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Today we were going to air the first “Psychedelics and Christianity” panel, but then a crisis hit our family: my husband fell and broke both bones in his left forearm, while rock climbing with our kids.
When I got his call from the ER, I was 2500 miles away, working remotely on
ROGD Repair from a peaceful Airbnb in Holualoa, Hawaii, where I was recharging on a solo trip. Needless to say, the news hit hard; it felt like the ground dropped out from under me.
There was a crisis whirlwind: catching up to speed on the situation; coordinating with my husband, doctors and nurses, friends and family; and figuring out how to get home quickly, despite his insistence I stay in Hawaii and somehow “enjoy” my birthday there despite knowing the love of my life was suffering without me.
When I got home, I was thankful to our amazing friends who had risen to the occasion and cared for him in my absence, but it was clear that the severity of the situation had been downplayed. My first full day back was spent handling the chaos of our home in disarray, coordinating overworked and saintly friends, and quickly catching up to speed on his pain, medications, mobility issues, caregiving needs, and surgery plan. Not to mention the psychological adjustment to finding the man who'd spent so much time taking care of me suddenly being the helpless patient in need of tending. That day also happened to be my birthday, which I'd originally planned to spend boogie boarding and whale watching. Bless my husband’s heart — he still made sure a friend picked up a dessert for me. But I chose to save most of the presents he’d prepared well in advance for a day with a more celebratory mood. What mattered was that he be able to have surgery as quickly as possible, that we be adequately prepared, and that he not further injure himself while his bones were loose.
Thankfully, the orthopedic surgeon was able to get my husband in the very next day, and despite the sickening level of anxiety I felt in the waiting room, the procedure went as well as it could have: he had great bones, a clean fracture, excellent range of motion and an ideal recovery prognosis.
My husband now has plates and screws in his arm; a bandage/splint/sling situation; and a schedule of pain relief, ice, and elevation. He’s encouraged to move gently, and will begin occupational therapy in two weeks when the sutures are removed. Meanwhile, I'm adjusting to my new role as my responsibilities have drastically increased to include both nursing him, and taking over all the chores and errands he used to handle. I'm in one of those chapters where all you can do is focus on the next thing you must do.
Although my husband should be resting, we are also dealing with a completely separate issue, a private family situation causing loads of stress and costing even greater loads of money. So while he's on the couch with his arm elevated and iced, he's still working remotely on what he can to ameliorate the other thing.
We were prepared for a rainy day, even a stormy one. We just weren't prepared to be pelted with hail the size of golf balls.
This feels like a sneak preview into the reality of aging.
With his one good hand, my poor sweet husband was going to try to make sure to get you this week’s episode as usual. But I see no reason not to save that for next week with all we’re going through. Especially not when I have this amazing recording we can use. This took him minutes to assemble, not hours.
See, before the accident, one morning in Holualoa, HI, I woke up before dawn. The chorus of birds, frogs, and insects there is normally amazing, especially at that time of day, but it was even more incredible that morning with the rain. There is something so magical about being in a place teeming with life all around you. So I opened my voice memos app and started a new recording; sat my phone down carefully on the ledge of the lanai; and sipped coffee as quietly as possible while listening to the chorus, hoping my phone’s mic would hear it as keenly as my ears did. I am pretty pleased with how the recording turned out, and I wanted to turn it into a track that could be looped, if only for myself. But I decided to share it with you too. It's pretty perfect if you ask me, aside from the occasional vehicle motor humming in the background.
So today, in honor of my husband’s healing, I bring you ten minutes of a glorious chorus of tropical birds, insects, frogs, and rain. It feels like bringing home a little piece of my time on the island, making up for the trip being cut short. Studies show 20 minutes of birdsong a day improves mental health. I hope this brings you peace.
I’m explaining everything in the notes here, and not including any speech in the podcast, both because that’s easier, and because it allows you to loop this track for sound therapy. You can listen to it over and over. I recommend playing it in the morning while waking up.
If you want to help us out while my husband is unable to work, you can send money via
Venmo or
Paypal. Better yet, refer every parent of a gender-confused kid you know to my course,
ROGD Repair, which now comes with unlimited access to AI assistant,
RepairBot. The income from the course helps us stay stable during these tough times. Thanks as always for your support.
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What is You Must Be Some Kind of Therapist?
A podcast at the intersection of psychology and culture that intimately explores the human experience and critiques the counseling profession. Your host, Stephanie Winn, distills wisdom gained from her practice as a family therapist and coach while pivoting towards questions of how to apply a practical understanding of psychology to the novel dilemmas of the 21st century, from political polarization to medical malpractice.
What does ethical mental health care look like in a normless age, as our moral compasses spin in search of true north? How can therapists treat patients under pressure to affirm everything from the notion of "gender identity" to assisted suicide?
Primarily a long-form interview podcast, Stephanie invites unorthodox, free-thinking guests from many walks of life, including counselors, social workers, medical professionals, writers, researchers, and people with unique lived experience, such as detransitioners.
Curious about many things, Stephanie’s interdisciplinary psychological lens investigates challenging social issues and inspires transformation in the self, relationships, and society. She is known for bringing calm warmth to painful subjects, and astute perceptiveness to ethically complex issues. Pick up a torch to illuminate the dark night and join us on this journey through the inner wilderness.
You Must Be Some Kind of Therapist ranks in the top 1% globally according to ListenNotes. New episodes are released every Monday. Three and a half years after the show's inception in May of 2022, Stephanie became a Christian, representing the crystallization of moral, spiritual, and existential views she had been openly grappling with along with her audience and guests. Newer episodes (#188 forward) may sometimes reflect a Christian understanding, interwoven with and applied to the same issues the podcast has always addressed. The podcast remains diverse and continues to feature guests from all viewpoints.