Can't listen anymore--anyone else have this problem?

[Exhausted Mom]

I just wanted to mention that you don't have to have major trauma in your childhood to be impacted later in life. Everyone has something in the childhood that has effected them and the trauma can be small and it was traumatic to you! I was led to a website, www.clearmind.com and they talk about as children we are the center of universe and because of this, something as small as going up to your parent for something and at moment the phone rings. As a child you feel like you are not important because your parent answered the phone rather then listen to you. Then for the rest of your life you go through it thinking you are not good enough, not worth attention etc. They go into more detail on the youtube video, but it made sense to me.

[gfyourself]

Exhausted Mom I agree. I still remember really small things that my parents or others said / did. They probably meant no harm, but I still think about them to this day. As Paul says its not what was done, its the impact on "you" that's important.

[Cinnamon]

I find the interviews worthwhile because Paul's skills have deepened and he seems to really care about the person and is listening to them during the interview with concern so it often brings out insight and depth and such.
But I find that I sometimes turn it off after the interview and before the surveys because at first they are interesting but too many out of context control via sex statements - I have no idea who this is, whether it is in character or so out of their normal way of being in the world, who they are and how this fits into who they are, or are they just posing and trying to shock...that it feels mechanical and voyeuristic....not enough depth to learn anything about me or the world. What possible point is there for me to hear that?
But I still find the love off/fear offs interesting because they are connected to a narrative, a sense of a person being revealed.

[ColemanSilk]

Happy to report I'm listening again now. Yay!

[BCZF]

Its like anything, you're going to find episodes to relate and some difficult to listen to.

[ghughes1980]

With the release of the newest Mini I think I'll have to stop for a while. I'm not comfortable listening to people spew trauma. I don't need or want to listen to someone's torture story I'm sorry. Every week there seems to be someone confessing to being raped, molested or abused. That's not what I came here for. There is a reason therapists get paid sometimes $100+ an hour. I'm not and I can't listen to it anymore. Find professional help PLEASE. I don't want to use my time with my therapist discussing something that traumatized me because of a podcast. Paul if you want people to hear these stories then release mini eps for trauma surveys specifically. Leave them off the main podcast that doesn't even deal with the subject. Rejection for example has NOTHING to do with being raped or molested it has to do with power and control.

[gfyourself]

The surveys are definitely too sex heavy - especially shame and secrets - too many sex questions on that one.

[ghughes1980]

Well it looks like this week (episode 162) is a skip completely. Just from the description I'm erasing it from my Ipod. Being assaulted, molested or raped is something I don't need to hear about. Those acts are separate from mental illness. This is just torture porn. I don't need this stuff floating in my head so I'm out.

[CleverSometimes]

yup, I go through phases where i need to step away too. My depression is fairly straightforward, and not rooted in trauma, so sometimes the more dramatic stories overwhelm me. If I find it's starting to make me feel like I have no "right" to be depressed, I take a little break. I listen to a lot of comedy and music podcasts too. I recommend rotating what you listen to.

I was in a "non listening" streak recently and found myself surprisingly inspired by the Nandi episode. I couldn't be more different from that guest, but I still found it helpful.

[Mike]

I like hearing people open up about things that have caused them pain. Sometimes it is hard for me to listen to and I need to pause the podcast to take a break, but I think there's immense value in hearing these experiences and how they cope with them.