Mental health, money, work, travel, and relationship stories

Natalia Lusinski

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Aug 3, 2020 · 4 min read

Hidden Baggage aims to be a publication all about things we may keep, yep, hidden in our lives … at least till now. I mean, like it or not, we all have baggage, and we hide some pieces of it, so to speak, better than other pieces.

This brand new publication will focus on four main areas — Mental Health, Travel, Money/Work, and Relationships — as well as Free-for-all Fridays where no topic is off limits (well, within reason). Off Medium, I work as a freelance journalist and cover all these topics — and more — so I’m passionate about them and hope you are, too (at least one of them!).

Hidden Baggage just launched today, Monday, August 3, so please start submitting now (more on that below)! : ) (You can also read the first post, which is in the “Mental Health Mondays” category, “5 Coping Mechanisms That Help Me Stop My Anxiety in Its Tracks.”)

More About Hidden Baggage Topics

Hidden Baggage: Mental Health Mondays

Personally, I suffered from anxiety and OCD for years (mostly contamination-based, but not only), so I have plenty to say on these topics, as well as others. What about you?

For instance:

• How do you manage your anxiety? What coping mechanisms would you recommend to others, especially these days?
• What’s the best thing(s) you’ve gotten out of seeing a therapist?
• What are ways you’ve dealt with grief?

Hidden Baggage: Travel Tuesdays

I’ve been a digital nomad for 3+ years now, mostly based in Europe — I’m typing this from Poland — so I have plenty of travel tales to tell. But I’d love to hear yours, too.

For instance:

• What’s the best trip you ever took (in or out of the U.S.) — and why?
• What’s the best/worst thing that’s happened to you on a trip and how did it help shape you?
• Even though many people are still sheltering-in-place, are you going on any “adventures” these days — whether it’s a walk in the park or a long bike ride — and what are you learning? AND/OR How is sheltering-in-place and #stayinghome going where you live? I find it’s fascinating how different it is in different parts of the world. For instance, here in Poland, masks are no longer obligatory outside (only inside) — but I still wear one everywhere each time I leave my cocoon of an apartment.

Hidden Baggage: Wallet/Work Wednesdays

I think many of us can use advice when it comes to money, from how to save more of it to how to invest. Plus, work — what type of career advice or productivity wisdom do you have when it comes to working harder and smarter? Or maybe you’ve learned from a mistake(s) you made and want to help others avoid that mistake…

For instance:

• What kinds of savings strategies or budget hacks have worked for you (i.e., maybe there a money lesson you learned growing up that you still use today)?
• How do you manage your time? What would you tell others that they haven’t heard before?
• Was there a period of time in your life where you were barely scraping by — how did you manage and what did you learn?

Hidden Baggage: Togetherness Thursdays

This section is all about relationships — whether we’re talking about romantic or familial ones, or even ones between friends, there’s always something to say about them, right?

For instance:

• What did you learn from your biggest (or last) breakup?
• How are you and your family/friends getting closer — or further apart — during this quarantine time?
• How are you feeling overall — how are you taking care of yourself these days? (A new Boyfriend Pillow has been helping me, especially after getting ghosted!)

Hidden Baggage: Free-for-all Fridays

Any topic not mentioned above can be written about under this heading. (Again, within reason.) ; )

The Story Itself

1. In each story, please share what you learned from X experience and how it will value the reader. And it’s up to you how you want to tell that story: via a personal essay, listicle, or whatever your preferred forte is for conveying your message.
2. Although editors edit and I love to do so (in fact, I often leave people private notes on Medium about typos and missing words; many of them have even become friends that way!), I don’t want to find 101 typos in your draft — I don’t even want to find more than, let’s say, five. With all the resources out there, from your friends to Grammarly, it’ll take you a few extra minutes to make sure your draft is in tip-top shape — but they’ll be minutes well-spent.
3. Formatting-wise, please make sure the piece is easy to read (like this post) and doesn’t have huge blocks of text. (The “return” key is your friend.) : )
4. And, as is the case with other publications, please make sure you’re familiar with Medium’s curation guidelines — and follow them.
5. And, finally, to submit your draft, go to this link. Note: Please only submit something that has not been previously published. I will try to respond within 2–3 days, a week tops.

Again, since Hidden Baggage has officially launched, please start submitting now! : ) Thank you — and I look forward to reading your pieces!

— Natalia