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The Absolute ‘Ick’ Episode – Going Granular on My War with Myself – Episode 140

In this very personal and occasionally difficult episode, Dara decides he can’t not examine his near four-decade-old impulse to destroy himself. A follow-on from last week’s episode in which he spoke more generally and euphemistically about a recent onset of anxiety-fuelled depression, this time he wants more transparency, more openness, more keeping it real. He understands that for some people this type of sharing gives them the ‘ick’, hence the title of the episode.

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Existential Framing: Pathways, Destinations, and Empty Spaces – Episode 139

In this episode, Dara tries to remind himself of the existential power of understanding life as an unending path that leads to endless unknown destinations. In relation to a recent rough mental health episode, he is also happy to be reminded that the path of life will continue past the present moment, no matter how challenging it might be.

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The Face We Meet the World With, or The Pressure of Presentation – Episode 66

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.

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Life Above and Below the Surface, or Listening to the Deep Respondent Self – Episode 49

In this mental health-focused episode, Dara reflects on a recent spell of bad form and speaks openly about some of the personal trickiness he has faced over the last couple of years. He talks about his marriage and his skirmishes with depression and presents an argument for being okay with a range of emotions and perceptions that are conventionally considered to be negative.

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Where the Magic Happens, or Winning in the Empty Spaces – Episode 44

In this week’s episode, Dara is set off by a tweet from a female account that first explicitly requests pictures of beautiful men – ‘rides’ is the term of desire used – and then disclaims accusations of objectification. Is objectification of men by women better, or less loaded, than objectification of women by men? Dara isn’t sure…

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