In this episode Dara looks at two English sportsmen – the boxer Anthony Joshua and the cricketer Ben Stokes – and their recent public displays of personal crisis and compromised mental health. He lauds them for their candour and for their ability to face the public with their vulnerability showing. Dara discusses the pressure that many of us feel to present a functional and successful face to the world.
He also talks about the contradictions of self and how confronting it can be to accept that no matter how much we change, we are always an iteration of the same self.
Dara reads from the podcast letter bag and recalls enjoying a legendary Irish broadcaster doing the same on the radio when he was a child. The issue raised is one of finding joy, even on the darkest of days. Further to that, Dara describes the specific conditions and patterns of his own depressive episodes and explains why he feels comfortable managing them.
Finally, on the occasion of his father turning 80 this week, Dara reads a newly composed poem in his honour. Happy birthday Louis!