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16. Self-Care Tips For The End of The World
18 Plays2 days ago
Y’all, what the fuck is happening.
It’s been a bummer of a week and so we wanted to come atcha with some tips that might help you feel like it’s worth sticking around to fight another day. We’re here with you. We need you. Let’s get to work.
Warning: spoilers for The Handmaids Tale. Also warning: Molly has new upstairs neighbors who love to get stompy.
We're grateful you're here! If you like what you’re hearing, you can follow us on Instagram: @soulpodthepodcast. You can also email us directly at [email protected].
Molly does tarot readings online and locally in Massachusetts: https://www.thehighpriestesscoaching.com/
Christina sells delicious microgreens in the greater Detroit area: https://www.christinasgreens.com/
Hosts: Christina Bell & Molly Wilde
Music: The Confrontation, by Jonathan Boyle, licensed from Premium Beats by Shutterstock
Editing: Molly Wilde
Disclaimer: The purpose of this podcast is for entertainment and enjoyment. We are not professionals in any regard. We do not have professional knowledge, training, or education in physical health, mental health, or spiritual matters. Any suggestions or recommendations made during our episodes should be independently researched by the listener before considering implementation, or better yet, listeners should ignore everything we say. We cannot be held responsible or liable for anything we say, or any actions taken by any persons as a result of listening to our podcast episodes. Stay safe, stay informed, stay smart.
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Transcript
Introduction and Episode's Unplanned Nature
00:00:22
Speaker
All right, so are we ready? Want to dive in? I know, I'm not feeling um not feeling the greatest, but you know, it's all right. mr None of us are. None of us are. This was not the original planned episode board next or for this upcoming week.
00:00:48
Speaker
ah The one we had planned will be next week.
Exploring the Meaning of R&R
00:00:52
Speaker
We are here to talk about R&R. What do they call it? Rest and Recuperation? Rest and Relaxation. Rest and Relaxation. Yeah, that's how I- Rest and Recovery.
00:01:10
Speaker
I don't know. I was like, what's the other word? Recovery and Recuperation. Like, I mean, the funny thing is, and it's dark, but it's funny to me, is the actual meaning, rest and relaxation.
Challenges and Operating in a Deficit
00:01:24
Speaker
The original meaning, in my mind at least, got lost because I replaced relaxation with recovery or recuperation, which is like regaining back a sense, like a like a um baseline need of being rested and safe.
00:01:49
Speaker
right because I am so used to operating in a deficit, and I know you are too. Yep. And we, boy, do we got a deficit on the horizon. Boy, howdy. What are you eating, by the way? Wendy's chili. Oh, yummy. It's very good.
00:02:14
Speaker
Mm-hmm. I figured they had like, you know, some veggies and shit. Oh, yeah. That's semi good for you. There's beans in there. Mm-hmm. Let me some beans. Beans! Beans.
00:02:29
Speaker
Oh, man. You guys, what a fucking week. What the fuck? I wanted to ask you something. Yeah.
Experiences of American Women and Societal Challenges
00:02:39
Speaker
Do we need to, like, not be playing up why we're so fucked up right now because what if we do get listeners from the other side? Well, we don't want to put them off right away. Well, here's the thing. The way that I intend to draw people across the aisle, as it were, is is by not calling them stupid, but I am not going to downplay how it feels to be
00:03:14
Speaker
an American woman right now. Okay. I refuse.
00:03:24
Speaker
Speaking of being an American woman, I learned a really, really fun fact today that is unrelated to absolutely everything or anything at all. And that really, really fun fact is that plan B has a shelf life of four years. Yeah, I saw that.
00:03:41
Speaker
yeah That's a fact and we're gonna we're gonna state that fact because I think it's a really interesting fact and not because of any other reason at all Hmm. Yep Yeah, yeah that shelf life is the same regardless of his if it's in the store or in your house Yeah And sorry gonna you know have any use for it Exactly
00:04:10
Speaker
Yeah, no, we're having we're having a hard time as a collective, as a country. And i ah I've seen so many takes, so many comedians, so many late night talk show hosts making commentary on it. And I can't remember who it was that said this, but I had the thought or had I had to also say it's like homey. It was a bad night. Tuesday night was a bad night.
00:04:40
Speaker
for Democrats and it was a bad night for Republicans. They just don't realize it yet. Exactly. And it was a bad night for the rest of the world. It was a bad night for the entire goddamn fucking world. We are in for a bad time and the consequences are going to last decades. Yep. So we are not here.
