Attachment Issues Daniel Dashnaw Attachment Issues Daniel Dashnaw

Are We Living in a Bullshit Emergency?

The Bullshit is Rising—and We Can All Feel It

Let’s not mince words: yes, we’re living in a bullshit emergency.
And we know it.

Not just because politicians dodge questions with Olympic-level agility.


Not just because your favorite influencer just pivoted from gut health to AI prophecy.


But because the truth itself feels like it’s gone into hiding.

In a world choked with soundbites, performative outrage, and algorithm-friendly nonsense, Harry Frankfurt’s 2005 philosophical essay On Bullshit has returned from the academic grave like a prophet in Birkenstocks.

And suddenly, it's the most relevant text on your bookshelf.

What Is Bullshit, Really?

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Social Media and Relationships Daniel Dashnaw Social Media and Relationships Daniel Dashnaw

The Backlash Against the “Princess Treatment” Trend

If you've scrolled TikTok in the past year, you’ve probably seen it: clips tagged with #PrincessTreatment—soft-lit videos of women being pampered with gifts, doors held open, and lavish surprises.

In theory, it’s a celebration of “being adored.” In practice? It’s a viral meme built on an old relational script in glittery new packaging.

Now, the trend is facing a backlash—not just from skeptical therapists and feminists, but from Gen Z itself, who are beginning to question the power dynamics hiding behind the pink bows.

So, what exactly is “Princess Treatment”?

Why did it go viral? And what does its backlash tell us about modern feedback, gender, and relational equity?

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Neurodiverse Couples Daniel Dashnaw Neurodiverse Couples Daniel Dashnaw

ADHD Behind the Curtain: Rethinking “Autistic Creativity” in the Neurodivergent Spotlight

We’ve all heard the story by now:
Autism equals creativity.


Autistic people are the misunderstood artists, the eccentric coders, the savant musicians who just need the right workplace lighting to flourish.

It’s a narrative that’s become so popular in neurodiversity circles, educational reform, and diversity hiring campaigns that questioning it almost feels rude.

But a new study published in the Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science just handed that myth a glass of lukewarm water and asked it to sit down.

After controlling for IQ and co-occurring ADHD, researchers found that autistic adults didn’t outperform neurotypical adults on a widely used measure of creativity.

What did they find?

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Neurodiverse Couples Daniel Dashnaw Neurodiverse Couples Daniel Dashnaw

Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria: The ADHD Symptom Hiding in Plain Sight

Imagine this: You text a friend. No reply for hours. Most people shrug it off—“They’re probably busy.” But if you’re living with ADHD, your brain might take a detour into catastrophic territory: “Did I say something wrong? Are they mad? Did I just blow up the whole friendship?”

Welcome to Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD)—a storm of shame, panic, and self-blame that can hijack your nervous system in the time it takes to get ghosted for an afternoon.

It’s hasn’t broken through into popular culture just yet…

But RSD is finally getting the spotlight in ADHD research, therapy rooms, and Reddit confessionals. And for many adults—especially those late-diagnosed—it feels like naming the emotional bruise they’ve been carrying for decades.

So let’s talk about it. What is Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria? Why does it hit ADHDers so hard? And how can we work with it instead of being wrecked by it?

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Social Media and Relationships Daniel Dashnaw Social Media and Relationships Daniel Dashnaw

Soft Divorce and the Sexual Ice Age: When Marriage Becomes a Peace Treaty of Avoidance

The Silent Fade of Intimacy

Forget screaming matches and drawn-out court battles.

The fastest-growing form of marital collapse isn’t loud or litigious—it’s quiet, subtle, and Instagram-friendly.

No paperwork. No betrayal. Just two adults living in a beautiful home with a shared calendar and nothing left to say to each other.

Welcome to the soft divorce, the emotional drift that turns marriage into roommate cohabitation.

And with it comes something colder still:

The Sexual Ice Age—when eroticism freezes, touch disappears, and both partners begin living like monastics with shared dental plans.

These aren’t failed marriages. They’re marriages on autopilot—efficient, empty, and inoffensive. And it’s more common than we want to admit.

What Is a Soft Divorce?

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Social Media and Relationships Daniel Dashnaw Social Media and Relationships Daniel Dashnaw

Hot Girl Walks, Cold Marriages: The New Solitudes of Modern Motherhood

In early 2021, a 22-year-old TikToker named Mia Lind posted a video that would launch a global wellness phenomenon. Dressed in workout gear, AirPods in, she explained the rules of what she called the Hot Girl Walk:

“You walk four miles a day. While you walk, you only think about three things:

What you’re grateful for

Your goals

How hot you are”

It was catchy. It was low-barrier. And it exploded.

Millions of women adopted the practice—documenting their routes, playlists, and affirmations.

At first glance, it was just another self-care trend. But something more interesting happened: Hot Girl Walk evolved from a meme into a kind of private ritual.

