Many people with mental conditions in the world are not receiving the support that they need. There are also not enough resources like psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, etc to support them. I was wondering if anyone would be interested in starting a non-profit together on neuroscience for mental health, where we post and share resources that are backed by science on a website or application. This way, the resources are not just cliche reassurances, but actual science-based methods and cognitive behavioral activities that can help. Any other ideas are also welcome. Please let me know if you'd be interested in founding and leading it together! Update: If you are interested, please drop your email below or to my DMs for privacy as it is the form of communication that everyone can access! Update 2: I sent out an email for those of you who were interested. Please give me your email so that I can add you to the chain if you want to be a part of this. Thank you for your cooperation!

Ok, today was one of those days that I really don’t like to have, and I don’t even know why I have them. I was sad, but I can’t pinpoint a reason for being sad or mad. There might be a cause, but no clear reason for how I’m feeling right now. Like, idk. My day started as one of my best days—finally getting the thing I’d asked for months, even if it was at 4:40 AM. It was awesome! The morning went well, but then something happened (the cause), and from that point on, I lost my grip. I don’t know why I’m feeling sad or mad; there’s a cause but no reason for my reactions. But that overwhelmed me really badly—so much so that even multiple pieces of good news couldn’t lift my mood. From that early morning win to getting into something I wanted, nothing seemed to help. And now, even nine hours later, I still feel this way. I don’t like it, and I don’t know how to stop it because I can’t even identify what started it. Idk, does sadness really dominate happiness this much? "Remember when I used to joke about being a tiny kid? Now I feel smaller than ever, hiding in a luggage of my own thoughts."

I spent a lot of time reading books over the summer. Some of the books were good, and others were not. Some reappearing phrases were: "Schedule your time." "Focus on one thing at a time." "Have a growth mindset." "Remove distractions." "Work now so you can retire later." Yes, this advice is technically right. Yet, you could read a thousand "self-help" books and still learn no more than you did from your first one. Self-help books can be useful, but I will caution you not to read past two or three. The authors of self-help books dangle a prize in front of you and tell you there's only one way to get to it: through implementing their instructions. However, the truth is that none of these authors have figured out life, no matter how they present themselves. There is no universal truth to life: if anything, the only thing that's definite is that life is a paradox. And don't think that I have answers, either, just because I'm writing this. I'm only writing so that I can sort through my own thoughts. "Self-help" books are useful if you're just getting into philosophy, but don't let them stop you from moving on. Self-help books are the equivalent to picture books: you can't learn to read without them, but you also can't stay in the reading-level for years and years. You need to switch to chapter books, and then young adult, and then the classics, etc.

I don't have a book review for you guys, but I still felt like writing. I want to capture a feeling. The night is pitch-black: trees once visible in the day are now shrouded in darkness. You are alone on the street, save for the occasional passing headlights. Your lights illuminate a portion of the road ahead, and then it's darkness again. It is a strange feeling-- you feel the nostalgia of the past, and burden of the present, all at once. Once upon a time, you were the child gazing out of the window, looking at the trees and long grass whisk by. Now you are at the wheel, yet it feels as if nothing has changed. Memories fade; everything fades. The universe will continue increasing in entropy, until eventually all stars, life, energy smoothes out into the continuous blanket of space. At the end of time, there will be no signs that life, stars, and galaxies even existed. Here, nothing will happen, and it will keep not happening, forever. Why do I bring this up? Do I want to give you an existential crisis? Yes. Yes, because questioning your existence proves that you are alive: that you still care about the world. The greatest enemy of our generation is not social media, AI, war, or poverty: it is apathy. The moment we stop caring about things-- even the little, pointless things-- is the moment we give up our humanity. Brain cells degenerate: neurological pathways become abandoned. Time forces us to forget. One day, you will forget your childhood entirely. Forgetting is sad, but it is the price we pay for living. Because being able to live is greater than having to forget. Living fully-- being able to experience life in its entirety-- that is a gift. Living fully means to accept it all. Not just the happy moments, but also the sad moments, and the moments where you feel existential anxiety. These little moments are more powerful than a thousand memories, because memories fade, but existence does not. To be alive is to be able to feel: to experience. Life is suffering, but it is also happiness. Life is painful, but also rewarding. Life is great.

My schedule has somewhat quieted down, and I feel that there is enough time in my routine to read a book every ~two weeks. Should I start writing/recording book talks again? If there's as much as one person who would benefit from this, I'll continue.