00:05:06
Speaker
to bash people. We are not, except for Donald Trump, fuck that man. We are not here to bash people who voted for him. We are not here to bash people who voted third party.
Self-care Tips and Preparation
00:05:18
Speaker
We are here to offer self-care tips for the end of the world. For the end of the world.
00:05:30
Speaker
Boy, oh boy, that's loaded. I am about 5% joking. the um So you know we you know we have been focusing on simply just getting through the last day and a half, two days now. I have to keep reminding myself that things are still going to be good for the next couple of months. Yeah. um i I almost am looking at it like, hey, rest up.
00:06:04
Speaker
and take maximum care of yourself and get yourself into as good of like mental and emotional and physical shape as you can before, you know, midway through January. Um, because the bullshit will start immediately. and sure I mean, well I still remember, well, no, I don't remember specific like website themselves, but like, I remember like the day of his inauguration in 2017, multiple like environmental conservation websites, click government-run environmental kind conservation websites were taken down. The day he was inaugurated. Also that day, I called the nearest gynecologist to my home and was like, hello, I would like an IUD, stick it in me now.
00:07:02
Speaker
And they did within a week. I got it, I got it done. Um, and that was a great decision. Um, but yeah, I like, this is, we don't, okay. We're not the most educated on politics. We can't sort through and yammer off statistics the way that some people can like.
Community Support and Connection
00:07:31
Speaker
what we are here to do right now is commiserate and to remind people that we are not alone. You are not alone. The country is abundantly divided. Yeah. Like the most divided it's ever been. And as much as people state that our division like being so divided is um basically very traumatic. It's also important to remember that like there are millions upon millions of people who want the same things you do and who wish things had gone differently. yeah And that means you're not alone. Like none of us now are sitting here staring down the barrel of the next four years completely isolated in
00:08:32
Speaker
knowing what we need to do yeah yep and community is going to be huge for everybody for the next you know foreseeable future to be honest i did a i did a tarot reading for the marco group earlier today i saw um i'm glad it was a long one i feel like people probably saw 18 minutes and they're like yeah just put you on double Yeah, um that's it's always helpful to be able to do that. But, um you know, I just, I was really thorough because I wanted to be because all the each and every single card was there a very meaningful. But like huge overarching message was community. Yep.
00:09:21
Speaker
Yep. We need to, we need to reach out to each other and remind each other that we are here for each other. Yeah. And build each other up ye and lean on each other. Honestly, like do not for a second, the you get stuck in the thinking that you have to do any of this alone. Exactly. You do not have to do any of this alone. You have people around you.
00:09:50
Speaker
whether they are geographically by you, near you or, you know, or not, like the internet is a wonderful tool in that regard. You have people who want to support you and you need to use them because we cannot get through this without that.
Coping with Societal Division through Community
00:10:10
Speaker
right
00:10:14
Speaker
So community and friends and love is the key here, like this is the main thing that I want to stress with regards to self-care because goddamn it, we are not meant to live in isolation. We are not meant to be individualistic. The way that our like American culture and society has like meandered toward over the last
00:10:46
Speaker
fucking 80 to 100 years. Um, that is not how humanity is designed. Christina and I are really, really lucky to have the community that we have. Really goddamn lucky. And it's like, it's like we snuck it in there because these are people, these people that we are now so close with and that we are relying on, that we honestly feel like We can call some of our closest best friends. Like we only met them in September. Well, and we didn't even meet them. but Yeah. Sure. Like yeah maybe maybe met a couple of them. Yeah. We met a few people in person, but, um, most of them, we did not get to meet in person. We, you know, have known them through this Marco group, but this is the people that we know through Anahatas.
00:11:44
Speaker
And they're, they're incredible ladies. Oh my God. They're amazing. I think there's been a guy that's popped in, but I don't, I wasn't around when he popped in. So I'm not even sure. Yeah. Yeah. I can't think of who else it would be, but I know who you're talking about. Um, cause I know there are a few guys in there. It's funny because it's, I don't know how this is an inclusive, like gender inclusive, you know, event. And yet it is predominantly women and non-binary people.
