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The Year of Less

Cait Flanders

Cait Flanders (@caitflanders) is former binge consumer turned mindful consumer.

Between 2011-2016 she was the writer the behind the popular personal finance blog “Blonde on a Budget”, where she documented her journey out of $28,000 worth of personal debt.

She is currently the author of CaitFlanders.com where she has expanded her interests into issues as diverse as minimalism, travel, health, social media.

Her latest project, “The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life Is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store“,  is a self-help memoir that documents her life for the first twelve months of a two-year shopping ban and decluttering experiment, and also forms the basis of today’s conversation.

In today’s episode we discuss the links between consumerism and things like addiction and self-esteem, the challenges and benefits of decluttering your life, and also offers some tips and ideas on how to spend both your money, and your time, more wisely.

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Related Links

CaitFlanders.com – Minimalism, travel, health and social media blog

Cait on Instagram

Cait on Twitter

The Slow Home Podcast with Brooke McAlary

Book Recommendations

     

Image courtesy: Cait Flanders

 

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Porn Scars: Afflictions of the Porn Generation

Wendy Maltz

Wendy Maltz (@healthysextweet) is an internationally recognized certified sex therapist with more than forty years of clinical experience, and a leading expert on healing sexual abuse, women’s sexual fantasies, healthy sexuality, and recovery from porn-related concerns.

She has served as an Adjunct Instructor teaching “Human Sexuality in Counseling” at the University of Oregon, and in 2014, she received the prestigious Carnes award from the Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health for “her outstanding work in the field of sexual addiction.”

Wendy is the author of numerous books including “Private Thoughts: Exploring the Power of Women’s Sexual Fantasies“, “The Sexual Healing Journey: A Guide for Survivors of Sexual Abuse“, and the book which expands on today’s topic “The Porn Trap: The Essential Guide to Overcoming Problems Caused by Pornography“.

In today’s episode we discuss the social and psychological consequences for young men who grow up with fast and easy access to increasingly extreme pornography.

 

Related Links

HealthySex.com – Wendy’s website

Do You Know the Difference? (Porn-related Sex vs Healthy Sex) – Poster

The Hazards of Porn – Poster

Teenagers are having less sex, but contracting more STI’s – Cosmopolitan

Book Recommendations

          

 

Image courtesy: Heather Hopkins

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Alcohol Addiction: Brain Disease or Behaviour Problem?

Prof. Matt Field

Matt Field (@field_matt) is Professor of Psychology at the University of Liverpool, where he heads up the Addiction Research Group, investigating the cognitive, biological and social processes involved in addiction, with a focus on alcohol addiction and cigarette smoking.

He is co-author of Essential Abnormal and Clinical Psychology, and a regular contributor to the Mental Elf and other online resources on the topic of addiction. In 2009 he was the recipient of the British Psychological Society Spearman Medal, and since 2014 he has been an advisor for Alcohol Concern’s Dry January campaign.

In today’s episode we discuss the topic of alcohol abuse and addiction, and it’s relationship to mental health.

So, what exactly is the difference between alcohol abuse and addiction? Does alcohol addiction run in families, and who is most susceptible? We discuss the alcohol paradox; that is, why people in deprived communities have higher levels of alcohol-related ill health than people in non-deprived communities, despite drinking the same amounts of alcohol.

We discover why stopping drinking is only half the battle in overcoming alcohol addiction. What you can do, as a friend or relative, to help somebody with a drinking problem. What the government could – but seemingly won’t – do to help reduce the amount of alcohol related harm. We also tackle the most controversial question of all: whether or not is alcohol addiction a brain disease or a disorder of choice?

Want to see whether or not YOU are drinking too much? Check out this 7-day unit calculator from DrinkAware which will calculate how much alcohol you consume over an average week and indicate whether or not your intake could be affecting your health.

 

Matt’s Recommended Links

Down Your Drink – Helping you make decisions about your drinking

Alcohol Concern – Promoting health; improving lives

NHS Alcohol Portal

Books Mentioned in This Episode

     

 

Image courtesy: Matthias Ripp

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