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The Allusionist

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A PODCAST ABOUT LANGUAGE
BY HELEN ZALTZMAN

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The Allusionist

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Allusionist 138. Mind My Mind

June 27, 2021 The Allusionist
A138 Mind My Mind logo.jpg

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Crazy, insane, nuts, mad, bonkers, psycho, schizo, OCD - casual vocabulary is strewn with mental health terms, but perhaps shouldn't be? Psychotherapist and podcaster Lily Sloane talks about what we're really saying when we use such words.

Content note: in the second half of the show there is some mention of eating disorders. So if that’s not what you need to hear about today, tap out at the ad break.

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL:

  • Other relevant Allusionist episodes include: Behave, about how cognitive behavioural therapy works - and you can hear psychologist Jane Gregory on Keep Calm And, too; the origins of the term ‘gaslighting’ are in the 2016 Bonus episode; and in Toki Pona, we talk about big feelings, without actually being able to talk about big feelings.

  • “I told almost every doctor who came into my room that I needed to be with my baby. The fact that no one else seemed to think that was important made me feel craziest of all.” One of many valuable pieces published this week related to Britney Spears’s predicament.

  • Britney Spears's Conservatorship Is a Disability Rights Issue That Deserves More Attention.

  • “If you think of the evolutionary circumstances of how our brains developed, and the kinds of things that would be particularly traumatic, animal attacks would be high on the list.” I thought this piece about a shark bite survivors’ club was really interesting, BUT if you’re scared of sharks or sea swimming, do not read it!

  • Stop Telling Women They’re Crazy.

  • This book by Andrew Scull, Madness In Civilization: A Cultural History of Insanity, looks interesting - have any of you read it?

  • The Anatomy Of Melancholy, the 400-year-old self help book.

Sign up to be a patron at patreon.com/allusionist by the end of June 2021, and I'll record the word or phrase of your choice to use as your phone alert or alarm! You’ll also get access to the recordings of all the words patrons choose, so lots for you to play with.

YOUR RANDOMLY SELECTED WORD FROM THE DICTIONARY:
fartlek

fartlek, noun, athletics: a system of training for distance runners in which the terrain and pace are continually varied. Origin 1940s from Swedish: ‘fart’ speed + ‘lek’ play. 

fartlek, noun, athletics: a system of training for distance runners in which the terrain and pace are continually varied. Origin 1940s from Swedish: ‘fart’ speed + ‘lek’ play. 

CREDITS:

  • Lily Sloane is a therapist, podcaster and musician. Find her therapy practice at lilysloane.com; she accepts clients based in the state of California. Hear her music, and her podcasts A Therapist Walks Into A Bar and Radical Advice, at lilymakessound.com.

  • This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman. The original Allusionist music is by Martin Austwick. Download his songs at palebirdmusic.com, listen to his podcasts Song By Song and Neutrino Watch, and hear more of his composition on the science podcast for kids Maddie’s Sound Explorers.

  • Find the show at twitter.com/allusionistshow, facebook.com/allusionistshow, twitter.com/helenzaltzman and instagram.com/allusionistshow.

The Allusionist is an independent podcast. If you’re able and inclined to support the show, head over to patreon.com/allusionist.

Back in a couple of weeks with a new episode - HZ.

In episodes Tags words, language, linguistics, education, comedy, entertainment, society & culture, arts, literature, etymology, lexicon, vocabulary, Helen Zaltzman, history, Lily Sloane, therapy, psychotherapy, mental health, ableism, psychopathy, Psycho, OCD, ambivalence, antisocial, egosyntonic, egodystonic, disorders, schizophrenia, schizoid, sociopath, Carl Jung, Psyche, Eros, Cupid, Aphrodite, myths, Greek myths, Greek gods, Hedone, hedonism, the shadow, fartlek
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