Articles

Essays on identity, insight and embodiment, and why change doesn't always stick.

Why Deep Change Can Be So Physically Tiring chronic fatigue syndrome grief john el-mokadem nervous system neuroplasticity personal growth Aug 12, 2026

By John El-Mokadem

Why tiredness during periods of transformation may not always mean what we think it does

In my last Substack, I wrote about how surprised I was at how physical the experience of grief could be.

It wasn’t just the emotions that came with losing a loved one, but the sense that my...

When The Body Holds On embodiment grief identity john el-mokadem nervous system transformation Aug 04, 2026

By John El-Mokadem

What if the body doesn't just remember the past, but rehearses who we believe ourselves to be?

For regular readers of this Substack, you may have noticed that I’ve been quiet the last 8 weeks.

The reason for this is that it has seemed like life threw a proverbial grenade into o...