Hi! My name’s Iain Douglas Stewart, and this website is the bit of internet that I consider my home base.
A little bit of info about me? Ok.
I’m in my early forties, and have a lovely wife and an amazing seven year old boy. I’ve struggled with my mental health all of my life, found it really hard to beat procrastination and achieve things, and as such have worked in entry level jobs for all my life up until recently. Anxiety, depression and crippling indecision stalled my life for so long, and it’s only since we’ve had our son that I’ve realised that he deserves more from his father, I deserve more, and that I can be more. So I’m now trying to be the best version of myself, and I feel that my purpose in life is to catalyse others into being the best version of themselves as well.
I’m currently training to be a coach and a counsellor so that I can be a guiding light for people going through their dark times. I completed CPCAB Level 2 Introduction to Counselling Skills in 2017/18, and I completed CPCAB Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Skills in 2019/20. In an ideal world I would be studying some kind of Level 4 qualification in counselling right now, but due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic I am currently working towards a coaching qualification online.
My aim for the future is to be some kind of integrative coach/counsellor hybrid that can offer a safe, non-judgemental space for men that feel lost, or that something is wrong with their life. I relate this mainly to men, as modern masculinity is in crisis. Modern men don’t naturally know how to be men, society nowadays does not teach them. There is an epidemic of fatherlessness, and there are nearly no meaningful modern coming-of-age rituals. As such, men physically grow up but remain boy-like and immature, or they develop into corrupt and twisted versions of masculine archetypes. I am passionate about empowering men and boys and supporting them through their trials. I want to share my own personal insights on learning to sublimate anger and aggression into something more positive and productive, the adolescent transition from boy to young adult, and the arduous journey through the mid-life, so that others may learn from my mistakes.
Just because I’m pro-men in this arena doesn’t mean that I am anti-women. Far from it. Our brains function in different ways, and socially we are different creatures. I simply feel that as a man, I can’t guide a woman on being a woman. To be honest, it’s still early days and the more I learn, the more I will bring to the table in the future. I may branch out and help a wider variety of people one day. I would like that.
I wish to raise awareness of good mental health, through encouraging people to fortify their mental strength with mindset recalibration, and meditation/mindfulness techniques. I believe that mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation are symptoms of a broader societal issue, not diseases in and of themselves, and that the human brain is immensely powerful and receptive to change – these things can be overcome.
My hobbies and outside interests.
I enjoy reading, especially psychology and philosophy. Theology and epistemology are fascinating, and I also enjoy investigating the esoteric. I go to the gym a couple times a week, and try to have a home workout most mornings – it helps calibrate my body, ready for the day. I also enjoy long walks which don’t necessarily have to be along a beach. Trying to keep up with my son also keeps me physically active. My Wife and I enjoy meals out together, nice holidays in the sunshine, and playing co-operative videogames from time to time. One hobby I don’t get to do enough is drawing; I enjoy sketching people and things in natural settings, and I like the meditative qualities of crafting mandalas and Zentangles.
This website is the central hub of everything I do online.
It is somewhere I can generally air my thoughts, log my activities, and keep anyone who is interested updated on what’s going on in my life. The older posts from 2016 and earlier could have been written by a different person – sometimes it feels like they were. My mindset has changed dramatically since then and while they may no longer truly reflect who I am, I think it allows any potential clients to get to know me, see what I’ve been through, and understand that I am human, after all. It also outlines all the services I offer, the projects I oversee, the books and courses I have produced, the products I sell, and the things I am into, all in one place.
I use my blog as a public record of my learning – proof of my hunger for continued professional development in counselling, coaching, consultancy and several related fields. I also use it as an outlet for writing therapy which I feel helps me organise my mind and allows me to gain a deeper comprehension of my own personal mysteries. It’s a place I like to share essays or stories, promote things I’ve personally created or show support for things that my friends, peers and colleagues have produced. When it comes to Twitter, I really enjoy using this space to delve deeper into some of the smaller ideas that I have tweeted out – it gives a bit of extra insight into my mind, with a candid, behind-the-scenes feel.