Author: Mara Ellison
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Why Losing a Mentor at Work Felt Personal
Some losses at work don’t feel like professional transitions — they feel like personal absence. I didn’t know I had one until they were gone When I first noticed the way they spoke to…
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Why I Hold My Breath Without Realizing It at Work
It started as a pause and became the default. The moment I realized I wasn’t breathing There wasn’t a single dramatic moment when I suddenly held my breath at work. No alarm. No shock.…
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How I Grieved a Workplace Culture That Disappeared
Workplace culture doesn’t always collapse with announcements. Sometimes it just sheds its warmth until you realize it’s gone. In the beginning, the culture was a quiet assurance When I first started here, there was…
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Why Anxiety at Work Shows Up Physically for Me
It never feels like just a nervous emotion—it feels like physical weather. How physical responses became the language of unease There isn’t a moment that marks when anxiety at work first showed up physically…
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What It Feels Like When a Team You Loved Falls Apart
Sometimes a team isn’t just collaborators — it becomes a quiet foundation you barely notice until it’s gone. The team was never perfect, but it felt steady I didn’t use the word “family” when…
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Why My Stomach Drops Every Time My Name Is Called at Work
My body reacts before my thoughts catch up. The sound of my name and an unexpected shift It happens even when the context is neutral. A notification pops up. A name in a message…
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Why Letting Go of a Project Felt Like Losing a Part of Myself
Closure isn’t always a moment someone else gives you. Sometimes it’s something you realize you never got. The project wasn’t just work — it was a version of me When the project first came…
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What It’s Like When Years of Work End Without Closure
Time doesn’t always bring closure. Sometimes it just leaves a bigger gap. Some endings aren’t announced — they just recede It took years for me to realize that the work I once believed defined…
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How I Mourned Work I Put Everything Into
Grief isn’t always loud. Sometimes it feels like the quiet of having nothing left to protect. There was always something about this work I can still feel it — the way I slid into…
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What It Feels Like Carrying Work Stress in Your Body All Day
It doesn’t feel like panic. It feels like weight I can’t set down. The day starts before my body agrees to it I can tell what kind of day it’s going to be by…