go through tough times mentally, physically, emotionally, or spiritually. I don’t want to be one of those guys who always presents a polished facade. I value honesty, and this is my honest opinion....
3 months ago • 3 min read
Happiness On Demand Hello Reader, Whether I’m writing for my website or talking with people, the same question keeps popping up over and over again: "Is there a practical 'how-to' guide for making our way out of depression?" My answer is, that if there were a simple, universal guide to healing depression, I would give it to you in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way. Our minds and histories are entirely unique, meaning your path to recovery will be uniquely yours. Now, that...
4 months ago • 7 min read
Happiness On Demand Read the article on the blog Hello Reader, I recently came across an interesting study about major life changes following psychedelic use*. Basically, It looked at individuals who use psychedelics naturalistically, and found that 83% of the participants had experienced at least on major life change. But what's interesting about the study isn't really the effects of psychedelics (though they remain a fascinating subject for ongoing psychological research) or the results per...
4 months ago • 5 min read
Happiness On Demand Hello Reader, I recently posted this idea on Facebook, and I've wanted to explain it in detail ever since. (It's only fitting that I just struggled with a viral infection.) The way our society works is much like a virus. It hijacks our minds and wants to use us for its own purposes. Our body/mind/spirit system then fights back against this "virus" by giving us a "fever" of anxiety and depression. Anxiety and depression are not the real enemies (even though they are...
5 months ago • 7 min read
Happiness On Demand Hello Reader, Please excuse my absence. I was away on a short vacation, and shortly after returning, I came down with a particularly nasty flu. So nasty that it knocked me out for nearly a week. Haven’t had anything like that in years. But I’m almost back to normal now and slowly getting back into writing. And as often happens in my case, a bit of distance has helped me see the experience and the lessons that came with it more clearly. I know life isn’t really about...
5 months ago • 6 min read