00:12:14
Speaker
who um show up, which is great, honestly. um I love it. um and But it's really cool to see the kinds of guys that decide to show up, too. I like that. um But even within that you know umbrella of the kinds of people that show up, too, on a hottest, the actual event, um like the people that are in this Marko group are like just a really, really small fraction of those people. Because, I mean, like, it does get a little overwhelming. Not everybody, Marko is not for everybody. um But ah the people who are in there, we have gone to know and we love them immensely. So yeah. Speaking of,
00:13:12
Speaker
way. ah Just a little while ago, like an hour or two ago, um somebody brought out the a special book that's just for witches. Did you get get a chance to see that? Oh, okay. You but you weren't in the book club, are you?
00:13:32
Speaker
No, but they brought this up in the Marco and they showed it and it was like, um yeah, one the one brought it up and then the other one brought hers out and was like, yeah, I have that too. And I thought, oh, how perfect because like we're talking about R and&R and it's the witch's book of self care. So yeah i thought I thought it'd be cool to bring that up, but I think it also would be really funny if when you open this book up, all it is is a guide to all the best
Humorous Take on Witch's Self-care Book
00:13:58
Speaker
dildos and vibrators on the market.
00:14:06
Speaker
Oh my god. Oh, I didn't like that. It is. Yes. It is far more practical than that, but it would be absolutely iconic. Oh my god. I don't actually own that book, but it's because I'm in the book club, the Marco book club.
00:14:28
Speaker
that's one of the books that we're taught. We're reading, but I'm not actually reading it because I'm focused on a bunch of other books right now. um But that is one that we are talking about. So I've i've seen them, quite a few of them talk about the sections that they've been reading of it. So yeah, it's a good one. I will be investing in it eventually. I just don't, it's not top of the priority list right now for spending.
00:14:58
Speaker
But yeah, it's a good one. um I also have to admit, which fucking sucks, but I have to admit I still have not finished the episode of the Financial Feminist that I suggested we both listen to before we record this episode. Listen, this week is an outlier, you guys. Like, we are not um on top of our game here yeah um things have been a bit spacey spacey and also busy because you know what fucking sucks is that and shit like this happens and you still have to go to work and like this is the busiest time for my job right now the beginning of the month is always the busiest and so i have been non stop like lucky that like You know, my social interaction on Marco is mostly just me like scrolling and watching people's videos or not even needing to scroll because they just play automatically, which is great. Um, but like also sparingly scrolling TikTok, being really, really careful with what I consume, which to be honest, segue again, uh, self care tip number 2.6, I don't know.
00:16:17
Speaker
Uh,
00:16:20
Speaker
be really, really judicious with your social media consumption ye because there's a lot of whole, there's just a ton, a ton of echo chamber panic in misery out there right now. And all of those feelings are valid, but it does not help if all it does is make you spiral even further.
00:16:46
Speaker
Exactly. It's not always healthy. You can be valid and it is valid, but it isn't always healthy to indulge yourself in in that stuff. You have to look for right good things and you need to pull yourself out of that. Yeah. Yeah. And like that's you know additionally, what's made me so grateful for the community that we have because they take up so much of my newsfeed on social media, on Facebook.
00:17:16
Speaker
in particular, um and they are doing whatever they can to try to spread some hope and some ah positivity, some some optimism,
00:17:33
Speaker
um and and and encouragement. And that's what I've tried to do whenever I do get on social media and I try to engage in comments or engage you know by posting or or sharing anything. What I'm trying to do is perpetuate encouragement as well as the message that we have work to do and everybody is
Enduring Tough Times with Community Support
00:17:58
Speaker
necessary. We are we need each other. We need you. We need everybody to be at their best, doing their best to be able to get through.
00:18:10
Speaker
yeah Um, because we have work to do and your best is going to look different every day. Self care tip number 3.17. Uh, your best is going to look different every single day. And so that has not ever been an excuse to, you know, Slack. I don't believe that that's a thing that people say when they're just trying to Slack.
00:18:38
Speaker
That's a thing when people say that people say when they're just giving themselves grace. I wanted to say, I think it's kind of cool that we recently released the episode of The Power of Green because I think that there's a lot of self care tips and tricks in that little episode of ours. In particular, to do with nature. Yeah, absolutely. yeah that was That was what I clung to yesterday morning, going to the woods. Admittedly, not much is green out there anymore right now. Right. So technically just putting your feet on the ground, on the bare ground. Yeah, whether it's dirt or whether it's grass or whatever, it doesn't matter. Yep. And even even if you have wood wood floors in your house, they say that that's, you know, you can walk around with your bare feet on wood floors and it's got the same effect.
