The Depression and Anxiety Episode (podcast)
With my novel (I Only Cry with Emoticons) coming out in just a few weeks, I figured it would be a good time for us to discuss my relationship to depression and anxiety over the years. Turns out that I used to date depression but now I'm hooking up with anxiety. So... yay??? Check out the latest Neurotic Tornado 😫🌪 podcast episode.
Pain Scale from 1 to Fuchsia (podcast)
I suffer from chronic migraines. Every week I have to work through the ups and downs of how I feel. In this Neurotic Tornado podcast episode, my wife and I talk about how we manage our lives alongside my chronic pain.
Spiral of Foreboding (podcast)
The next episode of the Neurotic Tornado 😫🌪 podcast is live! So far, we’re actually pulling off the every-two-weeks schedule!… This episode was a little bit trickier to name. Even when I hear good news (like a positive book review or when a cool radio personality wants to interview me), I’m capable of being filled with dread and a sense of foreboding. So my wife comes up to the attic to help me figure things out. Again. ❤️️❤️️❤️️ We also talk about why my sense of object permanence is only slightly better than a baby's. 🥄🥄🥄 You can listen to the episode right from this blog post with the button below. But even better, instead of listening to the episode here like a digital caveman, you should really just subscribe to the Neurotic Tornado 😫🌪 podcast!
The Rebirth of the Neurotic Tornado Podcast
At the most inconvenient possible time, I’ve decided to restart my Neurotic Tornado podcast! 😫🌪 In this season (#4), my wife comes up to the attic and we discuss some of my mental baggage, especially related to sharing creative stuff with the world (like my forthcoming novel). I’ve been struggling with issues around obsessive thinking, anxiety, dread, insecurity, chronic pain, and more. And so I thought it would be a delightful romp to work through this stuff with microphones in our faces! 😜
On a serious note, I did want to talk about these issues and understand them better as I try to be a happier, healthier human. And my wife has some cool insights in this realm.
If you want to learn more about the podcast series…
21: The Podcast Effect
This is the fifteenth podcast episode my wife and I have done together. So in this episode, we talk about how the podcast has affected our relationship. It has caused some ups and downs, with more ups than downs. We also talk about how you too can reap the benefits of this experience, without having to be foolish enough to start your own podcast to discuss your relationship issues...
20: Hey Jealousy
In this podcast episode, my wife and I talk about jealousy -- her jealousy of me and my jealousy of her. Although a certain amount of jealousy is allowed in our relationship, are we jealous enough???
19: Drawn to Women
In this podcast episode, my wife and I analyze why we typically prefer to talk with women more than men. This isn't an across the board thing though -- we both have close male friends -- and so we try to untangle why it's that way. Hopefully no genders were harmed in the making of this podcast...
18: Sex and Marriage
In this podcast episode, we actually try to talk about our sex life — or at least our struggle with getting sex into our busy lives. WARNING: This discussion is not so sexy...
17: Resentment and You
In this podcast episode, we talk about resentment. Or at least we try to talk about resentment — a little bit of my resentment and a little bit of my wife’s resentment. We bicker about our messy home. You’ll also learn a brilliant (or horrifying) technique for saving time when folding (or not folding) your laundry...
16: New Frontiers of Vulnerability
In this podcast episode, we discuss vulnerability, shame, and my own craziness. We talk about Brené Brown’s research and we talk about the essay I recently published. Join us for this delightfully vulnerable romp...
15: Neurotic Tour of the Vagina Tour
In this podcast episode... yeah, you're just going to have to listen to this one to make sense of it. Sorry.
14: Money Trouble
In this podcast episode, we talk about money. Or more specifically, we talk about our money problems. Or more specifically, we talk about our relationship problems that relate to our money problems...
13: Repair Attempts
In this podcast episode, we discuss something known as a repair attempt. It's a term coined by John Gottman. He is a psychologist who has done 40 years of research on relationships and marital stability and divorce prediction. This repair attempt thing relates to the way a couple tries to reconnect after a fight. If you want to get the most out of this episode, here is one way you can do it...
12: Marrying an Insecure Angsty Depressive
In this podcast episode, I talk to my wife about what it is like to be married to an insecure, angst-ridden, depressed person. Is it as sexy as it sounds? I was particularly insecure and full of anxiety in the first few years of our relationship and we talk about how that impacted our relationship. Join us for this delightful romp! (p.s. The podcast name has changed to Neurotic Tornado. Sorry. The podcast feed is the same -- you don't have to do anything to keep receiving episodes.)
11: Marrying a Divorcée
In this podcast episode, the wife and I discuss the impact of us getting together later in life — as a couple and as parents. Join us and let's get old together...
10: Our Couples Counselors
In this podcast episode, the wife and I take you on a tour of every one of our couples counselors. What could be more arousing than analyzing a whole bunch of analysts?
9: Our Unromantic Romance
My wife and I recorded this podcast episode on Valentine's Day after having NOT celebrated V-Day, so it seems fitting that we talk about how unromantic we are. Though we end up finding romance in our marriage in less typical places. I again try (and fail) to pick a fight with her. I again get us to talk about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, even when it is off topic. I again worry if you're enjoying this ride with us...
8: Our Dark Periods
In this podcast episode, I talk to my wife about our "dark period." Actually, she clarified for me that we have had several dark periods -- these are periods in our marriage where we have really struggled to connect, nearly to the point of it all falling apart. Not only do we talk about our dark periods, but we talk about my obsession about talking about our dark periods. And we talk about my (previous) fear of having kids. What's not to like?
7: Never Good Enough
In this episode, I bully my wife onto the show. Listen to her talk about my various failings as a husband. Everything from my failures as a lawn mower-er to my inability to plan trips with the family to our combined attraction for Angel, the brooding vampire with a soul from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What's not to like?