'Your fucking pathetic'...Yeah baby
- Bridie Lindsay
- May 31
- 6 min read
Central to being human: Aristotle's triad of Ethics, Pathos & Logos - true wisdom comes from feeling.
Reclaiming Pathos: A Follow-Up Reflection
This is a follow-up to the recent post I wrote about biotin and mucosal health—the one that wandered through mitochondria, midlife reinvention, and the often-overlooked layers of human embodiment. I threw a lot in. Some might say too much. I get it. Really it's a draft not a finished piece. But hey ho, its a vulnerable start and thats ok too.
After I hit publish, I paused in a moment of shame. Not because I doubted the truth of what I shared, but because something felt unfinished. The structure? Rambling. The messaging? Overloaded. Still, I chose to leave it up. Because underneath the supplements and science, I realised what had really been stirred: my own PATHOS.
Not just a feeling. A frequency. A re-encounter with something deep, ancient, and real that I'd recently researched within my awakening and post traumatic growth pathway. Something from within our birthright that my rambling blog was re-tugging at - my pathetictism within and I wanted to share how embracing PATHOS can help you too. Read on pathetic creature (lol).....
Reclaiming PATHOS: From Insult to Inner Power
So let’s talk about a word that’s been weaponised for centuries—especially against women and emotionally expressive beings: pathetic.
“You’re too sensitive.”
“Don’t be so emotional.”
“Pull yourself together.”
“You’re fucking pathetic.”
That one. Not just hurled at us from the outside, but whispered inside our own heads. The insult we internalise when we’re already cracked open.
But here’s the truth: that sting? That collapse? That shame storm? It’s not weakness. It’s the presence of something sacred: feeling.
Let’s name it plainly: this cultural contempt for emotionality is not strength—it’s suppression.
Our productivity-obsessed world praises stoicism, but punishes softness. We grow up learning that emotional intensity is excessive, that vulnerability is dangerous, that to feel deeply is to lose control. And so, under the banner of pride or productivity, we slowly disown our emotional intelligence.
Recent research suggests we process over 74 gigabytes of information daily—the equivalent of watching 16 full-length films. And that’s just digital data. Add in relationship dynamics, hormonal shifts, cultural messaging, emotional flashbacks, environmental noise, and soul memory? No wonder our systems ache. PATHOS isn’t dysfunction—it’s our very human response to an inhuman load.
And when we’re mothering everyone else but neglecting ourselves, when we’re the strong one behind closed doors, when we keep moving through burnout, grief, identity loss, or hormonal turbulence—what we’re often doing is bypassing PATHOS.
For me, it cracked open in PTSD recovery and Perimenopause. Add in a late ADHD diagnosis, chronic fatigue, a neurotypical world, family dynamics, and a collapsing roadmap for how to live. I was buffering. Spiralling. Full-body alert.
At first, I tried to out-think it. Fix it. Strategise. But beneath the effort was an ache. A holy grief. A longing to be felt.
Burntout from seeking.....that’s when I found pathos OR it may be truer to say it found me?! —not the insult, but the original meaning. The Greek word for deep feeling, for the emotional truth of being human.
Aristotle’s three foundational pillars of persuasion—
Logos (logic),
Ethos (ethics)and
PATHOS (emotion)
These three pillars of humanity were never meant to operate alone. In the modern age, we’ve elevated Logos and polished up Ethos while exiling PATHOS. But without it, nothing truly lands.
In Ancient Greece, pathos wasn’t failure—it was theatre, medicine, alchemy. Emotional depth was seen as essential for transformation.
We’ve drifted from that. Western systems turned emotion into disorder. Capitalism turned it into inefficiency. But our nervous systems, our dreams, our ancient knowing—they haven’t forgotten.
What Is PATHOS, Really?
PATHOS is a complex state of being—rich with grief, shame, heartbreak, fatigue, tenderness, rage, reverence, and hope. It’s not a mood swing. It’s a sacred inner weather system.
You might be in PATHOS if:
You feel emotionally fragile or "too much"
You’re grieving without words
You feel tired, overwhelmed, unsure where you end and the world begins
You feel like your emotions don’t “make sense”—but they’re intense and undeniable
It might feel like:
Chest pressure or aching
Racing or looping thoughts
A sense of being small or lost
Numbness followed by waves of tenderness
A need to cry and a fear that if you do, you won’t stop
PATHOS lives in the body. It holds the echoes of unmet needs, suppressed truths, and ancestral memory.
