Proving You’re Struggling: When Asking for Help Becomes Another Battle

February 10, 2026.Reading time 7 minutes.

There’s something deeply wrong with a system where people have to prove their pain before they’re allowed support. Not explain it.Not share it.Prove it. With paperwork.With evidence.With repeated retelling of the worst moments of their lives. For many people, asking for help doesn’t bring relief.It brings another exhausting fight. The Paperwork of Survival If you’ve […]

Day 2: Mental Health as a Hidden Disability

September 2, 2025.Reading time 2 minutes.

Mental illness doesn’t always look how people expect. It doesn’t always come with tears, breakdowns, or visible crises. Sometimes it’s a quiet struggle — getting out of bed, masking anxiety, zoning out in conversations, or feeling like you’re carrying the weight of the world and no one notices. That’s the reality for many people living […]

When Everything Feels Too Much: The Weight of Stress

August 17, 2025.Reading time 5 minutes.

Stress doesn’t always look like panic. Sometimes it’s quiet. Sometimes it’s exhaustion. Sometimes it’s staring at a pile of washing and feeling like you might cry. We talk a lot about trauma, grief, and hardship here at the Mark Hewitson Foundation — but underlying all of it, more often than not, is stress. Big, heavy, […]