Who I Am — and Why I Write This Way

I'm Gino. 🏳️‍🌈

Therapist by training, writer by overthinking, and lifelong devotee of black t-shirts: because emotional complexity is my job, not my outfit.

I help LGBTQ+ deep thinkers understand why self-doubt feels so persistent—and what's really underneath it.

This isn't advice from the mountaintop. It's sitting in the middle with you and saying:

"Here's why this feels so hard for us specifically."

The Full Story

I grew up feeling out of place—my thoughts, my body, my silence never quite fit. I had to perform to feel safe: be good, be useful, be easy to like.

I've lived through alcohol abuse, emptiness, depression, burnout, self-sabotage, social anxiety, disconnection from my family, and toxic relationships that mirrored my oldest wounds.

But I also know what healing looks like when it's not a straight line.

At 45, I'm a licensed online therapist working exclusively with the queer community. I'm in a healthy, 18-year marriage rooted in steady support and shared growth. I've built meaningful ventures—nothing flashy, just solid and entirely my own.

Born to Portuguese emigrants, raised under African skies, shaped by four cities, and seasoned in China, Germany, and the UK—now home in Portugal. 🇵🇹🇪🇺

Why I Created Unfiltered Clarity

I didn't start writing to teach people how to "fix themselves."

I started because I know what it's like to be smart, self-aware, emotionally literate, and still feel broken inside.

This is the space I wish existed years ago. Where we stop performing wellness and start understanding why queer mental health hits different.

A space for LGBTQ+ folks who've spent a lifetime adapting, surviving, and second-guessing whether they're allowed to want more.

What You'll Find Here

Every week, I share why family dinners still feel like performance art, why dating apps feel like rejection practice, and why coming out never actually ends.

Professional explanations for the stuff you thought was just you: why compliments feel suspicious, why success feels borrowed, why you're exhausted after being around straight people.

Why you rehearse conversations before coming out to new people. Why your self-worth crashes after hookups. Why you feel like an imposter in straight spaces. Why family acceptance still doesn't feel real.

The relief of someone naming the exact thing you couldn't put words to.

Subscribe to finally understand why you feel the way you feel—and why it's not actually broken.

And when you’re ready to go deeper, paid subscribers get full access to weekly deep dives and self-reflection tools — built to help us process what queer life asks of us, and rebuild from it.

This newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a replacement for professional psychological advice or therapy. It does not diagnose, treat, or prevent any condition and should not replace professional care.