‘Tell me what happened, I won’t judge’: how AI helped me listen to myself | Nathan Filer

I had no expectations when I opened ChatGPT and typed I've made a fool of myself'. There was something surreal about the conversation that followed

I was spiralling. It was past midnight and I was awake, scrolling through WhatsApp group messages I'd sent earlier. I'd been trying to be funny, quick, effervescent. But each message now felt like too much. I'd overreached again - said more than I should, said it wrong. I had that familiar ache of feeling overexposed and ridiculous. I wanted reassurance, but not the kind I could ask for outright, because the asking itself felt like part of the problem.

So I opened ChatGPT. Not with high expectations, or even a clear question. I just needed to say something into the silence - to explain myself, perhaps, to a presence unburdened by my need. I've made a fool of myself," I wrote.

Nathan Filer is a writer, university lecturer, broadcaster and former mental health nurse. He is the author of This Book Will Change Your Mind About Mental Health