And for a certain demographic—married mothers quietly withering inside their marriages—it became something else entirely:

A coping mechanism for emotional overwhelm?

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Family Life and Parenting Daniel Dashnaw Family Life and Parenting Daniel Dashnaw

Mommy Wine Culture Is Out. What’s Replacing It?

Remember when a pastel T-shirt that said “I wine because my kids whine” was considered relatable humor and not a quiet cry for help?

That was Mommy Wine Culture. And after a decade of memes, Etsy mugs, and pink cans of rosé with ironic fonts, it’s losing its buzz—both literally and culturally.

But don’t celebrate just yet. Because the social forces that created it—burnout, gender inequity, mental load, and capitalist loneliness—aren’t gone. They’ve just shapeshifted.

So what’s replacing it?

Let’s uncork that.

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Attachment Issues Daniel Dashnaw Attachment Issues Daniel Dashnaw

Pronoia: The Exhilarating Belief That the Universe Is On Your Side

What Is Pronoia?

If paranoia is the idea that the world is plotting against you, pronoia is the deeply suspicious feeling that the universe might actually be trying to help you.

That strangers are rooting for your happiness.

That fate has a soft spot for you.

It’s the belief that coincidences might be clues, that setbacks might be setups, and that your life might—just might—be unfolding toward something generous.

Sociologist Fred H. Goldner coined the term pronoia in a 1982 journal article as “the delusion that others are conspiring to assist one.”

He meant it skeptically—almost as a warning about overconfidence.

But the idea got its psychedelic wings thanks to Rob Brezsny’s cult-classic Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia, which argued that this supposedly irrational belief might actually be one of the sanest, most emotionally resilient ways to move through the world.

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The Emotional Labor Mapping Tool for Gay Couples: Who Notices What?

In many gay relationships, one partner may slowly becomes the emotional custodian—keeping track of who’s hurting in the friend group, when your mom called last, how many days it’s been since the last real check-in, and whether you’re overdue for a fight neither of you wants to start.

The other partner, meanwhile, thinks things are great. They help. They show up. They make a killer Spotify playlist for your anniversary dinner.

But they don’t notice the weight you’re carrying—because you’ve been trained to carry it so silently, even you forgot it was heavy.

Welcome to emotional labor.

It’s invisible. It’s cumulative. And in gay couples—where there’s no gendered blueprint for who “should” do what—it’s dangerously easy to ignore until one of you checks out, or burns out, or blurts out, “I feel like your unpaid emotional concierge.”

That’s where the Emotional Labor Mapping Tool comes in.

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Same Love, Same Load: Emotional Labor in Gay Relationships and the Myth of Perfect Equality

“I Didn’t Marry a Bad Person. I Married Someone Who Doesn’t Notice.”

That line came from a gay client of mine last winter, uttered while wiping his glasses with the bottom hem of his hoodie and trying not to cry.

What he meant was this: his partner isn’t cruel, isn’t abusive, and isn’t absent.

But the man he lives with—who splits the rent, the groceries, and the dog walks—doesn’t notice when he’s overextended, emotionally drained, or quietly spiraling while trying to remember everyone’s birthdays.

What he’s describing is emotional labor: the anticipatory, invisible, unpaid management of feelings, social nuance, and care. And yes, it exists—vividly and uncomfortably—in many gay relationships.

And no, it isn’t discussed nearly enough.

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Social Media and Relationships Daniel Dashnaw Social Media and Relationships Daniel Dashnaw

Flocking: When Gen Z Leaves the Apps, Boards a Plane, and Dates Like It’s 1963

There’s a quiet rebellion underway. No marches. No slogans.

Just Gen Z, boarding planes with carry-ons and a look that says, “I’m not looking for love, but if it happens in Barcelona, I won’t stop it.”

They’re calling it flocking—a dating trend where young adults travel not just to see the world, but to dodge the soulless meat-grinder of dating apps and maybe, accidentally, fall in love somewhere with decent espresso.

Flocking is the anti-algorithm. It’s Tinder, if Tinder wore hiking boots and made eye contact.

It’s the idea that maybe, just maybe, romance has better odds at a rooftop bar in Portugal than it does inside an app designed by tech bros who think human intimacy should be “scalable.”

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Intercultural Relationships Daniel Dashnaw Intercultural Relationships Daniel Dashnaw

Love in the Time of Translation: How Language Barriers Reveal—and Heal—Relationship Wounds

You’re in a multicultural relationship. Your partner says “sorry,” but the tone is flat.

You feel unseen. They feel confused. You both walk away feeling rejected.

Now add that you each grew up in different countries, speak different first languages, and were raised in different emotional climates.

One of you believes apology is an act of restoration. The other believes it’s an admission of weakness.

Suddenly, your fight about tone becomes a proxy war between attachment styles, family systems, and cultural scripts.

This is what happens when love crosses language lines.
And it’s far more common—and repairable—than most couples realize.

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