Author: Cassandra Simpson

Cassandra Simpson is a wellbeing and relationship writer with a BSc in Psychology and five years of experience working in community mental health support. She writes about love, friendship, boundaries, and the emotional work of belonging — drawing on both academic grounding and the hard-won perspective that comes from navigating her own relationship patterns, friendships, and personal growth in real time. Cassandra trained as a peer support facilitator and has spent years exploring attachment theory, interpersonal dynamics, and the psychology of connection. Her writing is shaped by a deep belief that most relationship struggles come not from failure, but from the absence of honest, accessible information about how human connection actually works.

Why Overthinking Affects Women Differently And How to Break the Cycle

I once spent four hours — four actual hours, I checked my screen time — turning over a single text message I’d sent to a new colleague. Had I come across as too eager? Not eager enough? Did that comma make it sound passive-aggressive? Was the exclamation mark too much? By the time I’d decided […]

Table for One, Magic for One: Why I Started Dating Myself (And Why You’re Next)

Woman dating herself, solo dining table for one

We’ve all been in the “Waiting Room.” You know the one. It’s that mental space where you put your life on hold until a specific person—a partner, a “The One,” a plus-one—arrives to validate it. You see a beautiful new bistro open downtown, but you think, “I’ll save that for a first date.” You want to […]

The Commuter’s Guide to Connection: How to Flirt in the Wild Without the “Creep” Factor

I once made eyes at someone on the Northern Line for four stops and then watched him get off at Clapham Common without either of us saying a word. We never spoke. I think about it occasionally in the particular way you think about the small comedies of everyday life — the moment that could […]

More Than a Paycheck: How I Navigated the ‘Income Gap’ in My Relationship Without Losing My Mind (or My Power)

It starts at a dinner party. The conversation is flowing, the wine is chilled, and then comes the inevitable question: “So, what do you do?” You answer with pride, talking about your career, your passions, or your current projects. But in the back of your mind, a little voice whispers: “Yes, but your partner earns […]

The Mystery of “Chore Blindness”: Why He Doesn’t See the Mess (And How to Stop Being the Only One Who Does)

Picture the scene. You both walk through the front door at 6:00 PM after a grueling 9-5. You’ve both survived the commute, the Slack notifications, and the 2026 “always-on” work culture. You are both equally exhausted. But within three minutes of entering the house, a strange phenomenon occurs. You see the dishes in the sink from […]

Refunding the “Good Girl” Tax: Why Women are Choosing Self-Preservation Over Perfection in 2026

A woman in a polka-dot dress walking confidently down an empty desert road, symbolizing freedom from the "good girl tax" and choosing self-preservation.

The “Good Girl Tax” is not a formal economic concept. It’s something I heard a friend describe after she’d spent three years being the most reliable, least demanding, most consistently excellent person in her organisation — covering for colleagues, absorbing workload, never complaining — and then watched a man who’d been there for six months […]

The “Sunk Cost” Trap: Why Smart Women Stay In Bad Movies (And Bad Relationships)

A woman standing in a dark movie theater aisle looking at the screen, illustrating the sunk cost trap in relationships and movies.

Picture this: You are sitting in a movie theater. You are 90 minutes into a three-hour film. The plot makes no sense, the acting is terrible, and you are bored out of your mind. You want to leave. But then, that little voice in your head pipes up: “But I already paid $25 for the ticket. […]

The Valentine’s “Showmance”: Why We’re Done With the Disney Princess Fantasy (And the Sunk Cost Trap Keeping You Stuck)

It is officially that time of year again. February has arrived, and if you have a smartphone and a pulse, you know exactly what is about to happen. Your Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok feeds are about to be hit by a category-five tsunami of “perfect” love. We’re talking about the 500 long-stemmed red roses, the […]

The “Low-Key” Trap: Why We Need To Stop Skipping Birthdays in 2026

Somewhere around the early-to-mid-twenties, a cultural shift happens. Birthdays stop being celebrated and start being managed. “I’m keeping it low-key this year.” “I don’t really do birthdays anymore.” “It’s just another day.” This has become so normalised that people who actually want to celebrate their birthday often feel embarrassed to say so — as if […]

I Didn’t Know I Was Jealous — I Thought I Was Just Falling Behind

The first time I noticed I was jealous — properly, viscerally jealous — of a close friend’s life, I didn’t call it jealousy. I called it confusion. “She’s not even that talented,” I heard myself think about someone who absolutely was that talented, who had simply done the work and gotten the thing and was […]