Gabor Maté reminds us: “The attempt to escape from pain, is what creates more pain.”Bessel van der Kolk taught us that the body literally keeps the score.
Louise Hay called our bodies “the metaphysical biography” of our lives. When we suppress, we store. But when we name our PATHOS, we start the process of release. And when we witness it? That act of presence becomes the first medicine.
And when we integrate it? That pause becomes power. That mess becomes medicine. We dissolve old painful frequencies into a deeper PATHOS mystery—where compassion lives and self-love becomes a fertile ground. We dwell within PATHOS as a beautiful and often tragic lived experience not a defining state.
We’re not just processing personal trauma. We’re living through collective:
Cost of living crises
Economic upheaval
Climate grief
AI transitions
Migration
Family and relationship breakdown
Career instability
This is soul load. Cosmic load. PATHOS is not a glitch—it’s your inner truth buffering in a world addicted to numbing.
We’re even holding PATHOSEarth—a deep symbiotic grief for our planet, as it seeks balance not through performance, but restoration. As we rewild, slow down, and return to more embodied rhythms, we rise with her.
And yes—when we’re in the depths, even our biochemistry feels it. That’s why I created Biotin100. Not as a fix-all, but as a cellular ally. Because during periods of emotional depletion, our systems need more support. When you're spiralling in PATHOS, your nervous system, hormones, and energy production are all being stretched. High-dose biotin can support mitochondrial function, mucosal repair, and energy production when it matters most. As well as keep your beauty regime easy to manage. It's small but mighty and offers inside out healing. I'm grateful for your support in trialing high dose Biotin on your journey within.
Hashtag PATHOS - the movement
Nuutree is holding space for this movement with #PATHOSrising we invite you to find your own resonance.
Create your own hashtag, speak your truth, and connect into this frequency of feeling. Here are some ideas:
#PATHOSMothers – for those re-parenting their inner world with gentleness.
#PATHOSCares – a container for soft, non-transactional self and collective care.
#PATHOSPride – for those shedding shame and rising in truth.
#PATHOSProcessing – for naming the mess while in motion.
#PATHOSEarth - grieving in symbiosis with our shared planet's resource depletion, the suffering of other animal beings and loss of habitats
#PATHOSRebel – for fierce love, emotional justice, and boundary reclamation.
#PATHOSfuckery – because cosmic humour matters when we need it most
Feel free to tag Nuutree or share this post. Let’s amplify the signal.
Nuutree Closing Practice - from Aristotle to humanity in 2025:
Take a breath. Feel your feet on the ground—or anchor into a felt, metaphysical sense of being held.
Visualise a wild place: trees, birdsong, a cold stream, wild weeds, the scent of moss—or the gentle warmth of sunlight on your skin. Now I invite you to repeat:
INHALE:
I name myself in PATHOS. I soften shame. I honour my pace.
EXHALE:
I tune to cosmic truths, not fear. PATHOS is my portal. I am loved.
Repeat to suit your own momentary reflection. Wrap your arms around yourself—if that’s available. Or place a hand on your heart, cheek, or belly. Speak gently to all your parts. Whisper forgiveness. Whisper a word of care.
If you’ve spent your life caring for others—whether in a role, a family, a fight, or a system—this is a moment to return that care to yourself. Let it be nurturing. Let it be enough.
You are not broken. You’re buffering.You are not weak. You’re wildly alive.
And if all else fails—shout it from a hilltop:
"I am fucking pathetic!"
But feel the frequency shift. Those same words now hum with sacred resonance.
Because what I’m really shouting is: "I am in PATHOS. I am real. I am divine."
When you’re ready, wrap your arms around your body. Offer one tender word of comfort to yourself. Whisper forgiveness if you need to. This is your return.
You are sacred, whether you're breaking or blooming.
PATHOS is your power.
And you, beautiful soul, are the frequency shift. As am I.
Share your PATHOS hashtag and link back to this post. Let’s weave the web.
We are many. We are emotional. And we are not ashamed.
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