Fifteen years of sitting with people in the worst weeks of their lives. Not one of them manifested it. On what happens to someone who has been told otherwise.

Alt text: Woman in a mustard sweater with her eyes closed and her arms wrapped around herself, lit from the side in a dark room

You filtered your needs. You softened your words. You stayed polite to keep the peace — and over time, it wore you down. This piece explores what happens when self-containment becomes a habit, and how the smallest acts of expression can feel like risk.