00:19:36
Speaker
which is good because I have wood floors. Yeah. I love it. And I've heard this before and I need to like do a little more studying on it, but you can apparently touch a tree and it will take negative, I don't want to just say negative energy or negative vibes, but I think there's like a literal scientific, yeah you know, thing like where it takes the negative, like electrons or neutrons or whatever, and like transmutes them and changes them and neutralizes them.
00:20:10
Speaker
Yeah. So the trees can literally take away all negativity and it doesn't hurt them at all. So touching a tree, literally hugging a tree, like hippies back in the day, I would say. Sitting down, just like sit down at the base of the tree, read a book for a little while. Yeah. You know, just like share a speech with it. Yeah. Um, and you know, like I mentioned in the, uh,
00:20:38
Speaker
Power of Green episode talking about the, uh, oh my God, I keep forgetting the name or the word. Turpenes. Turpenes. Turpenes. And what exactly are the terpenes again? Uh, the names of the terpenes or what, what it means. What does it mean? It's, uh, effectively like airborne essential oils emitted naturally from trees o okay and plants. I completely forgot about all that.
00:21:07
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. um It's the thing, I mean, it's in it's in a whole bunch of plants. ah I think I've mentioned it also being in cannabis. Okay. um there It's in cannabis, but it's also in trees, especially pine, because that's where pineine is. You know, it's in citrus, it's in lavender, it's in like herbs in general. um But the trees,
00:21:37
Speaker
emit it in huge amounts and of course when you're in a forest you're just surrounded and it's really easy to just soak that in and breathe it in. What do they do for you? They naturally reduce your cortisol and levels.
00:21:53
Speaker
and make that. Yeah. Also burning Palo Santo, which you should make sure to do your research and source your Palo Santo ethically if it's possible. um But that is one that does a really good job. Like it's been my go to for whenever I'm just feeling tense and stressed, I just burn a little bit. I have it right here actually.
00:22:19
Speaker
my little cauldron. I'll have to burn someone I get home. I'm not home right now. I'm gonna burn a little bit right now. I can't believe I didn't think of this. Not think of it. I just, I should be doing this more.
00:22:33
Speaker
and um Another episode that is ah especially relevant that we did is the meditation episode. True. That can help bring down, you know, your blood pressure and pulse and all that stuff. Yeah. And actually I kind of think of it as things like aromatherapy and terpenes and forest bathing and those things are a little bit like an as needed anxiety pill, whereas I consider meditation to be more like an antidepressant where ah you derive the best benefit from it out of consistency. yeah Antidepressants don't work unless you do it every day and you keep at it.
00:23:26
Speaker
i I agree with you, but I would say that even if you're not consistent with meditation, it's still going to be helpful in some way. I hope that didn't make a whole bunch of noise. I just ah leaned back, didn't realize that this cord slammed against my microphone. I don't think I heard it, but then again, I have ADHD, so I don't know. Well, no worries. um No, you're you're absolutely right. I think that it's it's more so that it'll alleviate a little bit of stress in the moment, but it'll also do you better if you keep a practice up.
Meditation vs. Antidepressants
00:24:06
Speaker
I think the benefits start building on each other. They do. they do it It builds up in your system, which is exactly what an antidepressant does, but it has to do in order to be most effective.
00:24:18
Speaker
yeah
00:24:21
Speaker
Let's see. What are that? self-care tip 5.0 um yeah and i i don't think i'm not going to say like you should talk specifics in terms of techniques but i wanted to know if there was anything you wanted to share because you are the one who listened to the entirety of that that episode from financial feminists which by the way everybody go listen to financial feminists it'll change your life um
00:24:54
Speaker
And the episode in question is calming your nervous system, financial trauma, stress, anxiety, and more with Somatic Healing Coach, the Workout Witch. So the Workout Witch is the guest on that episode. Tori Dunlap is the host of the Financial Feminist podcast episode. She's also the author of the book, Financial Feminist. It feels like there's something in my ear. but It was wax.
