Word of the Week: Tease

Tease is a word that’s often misunderstood.

It can sound flirty, dismissive, or even a little mean. However, at MDW, we love dissecting words and exploring all the meanings they convey.

Let's explore the word "tease," turn it over in our hands, and ask,

What else could this mean?

Beyond the surface, tease has another energy. One that’s quiet. Patient. Curious.

It’s about gently pulling something loose — a knot, a thought, a habit — and seeing what’s hiding inside.

To tease is to coax something. Not with force. Not with urgency. But with care.

Let’s Define It:

Tease (verb): To gently pull apart. To draw out slowly. To separate. To coax something forward with patience or curiosity.

It’s not about poking fun — it’s about soft unraveling. It’s the beginning of clarity, of understanding, of change.

What Can We Tease Out?

Teasing Out Bad Habits

Some habits don’t need to be broken with brute force. They need to be understood, unwound — teased apart so we can see what’s underneath them.

To tease out a bad habit means:

• Getting curious instead of being critical

• Asking: What need was this meeting? Is there a gentler way?

• Noticing what triggers it, without shame

• Slowly loosening its grip by experimenting with small shifts

This isn’t about fixing everything at once. It’s about gently tugging at one thread and seeing where it leads.

Teasing Out New Ideas

Not all ideas arrive fully formed — most of them show up in pieces. Half-sentences in your notes app. Thoughts that come to you in the shower. Fleeting sparks.

To tease out a new idea means:

• Giving it space, even when it doesn’t make sense yet

• Saying it out loud without editing yourself

• Letting the idea lead you instead of trying to control it

• Playing — without pressure to make it “productive”

  
  

Teasing out an idea is often the first step to birthing something meaningful. Not through force. Through attention.

Teasing Out Emotions

Some feelings don’t shout — they linger beneath the surface. Teasing out our emotions means giving ourselves space to notice what’s really going on beneath the distraction, the irritability, the numbness.

To tease out an emotion means:

• Naming what we feel without needing to justify it

• Getting underneath the surface reaction: What’s really hurting here?

• Allowing feelings to stretch and move instead of pushing them down

• Practicing emotional fluency — even when the words don’t come easy

This is about honoring your internal landscape — one slow tug at a time.

Teasing Out Boundaries

Not all boundaries are bold lines. Sometimes they start as gut feelings — a quiet discomfort, a sense of being drained, a moment of hesitation.

To tease out a boundary means:

• Noticing where you feel resentment or overextension

• Asking: What do I need here that I’m not getting?

• Defining your limits clearly — even just to yourself at first

• Practicing the language to express your needs with calm and clarity

Boundaries don’t have to be walls. Sometimes they begin as whispers.

Teasing Out What’s No Longer Yours to Carry

We all hold things we’ve outgrown — expectations, roles, responsibilities that once made sense, but now feel like weight.

To tease out what’s no longer yours to carry means:

• Getting honest about what feels heavy

• Naming what belongs to someone else (and what never belonged to you at all)

• Letting go with compassion instead of guilt

• Creating space for what feels aligned now

  
  

This kind of release takes time. Let yourself loosen the grip slowly.

Journal Prompts for the Week:

• What’s something I want to gently unravel this week — a belief, a habit, a fear?

• What idea or curiosity has been tugging at me lately? Can I tease it out without needing to finish it?

• Where in my life am I holding things too tightly? What would it feel like to loosen my grip?

This week, let “tease” be a quiet invitation — to pull at the thread.

To follow the flicker.

To find clarity, not by doing more, but by softening into the mystery.

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About the Author:

Elizabeth Rago

Creative Strategist • Community Architect • Women’s Health Advocate

Elizabeth is a word-loving, community-building powerhouse with a gift for turning complex ideas into connection-worthy content.

As a Senior-Level Marketing and Content Strategist, she’s spent the past two decades blending storytelling with strategy—crafting compelling messaging for mental health organizations, women’s lifestyle brands, and yes, even the high-stakes world of RFPs (because a well-structured sentence can absolutely win business).

By day, she shapes narratives that drive results. By night, she’s managing dinner, debate club (aka parenting teens), and the emotional logistics of modern womanhood—with a mug of Earl Grey and a sense of humor that’s seen some things. After weathering a difficult season in her own life, Elizabeth realized how lonely it can feel for women navigating hard things—especially when they’re expected to do it quietly.

That experience led her to create MDW: a resource-rich, no-nonsense space where women can find mental health support, practical tools, lifestyle convos, plant pics, and real talk that doesn't shy away from the messy parts.

Whether she's interviewing therapists, spotlighting women-owned businesses, or coming through Pinterest for the next MDW Mini Magazine, Elizabeth leads with equal parts strategy and soul. She never underestimates the therapeutic power of a well-placed meme, and building a strong community is an act of resistance.