Updated 12 March 2024. Originally published 23 November 2017.

I’ve been writing content for mental health companies for ten years now. It’s the dream job I never knew I wanted. In fact, if you had asked teenage Josh what he wanted to do for a living, writing wouldn’t factor into his answer.

So how did it come about that I spend all day writing mental health and wellness articles? My own mental health journey is at the heart of it all.

By doing this deep dive into a subject that is so personal yet so common, I hope to offer insight into how I view the mental health industry, the direction in which I believe it’s going, and what I aspire to contribute.

Let’s start by discussing the mission of The Empathy Hub before we deconstruct what got me there.

The Empathy Hub: What is Our Mission?

An Authentic Mission vs. Blowing Smoke

Just about every company talks about their ‘mission’. Much of the time, it’s a disingenuous attempt to sound human and we all see through it. For the best mental health and wellness companies, however, this cannot be the case.

Look, no one is naive enough to think that money is not a primary purpose of every for-profit business. It’s the reason we don’t go the non-profit route and there’s nothing wrong with it. It keeps the market competitive and ensures we’re able to do the best work we can.

Why Mental Health Companies Differ

But in the mental health industry, companies that only focus on money often end up doing more harm than good.

This is incredibly important for all mental health content writers to keep in mind. If we choose clients based only on easy cash, we can end up spreading misinformation that can be harmful or even fatal.

That’s why being clear about the mission of The Empathy Hub is so important to me.

From the beginning, we’ve aspired to craft content strategies for mental health companies founded by people with integrity. Companies that are not just changing lives for the better with their products and services, but are also clear about their passion to do so.

These are companies that will go the extra mile to ensure they’re always contributing to the world. They’re the businesses we want to help grow.

Mental Health Awareness

Furthermore, a guiding principle of The Empathy Hub’s content creation is to ensure each and every article offers real value to its readers, spreading awareness of mental health issues and their treatment, and giving hope to those who have begun to fear that they’ll never get better.

With this in mind, let me tell you my story.

My Struggles With Anxiety

Have you ever felt like everyone else knows something you don’t? As if you missed a class early in your school career where the teacher explained exactly how to go about living life?

That’s how I felt throughout my childhood. I didn’t know how to act socially, I had little confidence in myself, and I couldn’t seem to get even the simplest things done.

I believed that I had to hide what I perceived as my deficiencies in order to be accepted by the world.

Mental Health and ADHD

Only many years later did I discover that this perception was rooted in a couple of things, one of which was undiagnosed ADHD.

Turns out that things were indeed more difficult for me. It took a lot of energy just to focus during a conversation or following instructions without making mistakes. No wonder I felt different.

Mental Health in the Closet

But on the other hand, I was different, as I spent my youth in the closet. I use the word queer rather than gay, because I see it as expressing that my difference is in more than who I’m attracted to.

Rather, it’s in my creativity, my originality, my desire to share my eccentricities with the world. It’s in the way I love playing soccer… and having my nails painted. It’s in the way I love the Foo Fighters… and Beyoncé.

It’s in all the seeming contradictions I love about myself now that I’m out of the closet.

Teen Anxiety

Unfortunately, it took a while to get there. During those long years, the belief that I needed to hide my differences as well as my struggles led to a lot of anxiety, both in social situations and in school.

Being called upon in class was a nightmare, as I’d feel my face heat up and sweat pour down my body and know that I could do nothing to stop it.

At home, I’d make simple mistakes in assignments I should have crushed and would often forget to do my homework. Situations that caused me anxiety not just about the consequences at school… but also about how on earth I would manage later in life.

There’s no need for me to go into all the details. Suffice it to say that life could be hell and I thought that was how it would always be. That is, until I started therapy in my early twenties.

My Therapy Journey

Therapy: Expectation vs. Reality

I had few expectations when starting therapy. If anything, I thought it would be little more than sharing my feelings with a kind person willing to listen. But therapy blew me away, giving me something I hadn’t dared to hope for.