00:25:27
Speaker
I wish that it was recording your laugh right now. You're on mute. Oh my God. Oh my God. You're something else. I sure am. Oh my goodness. Yeah, because that was a good laugh and I'm sorry that I missed it. That's okay. Oh my God. Yeah, so the combing your nervous system episode. um it's ah It's about somatic exercise, but it's like, it's not really exercise. Some of it isn't really, I mean, you know what I'm saying? It's not like strenuous in any way. Right. I mean, like, I think that when they say exercise, at least in that case, it's referring to like exercises, such as you do breathing exercises or, you know, vocal exercises. You're not like,
00:26:20
Speaker
physically exercising, you are yeah doing an exercise. And in the description, it it even says like transformative power of somatic healing. so And somatic... I wish... Okay, go ahead. I was going to say somatic ah is a word that we have tried to define previously on this episode. um And she gave a definition ah by breaking it down with, um, or at least the portion of the word soma, meaning body and like, um, what is, what was it from Greek? I don't know. Probably. Yeah. At least for Latin. Well, Latin would be Corpus. Um, and so I think it's Greek, but somatic healing and somatic
00:27:16
Speaker
uh, therapy is to do with treating and healing the body trauma in the body and not just like physical ailments, injuries, et cetera. Yeah, it's, it's psychological as well as like therapeutic. Um,
00:27:42
Speaker
Yeah. And I wish that the episode was like, I think she has her YouTube channel now. So we could go and actually like physically see the exercises that that lady was describing, but she was describing them. And I, I couldn't really entirely pay attention, like, or I wasn't quite understanding exactly what she was meaning.
00:28:01
Speaker
by a certain one, it was one thing that was sort of like this, where your arms are crossed in front of you. Anything you were like hitting yourself on the shoulders like this? Oh yeah. Well, that reminds me of the tapping. Yeah, the tapping, which I've never personally felt like ah that tapping like does anything for me.
00:28:20
Speaker
um but maybe I'm doing it wrong. I don't know. It doesn't matter. Yeah, I don't know either. like i I've tried it a couple of times and I really wasn't sure if I was getting any benefit out of it, but yeah yeah maybe there maybe there's a a certain thing that we're missing that we're not quite sure. Yeah, I don't know. correctly oh and that's ah That's one of those things. If you want to if you know like the right way to do that and you want to talk to us about it, you can send us an email, soulpodthepodcast at gmail dot.com.
00:28:49
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. So the the way she was describing it, though, was like, like doing it hard, but not hard enough to hurt yourself, where tapping is like more just gentle, or not, not super, you know, forceful. But anyway, I think it was like this, but I could be wrong. And then there was another one. And I i really wasn't paying attention at that point for some reason. Yeah, I can't remember. But I wanted to look up I think that was my brain checking out because I just told myself I want to like go and find the YouTube a video of it and watch it. To be able to see it, yeah. Yeah. yeah yeah i Like I said, I didn't get to finish this episode, ah listening to the episode before we started to record today. ah That was my plan for the afternoon and it just went straight out the window.
00:29:38
Speaker
oh but I will say that there is something that I believe falls under the category of somatic therapy or somatic exercise of some kind, um which is meant to help regulate your nervous system, which is to like, it's best to do when you're laying down or something, but to like curl up maybe almost in the fetal position and like tense up and tighten up every single muscle in your body, um all the way you know from your face to your toes. like Curl and tense and hold that for 15 to 30 seconds, and then release. And then just go as quick as you can into total relaxation. I remember hearing that somewhere too. Yeah. And it's meant to just sort of like teach your body what it feels like
00:30:37
Speaker
like what, you know, teach your muscles, teach your nervous system what it feels like to move out of constant tension. Right. And yeah, so that tends to help. I've, you know, used it not often enough. I think I need to remember to use it more because it has been helpful the times I've used it. But, you know, another thing that tends to be helpful, which is not related to like somatic healing. But like things to just sort of shock you shock your nervous system out of fight or flight is ah things like extreme flavors. um Like spiciness. Yeah, like hot sauce or vinegar or um yeah things like that. um That's also why ice baths are so effective.
00:31:33
Speaker
Um, or cold showers. yeah Um, is it just sort of shocks your nervous system while also sort of teaching you that discomfort doesn't have to mean you're unsafe. Right. Um, yeah. And, uh, so that is definitely something, something I actually made a choice about today. Not, not a super like extreme choice, but.
00:32:00
Speaker
Um, I went, I ordered some lunch from the pizza place down the road and I just ordered like a sub and onion rings. And then while I was there, i I always forget they have like a rack of, um, bags of potato chips. And I ended up, I was like looking at the flavors and I was like, which which one do I feel like having? And I usually like, I like a bunch of different flavors, but I usually go for like a sour cream and onion.
