The Field Guide for Radical Living: A Six-Week Series Part 3

The Field Guide for Radical Living: A Six-Week Series 

There is an art to living well, and even more so when living with depression, PTSD, or any other mental health condition. 

This field guide is a six-week blog series for those who want to master that art. 

Each “radical” is a practice. Together, they form a way of living. 

This guide is designed to help out during the toughest times. Chances are, if things feel like they are falling apart, if it feels like life isn't going how we would like it too, one of the “radicals” in this series is going to speak to you and be a call to action. 

Each “radical” is a little complex, a little nuanced. Some take a while to wrap your head around. Most of them contain within them a dialectic, or a need to hold two things true at once. 

Week three: Relating with Courage

How we show up in relationships, with honesty, vulnerability, and care.

Once someone has internal grounding and agency, they’re ready to practice relational courage without people-pleasing or emotional collapse.

Radical Candor

Say it like you mean it but say it with love. 

Radical candor is the beautiful union of honesty and care. Maybe there is a part of you that just wants everyone to be happy. It wants that so bad, sometimes it's willing to remain silent even when something has to be said. As we grow in therapy, we become more able to check these parts of ourselves and resist the urge to please people. If we are not careful though, sometimes we can completely forget that there is another person on the other side of this. A person who deserves respect, care, and love just like we do. When we need the courage to have hard conversations, to say things that simply need to be said, we also need to be careful with our tongue. We can say what needs to be said and be caring at the same time. If the goal is to resolve something, your communication should be aimed at resolving it. 

Try this: Practice having hard conversations with people who you feel safe with, but only after you have fully considered how it will be received. 

Radical Vulnerability

You are human! Quirky and imperfect, yet still sooo amazing, let yourself be seen exactly as you are. 

Share your work before you're "ready." Don’t be so polished. Let your unedited self be seen.

Try this: Just hit send, don't edit it one more time, just hit send. 

Radical Generosity

Give to others what you would hope to receive, not for recognition or reward, but simply because it’s the right thing to do. True abundance begins when you give freely, expecting nothing in return.

Radical generosity isn’t about grand gestures; it’s found in the small, meaningful acts that make a difference - listening to someone who needs to be heard, offering a kind word, or extending patience and understanding when it’s hardest.

Try this: Reflect on what you would love to receive today, whether it’s kindness, support, or understanding, and offer that to someone else.

Healing does not happen in isolation. It happens when you let yourself be seen, heard, and felt, imperfectly, bravely, and honestly. These practices teach us that we don’t have to choose between truth and love. We can speak clearly and still be kind. We can open without oversharing. We can give without losing ourselves. Connection, when rooted in courage, becomes medicine.

Stay tuned for next week’s blog.