The Monkey Chamber

The final part of my interview with Brigid, talking about her son Daniel, birth, death, and everything in between.

Welcome to part 2 of 3 of my interview with Brigid, who is remembering her son, Daniel.

I recorded this on Christmas Eve 2022 but life got a bit busy, what with a new job and Laura having just moved in. I meant to release it a lot sooner but just over a year later I've finally got around to it. Brigid is Laura's twin sister and I'm honoured that she's featuring in my first (and possibly last) full guest episode, using the equipment my work so kindly funded. TRIGGER WARNING Brigid lost her son Daniel before he was born, in 2019. We discuss stillbirth in this episode. She's since gone on to have a brilliant daughter Eliza, who is now two years old. As the interview is quite long I'm splitting it over three episodes of about 45 mins each that I'll release weekly, like the old days, early each Tuesday morning.

》(1:13) Fresh air 》(5:10) Vitamin D 》(9:30) Clearer thinking and more energy

New mics! 》(0:31) Janus the Roman God  》(17:57) Collecting memories with physical objects

》(3:11) What am I doing this for? 》(8:50) Talking to my family 》(11:30) Genuineness 》(15:00) Listening 》(20:19) Accepting unsolicited advice 》(24:05) The Piers Morgan effect 》(30:53) Future episodes

》(0:30) A milestone 》(01:51) An announcement 》(9:36) An interview with Laura: challenges, communication and respect

》(0:31) Depression and work 》(10:42) Work feeds the soul 》(16:27) Shining a spotlight on issues 》(18:13) Behavioural tendencies 》(23:54) Resilience building

》(0:31) Building for the future 》(5:35) De-cluttering 》(10:50) Keeping it bitesize

》(0:31) The sleep problem cycle 》(4:58) Listen to your body 》(8:20) Depression and sleep 》(12:13) Late night procrastination 》(14:45) Tips for healthy sleep

》(0:30) Mental "stength" 》(8:01) Inner dialogue 》(12:50) highlighting weaknesses 》(18:10) strength doesn't mean macho

》(0:21) Season and moods》(4.00) Routines》(7:04) Putting your hand in the fire》(10:40) The subconscious; tension》(12:30) Funerals are triggering, even the queen's》(18:10) Songs are triggering

》(0:20) King Charles and House of the Dragon 》(10:10) Taking a break sometimes; self care》(18:07) Re-evaluating out-of-date truths

》(0:21) Counselling can change your life》(7:48) Bouncing ideas off someone else》(16:21) Emotions can be practical》(21:07) Momentum

》(0:22) Don't drink 》(9:58)The real cost 》(15:59) Buy your time back》(17:06) Porn is evil too

》(1:07) Dating after Vick 》(4:37) Online dating is a harsh world 》(13:22) Ego boosts 》(19:42) Real life dates

》(0:48) Yoga in public 》(7:44) Curate your role models 》(12:04) Learn from the birds 》(15:34) Get up early 》(20:06) Alone time》(22:10) Do it today

》(1:55) We don't have the words for this stuff 》(19:54) Active mourning. Don't rely on time; heal yourself

》(0:25) Covid silver lining 1: jogging 》(9:17) Movement improves mood 》 (14:21) Silver lining 2: yoga 》 (23:05) Dancing

》(0:25) Golf is life 》(4:15) People are desperate to come on the podcast!》(7:44) How do we really talk about this stuff? 》 (12:14) Quality listeners and selflesness.

》(0:26) It's down to you, and you alone 》(10:47) Cold showers 》(19:12) Be the wolf 》(22:57) Wrestle with your monkey

》(0:26) Avoiding difficult conversations 》(13:47) Overwhelmend by all this crap 》(19:55) Do the basics. Sleep! 》(22:58) Negative thought patterns

》(0:26) Laura 》(10.30) She's not my counsellor 》(19:23) Talking to Vick

》(0:25) Playing golf, enjoying nature》(13:25) Preaching 》(16:16) Kurt Vonnegut readings; if this isn't nice, what is?

》(1:26) A huge thank you》(3:08) Tidying the spare room》(10:31) Jordan Peterson》(18:12) Loneliness; a difficult admission

》(1:34) Introduction to The Monkey Chamber 》(6:09) Funeral reading 》(15:43) What to expect over the next few episodes》(27:42) Feedback.