Work is not separate from life. For most people, working is how we survive, and the world is structured around spending a significant part of our lives at work. We may spend more waking hours with coworkers than with the people we love, yet many workplaces still expect us to leave our full humanity at the door.

We are encouraged to talk about mental health, set boundaries, take care of ourselves, and ask for support. But showing up honestly can feel risky when reliability, commitment, and productivity are constantly being measured. A sick day may require an explanation. A request for flexibility may be interpreted as a lack of dedication. A disclosure that is meant to create understanding may quietly change how someone is perceived.

Even the everyday question “How are you?” can come with an unspoken expectation: “I’m good. I’m fine. I’m doing great.”

This Space explores the gap between workplaces that say mental health matters and workplaces that make it possible to be a whole person. It is about the tension between needing to work to live and needing work to make room for living: how we mask, perform wellness, and manage other people’s perceptions, and what it might mean to arrive at work without having to hide the parts of ourselves that need care.

Transition moment: being an employee >> being a human at work

Vibe: Raw, a little chaotic, validating, messy, and unfiltered.

All of it welcomed — panic, pause, pivots, and the small victories in between. Show up as you are here. No questions, no advice, no judgement.

A Space for exploring the chaotic, exhausting, nonlinear experience of change, survival, and becoming. We hold space for the aftermath of trauma — and just, the ick of life — for uncertain identities, invisible burdens, and the weight of the “in-between.” Here, we honor the messy moments, the stumbles, the hard pivots, and the small victories that don’t follow a script.

🪐 This Space is for you if:

• 🌀 You’re in the messy middle of something and don’t have the words yet
• 🌱 You’re figuring out who you are after survival, loss, burnout, or life upheaval
• 🛤️ You’re tired of advice and coping tips and need space to move through life in your own way, even if it looks different from others
• 🤍 Something inside you is saying it’s OK to be here, even if you’re unsure why

In this Space, we’re not here to fix each other. We’re here to witness, validate, and walk alongside one another in the in-between — honoring panic, pause, pivots, and repeats alike.

💬 Themes we may explore:

• Justice, societal pressures, diversity, equity, inclusion, access and representation
• Embracing and sitting with emotions
• Transitions in family, relationships, identity, careers, hobbies, and values
• Finding your voice, worth, and agency — living for yourself, not comparison
• Navigating spaces that don't see or believe you

☁️ Why this Space matters:

Transitions aren’t tidy. Growth doesn’t follow a straight line. Healing doesn’t happen on schedule. And not everyone gets a clear “before and after.” This Space centers the human experience — raw, real, and unfiltered. Your truth matters. It’s for people who’ve lived through something, are still living through it, or aren’t sure what comes next. Together, we practice naming the hard stuff, honoring rest, leaning into the panic and the pause, and embracing the pivots that keep us moving forward — however slowly.

And here you are, living despite it all.

— Rupi Kaur

• Click here to learn more about what to expect during a Space Session.

• Check out my other Space, Still Sick, Still Here. A Space for folx navigating chronic health, illness, pain, mental health and disabilities.

Questions? claire@totem.org