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14 Critical Mental Health Lessons I Learned in 2025



14 Critical Mental Health Lessons I Learned in 2025

If my videos have helped, my new book, The Light Between the Leaves, goes even deeper
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2025 was one of the hardest years of my life—but it taught me lessons I wouldn’t have learned any other way. In this video, I break down the 14 most important insights that came from pain, mistakes, and hard-earned clarity—and how I’m applying them in 2026.

This isn’t motivational fluff or “new year, new you” advice. It’s an honest reflection on emotional health, discipline, relationships, identity, and what actually leads to a life that feels sustainable.

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About me:
I know what it is to feel hopelessly stuck and worthless to the world in general. I also know what it is to live without those feelings. I’m both a Clinical Psychology specializing in treatment-resistant depression and anxiety, and a human who has spent more than a decade managing sever depression and anxiety.

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Disclaimer: This content is not intended to be a replacement for receiving treatment. It is purely educational in nature. My relationship with you is that of presenter and audience, not therapist and client.

But I do care.

View 36 Comments

36 Comments

  3. @KaliMoonTheSorceress on

    Early ❤❤❤😊 I look forward to your videos they are helping me get out of survival mode so I can go on and be the creator I am called to be…I have so many plans and this year will be my year , I'll be back to this comment this time next year to see how far I've come y'all wish me luck 🤞🏾 we got this

  9. @DanielBjorndahl on

    I had to stop watching after the point about escapism…that's the only thing I look forward to or enjoy in my life right now. Maybe it's the anhedonia talking, but I just want refuge from always feeling bad. I quit alcohol and all other substances so now I escape with videogames.

  23. @1thomson on

    Scott, when you were talking about escaping reality, I thought, "Wait a minute! Literature, theater, film, and TV aren't, by their nature, escapism." Here's how I see them: since time immemorial, people have told stories in an attempt to explain the world and each other to themselves. Storytelling is our first and still principal way of understanding the world and how it works. Well, that is, if it's good storytelling. Of course, there's lots of garbage, too. But, please, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater! Just think of the stories, the books, the poems, the plays, the movies that you've seen that opened your heart and your eyes to a truth you might not have been willing or able to face otherwise. Stories are a way to seduce ourselves into hearing what we don't or won't hear in any other way. See?

  24. @stevenkovler5133 on

    I was never anxious etc., but back in late 2021 I had a panic attack at work. Ever since then I have had debilitating anxiety. It is so bad that I don’t want to do anything!! It has cost me two good jobs which stinks because I know 90% of my current issue is caused by financial issues! I wish I could get out of this hole. I need a gofund me 😮

  29. @KiraRagged on

    "Life is pain Highness. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something." It seems like a silly quote, but i think it speaks to your point about things will never be perfect and you have to accept that.

  31. @joanfolds476 on

    I have a variable emotional operating system. Many HSPs have this experience. The joys are high. But the experiences that cause despair take us down many times. I am also a rigid perfectionist. However, you have to let some fires burn. This is an excellent video for those who can really relate to what Dr. Scott is saying.

  32. @MikeKrahel on

    Scott, you wear your mask(s) very well. Upon observation I would never have guessed that you struggle with any of the things that were mentioned. You appear very "put together" in the way you articulate thoughts and ideas, your overall demeanor, not to mention your academic and professional achievements. I would venture to guess that most of your subscribers/viewers have a fraction of the accolades that you possess. You inspire and encourage so many of us. I am happy for you that it gives you meaning and fulfilment nonselfishly , to a degree. We appreciate what you do. I can relate well to what you are conveying. Sorry for the waffling, but I have very few people in my to were I can express my most inward thoughts. All this to say, despite my struggles and pain, I am grateful for this platform and the ability for everyone to share their experiences with mental health difficulties amongst each other.

  34. @lynnschaeferle-zh4go on

    You had me until you talked about divulging secrets. No therapist I’ve been to would have advised me to share my secrets; it would benefit no one. However, one came out anyway and it eliminated any hope I had for the situation.
    The other secrets (small, benign) were just tools to be used against me. You have to have an awful lot of trust to not think later you will not be betrayed, or the information used against you.

  36. @colin6673 on

    My biggest lesson throughout being anhedonic for years and years is that your health is the most important thing that you have. More important than money and relationships