00:32:30
Speaker
But then I landed on salt and vinegar and I was like, my nervous system needs that. My nervous system needs my tongue to go like numb today. So. So I have a question. Yeah. um In what ways are these techniques for nervous system regulation different than techniques for actual rest and relaxation?
Overcoming Societal Stress and Relaxation Techniques
00:32:57
Speaker
Well, you're not going to rest and relax if your nervous system is dysregulated. Right. I'd say doing these things to even be able to achieve a state of rest and relaxation. um If you are like us and you feel stressed a lot of the time, even when we are not staring down the barrel of another four years under ah the reign of an evil cheeto,
00:33:27
Speaker
this is the kind of thing that is going to be helpful for you to be able to even begin to rest and to begin to relax and to actually start to fill that well up of energy and like edification.
00:33:53
Speaker
what's a What are some good suggestions for helping ourselves relax?
00:34:00
Speaker
This almost falls into the a little bit of the umbrella of what we talked about in the shame episode, actually, because you know everybody is going to be different. What helps you relax or what helps you feel good is going to be different. But I'm thinking of The concept of seeking out things that help you experience awe and wonder, which we have previously stated is the antidote to shame, can also be the antidote to anxiety. You know, walking through an art museum and, you know, sitting and appreciating the absolute
00:34:50
Speaker
magic that is an oil painting.
00:34:55
Speaker
Or, you know, laying back with your high quality, you know, noise canceling headphones and listening to a symphony. Or your favorite rock song. You know? I think a good thing too would be seeking out things that make you laugh because it helps you release stress and it helps your body to relax. Yes. Absolutely. Absolutely. Oh my God. And it was amazing to me that like yesterday, and again, this is us relying on our community, but yesterday I didn't think there was going to be anything that could help me laugh or feel okay.
00:35:36
Speaker
And we ended up, there was a delightful Marco exchange in our in our group. We know that I got to watch that eventually yeah because of my yeah video responses. Yeah. Oh my God. It was, it made me so happy. And yes, I felt a little delirious yesterday because I was so tired. And so I was kind of laughing at absolutely everything by the end of the day, where I was just like, this is a nightmare. But to be able to genuinely laugh, in particular, at the screaming chicken. We won't say who's, but the screaming chicken absolutely revitalized your soul. Oh my god. The name that was suggested for that chicken. I saw so many. Which one are you thinking of? Oh my god, which one? Oh, Marjorie Taylor Scream. Oh my god. Yes.
00:36:35
Speaker
Oh, my God. That was so funny. Oh, my God. Wow. That was the best. I so i was cackling laughing. Yeah. Oh, go man.
00:36:48
Speaker
Oh, my God. Oh, my goodness. Yeah. i hope i hope that I hope that she actually chooses that name. Ah, Taylor Scream! Taylor Scream! Nothing could be better than that. Oh, good. Oh, true truly. Truly. But also just sitting and listening to that poor creature. Dear God, the poor thing.
00:37:11
Speaker
so just
00:37:16
Speaker
The noise it made was something else. I was like, is that even real? It doesn't even look real to me now. Oh my god. Did you actually click on the link that I posted and watched the video? Wait. am i Oh, wait. No, I do. ah Yes.
00:37:34
Speaker
the um Okay. What song was it again? Africa. Africa. Africa by Toto. But put if you're going to look this up on YouTube, you have to because it's so funny. But it's a rubber chicken Africa Toto. And like, it's the one with the guy that's holding a chicken. Yeah, he's he's a holding the rubber chicken, but there's also a real chicken.
00:37:59
Speaker
Just tuck it around. Yeah, dude, I'm not going to give anything else away about it. It's so funny. It just makes me laugh the whole time I'm watching. I hope that everybody else in the group got a kick out of that too. Especially the one with the screaming chicken. I know. I can hear it. Yeah, I can hear it. ah New upstairs neighbors. No fun. It's all good. It's all good.
00:38:28
Speaker
Yeah. Oh man. Hopefully once they're settled in, you won't be hearing too much of that anymore, but you never know. Yep. I guess time will tell. Oh my goodness. Um, yeah. All right. I'd say that laughter.
00:38:46
Speaker
laughter That's self-care 6.666. so Self-care tip 6.666. Okay, so what's number seven, Molly? I know you've got another one. Oh. Do you need help? Nope. I am just gearing myself up. I didn't think it was going to be that difficult for you to talk about.
