Intimate Interactions

Latest Episodes:

Imposter Syndrome (Vivica) May 29, 2021

Show notes

Vivica, a sex worker who strips and pole dances to earn money chats with us about Imposter Syndrome. We talk about intensity, anxiety, self-compassion, and covid. These times have been hard on all of us, but sex workers have been hit really hard by covid. Vivica brings a casual and informative presence to the show, and I look forward to recording more with her in future. Enjoy!

Bodies - Reproduction, Queerness, Disability (Tillie) May 22, 2021

Show notes

Tillie is back to talk queer bodies, reproduction, fertility, endometriosis, having kids, adoption, fears of reproducing disability or mental illness, cannabis use, STIs, and more. As usual, we have a great time in this content packed session.

Grief, Loss, and Funerals for Our Abilities (Billie) May 15, 2021

Show notes

Usually the acquiring and losing of skills and abilities is compressed towards learning when you’re younger and losing when you’re older. In some ways, chronic illness and loss of ability is like aging in super speed with your body fighting back to retain what it can. While we often think of people as how they lived, not how they died; so too do I see among the loss and death of things in chronic illness the vivacity and life that carries us through it.

It may seem confusing to have life and fun so intermingled with death and loss; it can be hard with chronically ill folks as some might describe, “watch them die slowly” but in truth you’re also watching them live. In some ways the triumph of life and joy and fun over great adversity is a hallmark of the human condition and an essential part of our nature that has led from the first cell that existed on the planet through its descendants, each reaching sexual maturity, reproducing, and protecting their offspring long enough for them to reach sexual maturity. That unbroken chain from the proverbial slime in the primordial soup through single-celled life like bacteria, still ubiquitous and successful today, through other branches of successful modern life like plants and animals; even fast forwarding to hominid - think great apes - evolution from the first apes to stand upright to the first tool users to your most distant imagined ancestors all the way to your life today - every single organism from that first cell to you exists suspended in time in an unbroken chain.

That chain is no shorter and no less impressive for any human being alive today, including the human I interview today, Billie, a veteran of EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) with other conditions like POTS (Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), has some great take aways. Last time, we covered the psychology of surviving sickness.

Today we continue chatting about how appreciation of the high points in our life change throughout life. That is to say a great blackberry that you eat when you’re 27 might be more appreciated in a genuinely grateful kind of way at 57 when you can’t eat them anymore than when you were 27. This idea, that gratitude need not occur simultaneously with experience, is one of my favourite take-aways from the session; but it’ll make more sense when Billie communicates it herself. As usual, content warning for graphic descriptions of sickness and dark humour.

Dating During COVID-19 (Robin Beatch) May 08, 2021

Show notes

Dating can be a fun, connective adventure. Or you could be doing it during a pandemic. Robin Beatch is back today to talk about dating as a polyamorous person and how COVID has impacted her and her polycule. We share strategies on risk profiling and figuring out what you want, who in your life is most vulnerable, and what is a boundary for you. Robin also talks about her longest sexual dry spell.

And just in case you don’t know, a polycule is a group of people who sleep with some of the same people. So if person A sleeps with B and C with person B sleeping with A and D and person C sleeping with A and E, the five of them would be in a polycule. This is just one configuration out of many. Some folks call this a line or a V configuration - the name doesn’t matter. The group of people who are connected in that they are all sleeping with the same people are a complex sort of polyamorous extended family. Metamours are the lovers of your lovers. Often they are not your lovers.

Jobs and Schools During COVID (Tillie) May 01, 2021

Show notes

Tillie and I talk about job loss, home-schooling, latchkey kids, pets, and intensity as coping for chronic pain. Mostly we talk about COVID: our fears, our hopes, and our coping strategies. At least COVID hasn’t slowed down my content generation. Stay safe out there, everyone.

The Psychology of Surviving Sickness (Billie) Apr 24, 2021

Show notes

Billie, a lifetime EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) veteran with ten years of actively seeking help in the healthcare system, guides us through some basics of surviving severe sickness and loss of ability be it temporary or permanently. Content warning: this content might be hard for some folks, so please give yourself permission to turn it off or take some space from it for a while. We talk about losing the embarrassment around disability and using grieving as an opportunity to move through loss and grief towards exploration of new and interesting parts of the human condition.

My personal feeling is that in some ways we’re explorers getting to navigate uncommonly traversed parts of the human condition. That’s easy for me to say right now when I’m not on the floor of my bedroom crawling towards the toilet with 9 out of 10 pain. It certainly has adjusted who I am and how I relate to my body. It has certainly changed how I process messages from my body. It’s like - when your body texts in all caps, you just get used to it after a while. It’s not that it’s any easier, but you get stronger at breathing and surviving, and in that experience comes a relief of the fear that comes when you’re not sure if you can make it or not.

This session is split into two parts: this episode, and the next one on grief, loss, and having funerals for our abilities. Content warning: this might get graphic. For now, let’s start the conversation about positives, coping, and managing chronic illness here with Billie on Intimate Interactions.

Polyamory Risk Profiles and Fluids (Robin Beatch) Apr 17, 2021

Show notes

This session, Robin and I reminisce fondly about an intimate moment from the past. After waiting years for a certain queer experience, Robin finally got the birthday present she wanted. Afterward we talk about fluid exchange hierarchies and polyamory risk profiles.

Remember, Robin’s second book Polyglamorous: a Queer mom’s misadventures and lessons in non monogamy is available if you want more content. Check her out at https://robinsnestcoaching.com or find her book at: https://alternativesexuality.ca/shop

https://alternativesexuality.ca/shop.html

Stripping Through School (Robin Beatch) Apr 10, 2021

Show notes

We form opinions of people piece by piece. First, Robin was a stripper. She took off her clothes as a house girl, but it was offering lap dances to men in the clubs where she earned most of her money. She needed that money to get through nursing school where she went on to become a psychiatric nurse. She also made money pro domming men. Is any one of those professions more a sale of her body than the others? Is any one asking her to do more emotional labour than the others? Why do we attach judgement to some professions and not others?

But I’m getting ahead of myself as usual - let’s let Robin tell the story. And if you like it, feel free to buy her book on https://robinsnestcoaching.com or at https://alternativesexuality.ca/shop.html. But for now, let’s get some intimate stories for free from Robin herself on Intimate Interactions.

Self Medicating and PMDD (Billie) Apr 03, 2021

Show notes

Billie is back with more hard hitting content. Her dark humour and our ability to laugh with each other about our situations and at ourselves is especially impressive in her case since she’s a lifetime EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) veteran, braving hospitals actively for ten years. With accessory conditions like POTS (Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), Billie talks about her chronic illnesses and the challenges she’s had having her pain or condition taken seriously.

We talk about psilocybin and cannabis this session as well as other medications and premenstrual dysphoric disorder; content warning for graphic descriptions. We joke about the early medical establishment, hysteria, masturbation, and other topics.

More ADHD Coping Strategies (Yana Skorstengaard) Mar 27, 2021

Show notes

Yana Skorstengaard, a graduate student with ADHD, chats about the pros and cons of having ADHD and the strategies folks can use to offset the negatives and maximize the positives.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Intimate Interactions

Related Podcasts

1

2

3

4

5

6