A Project of AWI Studio

Some things
are too heavy
to carry alone.

The Sh*t We Carry is a structured conversation experience for the weight most people never find the right moment to put down. No therapy. No forced vulnerability. Just a format that makes honesty feel possible.

Try a Card Get Involved

Prototype · In Development  ·  Seeking collaborators & early supporters

Why This Exists

Most people are carrying
more than anyone knows.

Stress they haven't named. Grief they haven't processed. Tension with people they love. Weight from things that happened years ago and never got talked about. It doesn't leave — it just stays inside, and what stays inside tends to grow.

The problem isn't that people don't want to talk. It's that they don't have a format that makes it feel possible. Therapy isn't for everyone. "How are you really?" only goes so far. And trying to go deep without structure usually just gets awkward and stops.

There's a gap between small talk and therapy. Almost nothing lives there. That's what this is for.

"People were struggling long before anyone knew they were struggling — not because they didn't want support, but because they didn't feel like they had anywhere to put what they were carrying."
The Concept

A structured experience
designed to make honesty easier.

The Artifact

A card-based conversation system. Prompt cards that progress from light to heavy. Feedback cards that help people respond supportively without needing the perfect words. Safety cards — Pass, Swap, Time Out — so no one gets pushed past where they're ready to go.

The Experience

Structured social scaffolding that lowers the activation energy for honest conversation. It's not a therapy session. It's not a game. It's an environment designed so that vulnerability feels less risky and real connection becomes more likely.

Who It's For

Friend groups. Couples. Families. Teams. Communities where clinical language doesn't resonate and "going to therapy" isn't in the vocabulary. Anyone carrying something they haven't found the right moment to say out loud.

The Research Behind It

Built on behavioral science, trauma-informed design, and research across psychology, sociology, and communication studies. The structure isn't arbitrary — every mechanic exists because of what we know about how people open up.

Prototype Stage — Deck architecture, prompt system, and safety mechanics developed. Playtesting and real-world iteration are the next priority.
See How It Works

Experience a round.

This is a walkthrough of what one turn actually looks like — drawing a card, choosing how to respond, and giving feedback. Placeholder prompts; real structure.

Step 1 of 6
Your turn — draw a card
TSWC Click to draw
LEVEL 2
What's something you've been holding in because you don't think people would get it?
anger, grief, confusion, pressure, guilt
👆 Click the card
Choose how you'd respond
How would you answer this card?
The group responds
Are you open to feedback from the group?
Group feedback
Acknowledged

Got it. Thanks for sharing. Your turn is complete.

Next player's turn
TSWC
LEVEL 3
When's the last time you felt like you had to hide how you really felt?
at work, with family, with friends
Their response:

"Honestly? Pretty much every family dinner. Everyone asks how I'm doing, but if I actually told them about the anxiety or how hard work has been, they'd either try to fix it or tell me I'm overthinking. So I just say 'fine' and change the subject."

How do you want to respond?
Validate
Acknowledge their experience is real
Reflect
Show you heard them
Freestyle
Say something in your own words
Pass
Honor without responding
Round complete
✓
That's one round. In a real session every person draws, shares, and responds. The structure does the work — you just show up.
Get Involved

This is too big
to do alone.

Most of the work here is deliberately too big for one person. If something resonates, there's probably a door for you.

I want to use this

Sign up to be notified when TSWC is available for testing or purchase. Your interest directly shapes how this develops.

✓ You're on the list.

I want to get involved

Testing, design, facilitation, research, funding, community partnership — there are real ways to help move this forward.

✓ Message received.

I want to support this

TSWC is independently developed. If you believe in what this is trying to do, financial support at any stage helps make it real.

✓ We'll be in touch.
01 / 06 — Observation
The Pattern That Started It
The same dynamic kept appearing across different contexts: people experiencing real distress — grief, burnout, loneliness, crisis — with no place to put it that felt safe or culturally appropriate. Not for lack of wanting to talk, but for lack of structure that made talking feel possible.

Primary research across interviews, observation, and qualitative inquiry confirmed this wasn't anecdotal. It generalized across demographics, cultures, and environments.
Qualitative Research Pattern Recognition Ethnographic Observation
Observed barriers to disclosure
🔒
Fear of judgment
🎭
Identity threat
🗺
No format to start
💬
Clinical language
🔄
Prior bad response
02 / 06 — Research Synthesis
What the Literature Said
Cross-disciplinary synthesis across psychology, behavioral science, trauma science, communication studies, and social penetration theory surfaced a consistent finding: people want connection, but the environment doesn't make it safe enough to start.

Key insight: many core therapy skills — validation, reflection, active listening — are human communication skills. They can be distributed through structure, not just trained into professionals.
Literature Synthesis Behavioral Science Trauma-Informed Design
Mechanism pathway
Unstructured environment
↓
Ambiguity → perceived social risk
↓
Default to surface interaction
↓
Emotional load stays unprocessed
↓
Isolation, burnout, crisis escalation
03 / 06 — Design Logic
Every Mechanic Has a Reason
The card format isn't a novelty choice — it's a behavioral one. Games already create shared expectations, turn-taking norms, and permission to participate. The format lowers the activation energy for honesty without requiring participants to announce they want to go deep.

Each component maps to a specific design requirement drawn from the research.
Interaction Design Behavioral Scaffolding Safety Architecture
Component → design intent
Level progression
Gradual depth, preserves pacing
Feedback cards
Distributes listening skills
Safety mechanics
Protects autonomy + consent
Card format
Reduces initiation friction
Language tone
Signals cultural permission
Turn structure
Equalizes participation
04 / 06 — Current State
Where It Stands
This is a serious prototype — not a product, not a concept sketch. The deck architecture, prompt system, safety mechanics, and broader interaction logic are developed and documented.

What exists needs playtesting at scale, iteration with real groups, and collaborators who want to help move it from a developed concept into a launched product.
Prototype Stage Seeking Collaborators Open Development
Development status
Done
→
Prompt system, deck structure, safety mechanics
Done
→
Research grounding, design rationale, visual system
Next
→
Playtesting with real groups at scale
Next
→
Refinement based on facilitated sessions
Open
→
Production, distribution, platform partnerships
05 / 06 — Open Questions
What We Still Need to Learn
These aren't gaps in the concept — they're the testable hypotheses that rigorous development requires. Each one is an invitation for a collaborator, researcher, or practitioner who wants to help answer them.

The concept is strong. The evidence base is real. What's needed now is field data.
Research Agenda Hypothesis Testing Collaboration Opportunities
Priority research questions
What are the right early populations — who does this serve best first?
What's the minimum viable experience for impact?
How does facilitated vs. self-guided change outcomes?
What does sustained use look like over time?
How do digital formats preserve what the physical version does?
06 / 06 — Future Direction
Beyond the Card Deck
The deck is an entry point, not the destination. The deeper question this project explores is: how do you design environments — physical or digital — that make honesty feel less risky?

Future directions include facilitated circles, digital interaction formats, organizational settings, and peer-support infrastructure for communities where clinical systems don't reach.
Systems Thinking Prevention Design Digital Environments
Potential formats
01
Physical card deck — current prototype, consumer and community distribution
02
Facilitated circles — structured peer-support experiences with trained facilitators
03
Digital platform — preserving safety and depth in async or remote formats
04
Organizational tools — workplace and community settings where clinical language fails
01 / 06