Things I've Tried to Absorb... #2

Sexuality, porn, working with men who perpetrate domestic abuse, the unintended consequences of mental health awareness, and the science behind ice baths...

Hello again, and Happy New Year. I hope the holiday break was a restful one, if you were able to take some time off from work or any other commitments that is, and if the end of year break is something you enjoy anyway. I know there is often a lot of social media discussion about coping over the holidays, especially with family dynamics, etc. So, if that was you, I hope you got through it ok.

As you may have been aware, I have taken some time off from social media. Not only to have a creative break, but to also be more present with my life over the holidays. But, while I have been doing that I have still been taking in some interesting podcasts and newspaper articles (well, one, anyway), which I thought I would share with you.

PODCASTS

So, I have been following Cam Fraser on Instagram for a while now and I have enjoyed his insights about sex, intimacy, and masculinity, but I had never listened to one of his podcasts. Well, over the last few weeks I have managed to listen to two of them, which I found thoroughly interesting. One was an interview with Callan Craig, who runs group interventions in Australia for men who have perpetrated domestic abuse. And the other was an interview with, Dr David J. Ley, a Clinical Psychologist from America specialising in sexuality. Both discussions have interesting insights to consider and think about, so I would highly recommend listening to both.

The other podcast I listened to which I thought would be worth sharing is one that focuses on whether the increased focus on mental health awareness in the media and on social media may have unintended consequences. It’s s an episode that has a number of differing views which I would were helpful to hear. But some of that was said was sort of echoed in one of my own podcast episodes, which I have also attached if you would like to listen.

THINGS TO READ

I didn’t read many things over the year end break (I mean, that’s a lie – I read normal, fiction books, I just didn’t read anything that educated my brain). But the one thing I did look into was the science and benefits of ice baths. The reason being is that I am seeing a lot of mental health influencers on social media talking about ice baths and going cold water swimming. Ok, not necessarily just mental health influencers, but mostly them. So, I thought I would look into it. The article I found seemed to be divided about the practice, but it’s still interesting as the article seems to conclude that using ice baths likely has benefits for those who believe it has benefits (so, a bit of a placebo effect - which is still helpful if people feel that works).

Hopefully some of that is of interest to you, or at least helped you pass the time in some way. Do let me know if you have any thoughts about anything that has been shared - you know I like a chat about stuff.

As always, thanks for subscribing and reading my bullshit.

All the best,

Nice-ish.