00:39:16
Speaker
It's not difficult. I'm just being stupid. Self care. Self care tip number seven point omega is masturbation. Seven point the big O. Big O for omega.
Self-pleasure as Protest and Stress Relief
00:39:31
Speaker
oh
00:39:35
Speaker
Self pleasure, which in a world like what we're staring at now is an extraordinary act of protest. Yeah. Oh yeah. That makes sense. I hate how real a story like The Handmaid's Tale feels now. Yeah. But that kind of a society that controls women the way that it does, particularly
00:40:12
Speaker
is terrified of a woman owning her pleasure. So much so that they will go to surgical lengths to prevent it. ah oh Yep. I honestly almost stopped watching the show after yeah that particular part. Apologies. I'm going to guess I'm going to have to put Handmaid's Tale spoilers in the description of this episode. Self pleasure, you guys. No shame.
00:40:43
Speaker
Touch yourself as protest.
00:40:48
Speaker
Touch yourself in protest. Touch yourself in protest. Touch yourself at a protest. Don't actually do that. You'll get arrested for the stupid reasons. Get arrested. Get arrested because you care about the thing you're protesting about. Don't get arrested for public indecency.
00:41:10
Speaker
yeah um
00:41:16
Speaker
Yep. Yeah. But it also, it really does chemically like reduce your cortisol, um also as well as, you know, releasing endorphins. And I was gonna say oxytocin, but I feel like that is only something that releases when you're with a partner. Honestly, I don't know about that one. Yeah, I'm not sure. If you know about oxytocin,
00:41:43
Speaker
please email us. It's all about the podcast at gmail.com.
00:41:50
Speaker
um yeah I know that they say oxytocin oxytocin is the love formon hormone. And they think that that is why I think that, you know, it means, you know, you feel it when you are post come with a partner. Right. But also, there is such thing as self love.
00:42:13
Speaker
true that oh love is the greatest form of protest of them all yeah so you know there is that but also you know just generally sometimes you just got a really little tension I've honestly honest to God I feel like that's half the reason why I ever decide to go for it on any given day you know sometimes it is just because I'm feeling it And sometimes it's like, oh my God, I really need to fucking chill the fuck out. and yeah Sometimes it just helps you go to sleep. Oh yeah. Oh God. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. It is magnificent.
00:42:59
Speaker
i My brain just went down this stupidest rabbit hole that makes me really mad. And that is, how long is it going to take before they shut down sex shops? Oh boy. And will they even? And like, there is so much that they have to take away from us before we become truly powerless. Dude. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I don't know. I can't, I can't imagine that things would really get as bad as the hen maid's tail, but, uh,
00:43:37
Speaker
You never know, but I do believe there will be strong uprisings and a civil war before that happens. Yeah. And it's part of the reason, well, with everything, with everything that's been going on, it's part of the reason why I feel grateful to live in the state that I do. Part of the reason I wanted to put roots down here. I feel safe i feel safe in New England. I feel safe in Massachusetts. I will feel.
00:44:07
Speaker
less safe now overall, but especially traveling anywhere else in the country. But yeah, that's one of the reasons that I'm determined not to leave.
Commitment to Societal Change
00:44:20
Speaker
I mean, it's not that I don't want to leave. I do want, I don't want to be here, but I feel so strongly that like we have so much work to do and me leaving is me not taking responsibility for the work that I have to do. Yeah.
00:44:37
Speaker
And that does not mean that anybody else who feels very strongly that they need to leave should reconsider because if you feel that strongly about needing to leave, you should do it. Yeah. Like for your own safety and your own sanity and your family's sanity and safety, if you have the ability to leave, please, please take the opportunity. But I will be staying.
00:45:04
Speaker
So um with that being said, I need to go. Yes, you do. um Yeah, this has been an attempt on a lighthearted episode on a really, really dark day and a really dark time. We are here. We're not going anywhere.
Podcast as Inclusive Safe Space
00:45:27
Speaker
We are here with you, the listener. We are here with you. And I want to say we are a safe space.
00:45:34
Speaker
We are a safe space. We are race inclusive, gender inclusive, trans inclusive. We love all people of all walks of life. You are safe with us and we are here for you and we are here with you.
00:45:55
Speaker
All right, people. Until next time, please help yourselves.
00:46:03
Speaker
Take care of yourselves and we love you try to keep the faith, keep on hoping, yeah and never ever stop believing that we will make it through. Join us next week where we get back to our originally scheduled programming. And until then.