It was like attending the class I seemed to have missed, where everyone else had learnt how to be.

I have never worked so hard at anything as I did in those first few months to challenge my thoughts while doing things I had considered impossible for ‘someone like me’.

It took courage I hadn’t known I possessed, which Trevor helped unearth while making it clear it had always been there.

Coming Out of the Closet

It took a couple of years before I shared my queer identity in therapy. Coming out liberated me in a way I hadn’t anticipated. I could finally be myself without the fear of being ‘found out’.

A huge weight had come off my shoulders and I was ready to embrace life.

I mentioned earlier that I would never have said I wanted to write for a living. This had nothing to do with a lack of desire. It had simply never occurred to me that it might be a realistic option.

Now, with a positive image of myself, I believed I could do anything.

Enter Psychiatry

Psychiatry’s Place in Mental Health Treatment

But therapy alone couldn’t alleviate all the anxiety. Nor could it prevent the spells of depression that sometimes seemed to come out of nowhere.

When this was finally crystal clear to me, I got a referral to a psychiatrist who diagnosed me with major depressive disorder, in addition to general and social anxiety. She prescribed medication.

As with therapy, I did not expect much. As with therapy, it revolutionised my life.

It was a while before I received an ADHD diagnosis, as it is often missed in adults. When it came, the shift in perspective hit me like a pile of bricks. I couldn’t believe I’d never seen it before as it helped me make so much sense of my life.

For so long I had believed myself to be lazy and lacking willpower, despite spending so much time trying. I just hadn’t known that basic living was not this hard for most people.

By this point, I’d already had some incredible successes, but there was a barrier preventing me from doing all I knew I was capable of. The right ADHD medication broke down that huge barrier, finally making it possible to match my ambition.

Sharing the Wealth

Education in Psychology

Throughout this period, I had been studying psychology, and then creative writing, in university. The happiness that mental health treatment had brought me demanded to be shared.

I had no intention of hoarding what I’d learnt through personal experience, especially since I had the education to match.

In all the years I’d spent researching the field, I had recognised what everyone in the industry knows. Mental health is still misunderstood by far too many people.

Millions of people still view mental illness as a weakness, leading so many to avoid getting help.

Even more people assume that mental health treatment is the same in today’s world as it was decades ago. They’re not motivated to see a professional because they believe that solutions are few and far between and only work some of the time.

The Boundless Potential in Mental Health Treatment

No one in the industry sees psychiatry as a perfect science – medications don’t work for everyone and trial and error is often necessary. But we know that modern medication is far more effective today than its predecessors.

We also know that innovative mental health experts have made use of technology and scientific advances to bring treatments to the table that did not seem possible not that long ago.

This is true of psychology as well. Therapy is about more than sharing and analysis today. There are many different techniques that have been scientifically studied, including cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), VR exposure therapy, and so much more.

I wanted to help others experience what I had – the relief of learning that there are treatment options available. To do so, I decided to start working with the companies bringing mental health treatment to as many people as possible.

By writing content for mental health businesses, I could dispel misinformation and share positive solutions.

The Birth of The Empathy Hub

I spent a few years freelancing before launching The Empathy Hub. In that time, I wrote on a wide range of topics, including insurance, finance, male sexuality, pets, coffee, CBD, among others.

I even spent a good chunk of time self-publishing erotic short stories!

But the content I most enjoyed writing – and at which I truly excelled – was in the realm of mental health.

The Empathy Hub provided a way to consolidate my experience in both content writing and psychology. It gave me the chance to work with businesses on a longer-term basis. Businesses that had more clarity on where they stood and where they were going.

Getting off the ground was intimidating, but I have never looked back.

I give my all to the work I do with The Empathy Hub and commit to advancing the cause of every company I work with. I’m always looking to partner with businesses on the cutting edge of mental health treatment. I love to hear from people with as much excitement about their innovative products and services.

Get in touch if that sounds like you!