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Lee and Simon go on a typically chaotic ride that is tricky to summarise other than they catch up. Just read below.

Things covered: Lee takes up knitting, the latest on Mark Zuckerberg, Badly Drawn Boy's Pissing in the Wind, Lee's knitting sticks, reducing screen time, finding a hobby that isn't reading, Lee's year of not buying anything, Simon's recording mishap, screentime by proxy, finger knitting, Lee travelling the globe (Portugal) in a mini-van, taking knitting needles on a plane, Hannibal Lecter, dog muzzles, Simon saw two films with John Lithgow (Footloose, Conclave) and Lee guesses the first very quickly, The World According to Garp, The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai, the overlap in Simon and Lee's taste, Conclave (no spoilers), David Lynch's death and his films, Lee remembers Victoria Wood's death, Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Ecosia (search engine), changing which side of the bed you sleep on, lying on top of Bob, body temperature, people with English as a second language, true facts, no content at the 23min mark, Lil's Permesso di soggiorno, three suitcases full of cash in Sardegna, there's many a slip between cup and lip, not gifting the suitcases, man with a van, how best to get stuff from Coventry to Sassari (and the emotional implications), paying customs, Brexit, not having two of everything and doing it all in one fell swoop, one's forever home, second-hand things, number of phone pickups a day, not even real bodies, Tim Cook paying $1m to Donald Trump's inauguration, Elon (doesn't get a mention), knitting for weeks, touching dough too much when you are learning.

Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net.

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Lee and Simon continue their conversation with Matthew Onarheim-Smith about his experiences of depression.

Apologies for Simon's mic level.

Things covered: Agency and depression, ketamine treatment (not officially approved for depression), the patterns of depression, combined with talk therapy, failure, shame and hope, Thich Naht Hahn and hope, out of body experiences, living with depression (or chronic pain), acceptance, Uroskolen, bringing yourself to the feelings you want to run away from, the narratives we tell ourselves, not being our thoughts, others hearing our stories, buying into our personal stories, seeking help, interbeing, despair that is shared, not knowing the feeling (of depression), seeking solitude, Matthew's generosity and gentility, how best to help, more on seeking help.
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Related links (and necessary corrections):

• coping with depression: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/tips-and-support/cope-with-depression/
• Self-care for depression: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/depression/self-care/
• Mental Health Foundation: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/a-z-topics/depression
• men and depression: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/a-z-topics/men-and-mental-health
• Matthew's "Moving Dad" YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@amovingdad1310
• Matthew's "Moving Dad" Instagram channel: https://www.instagram.com/amovingdad
• Uroskolen https://www.uroskolen.no/

Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net.

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Lee and Simon bring on their first ever (official) guest – Matthew Onarheim-Smith – to talk about his experiences of depression.

Apologies for Simon's mic level.

Things covered: Introducing Matthew Onarheim-Smith, Quick by Shona McCullagh, annoying songs, driving with Simon, flirting with depression, entering the conversation with a plan of what to discuss, having a relationship with depression, not feeling good and recognising something is wrong, sound trauma in Vienna, tinnitus, stress as a destabiliser, feeling free, the sensation of depression, thought loops and identifying with those thoughts, Uroskolen (the angst school), courage in discussing depression, shame and stigma, gender and shame, Lee making ginger-bread and going to bed early, Trevor Noah, ADHD and being raised by women, Bette Midler and talking about me, resistance to discussing depression, suicidal ideation, NZ men, dance as a place inhabited mostly by women, men bonding by sharing an activity, showing weaknesses and flaws, dancing for Shona Dunlop-McTavish (and the fertility dance), the feeling of talking about depression.

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Related links (and necessary corrections):

• coping with depression: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/tips-and-support/cope-with-depression/
• Self-care for depression: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/depression/self-care/
• Mental Health Foundation: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/a-z-topics/depression
• men and depression: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/a-z-topics/men-and-mental-health
• Matthew's "Moving Dad" YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@amovingdad1310
• Matthew's "Moving Dad" Instagram channel: https://www.instagram.com/amovingdad
• Uroskolen https://www.uroskolen.no/

Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net.

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Lee and Simon catch up a bit before Lee discusses having his testicles scanned. Yes. Scanned.

Things covered: Waking up from a nap, staying up late, snow on the ground, 2025, Lee has visitors from Alice Springs, the size of Alice Springs, Alice Sings (a choir), Simon spoiling a surprise party, baby in the house, Lee's nextdoor neighbour Jill, time keeps on ticking, Lee has a lump on his testicles and had them scanned, man-sized tissues, the NHS, Finn needs to check his balls (men aged 17-35), Lil makes an appearance, testicular cancer, the machinations of a testicular scan, superficial lumps, Lee's history with problematic balls, epididymitis, varicocele, making jokes when anxious, Lee is fine, self-diagnosis, epididymal cyst, the diagnosis, manual palpation, hospital in Ashburton, who we turn to or call when we are sick (and/or scared).

Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net.

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Lee and Simon talk about being sensitive (or not) to others and Lee had a conversation with his Dad about politics (spoiler: changing what we watch and read changes what we think and believe).

Things covered: Queen at Live Aid (1985), Lee has been having a lot of fun, Simon is not a big drinker, Simon and Lil's cocktail phase, Gimlets, Lee helping the Portuguese government (not really), having fun vicariously, Queen being big in Italy, Pink Floyd, I don't like mondays, Bob Geldof, Happy Salmon, Do They Know It's Christmas "documentary", Midge Ure, Boomtown Rats, The Golden Girls, Sting's haircut in Band Aid, films with "gold" in the title, sneezing then blowing your nose, covering your mouth when your cough (or not), what we did and didn't learn from the pandemic, bodily policing, our capacity to be sensitive to others, Lee's Dad's politics, bootstrapping, first-hand evidence, Socialism, Lee reading Marx to his Dad, Norman's media diet has changed, changing what we watch and listen to changes the way we see the world, flaming aetheism, Darth Vader giving Lee a car, Lee "Strident" Miller, turning their frowns upside down, Happy New Year!

Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net.

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Lee and Simon enter the Christmas spirit by discussing fart walking. Simon reads Lee a brief story, they discuss a plan to move things and Lee has an airport encounter.

Things covered: Determination to continue, Simon being a Christmas grinch, saying Happy Solstice, putting clothes down in different rooms, Lee in Portugal (hence poppy microphone), fart walking, Bob Whalley's suggestions (and drunken guest appearance), flight attendants' crop dusting, David Sedaris stories (sadness and meanness), not talking to people on airplanes, post-prandial walks, reading a (bread) story to Lee, the song of sourdough, Simon has a follower (no that's not right, it's Lil), physical (analogue) emojis, getting stuff (and what stuff) from Coventry to Sardegna, the first item on a list, emptying your pockets as you go through security, Lee gets a pat down in airport security, back to back meetings in full sun, the tupperware container sky in the UK, a Friends episode (doing things slowly = sexier), airport feedback, smelly toilets (which is how they are supposed to be), Bob asking L&S to do ASMR, cooking for guests in Lisbon, porridge cooked overnight, Bob and Lee going to a restaurant for Christmas.

Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net.

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Lee and Simon talk about their bodily 'tells' regarding stress, then digress into a conversation about fashion before a surprise guest appearance.

Things covered: A bodily tic and noticing habits, lip balm, Jon Kabat-Zinn "we are being breathed", work stress, breath, holding back tears, trait anxiety and recipes for heart attacks, Bob's stressors are different, the stress of travelling (and leading up to travelling), airports being designed to bring out the worst in people, Lee's new blue headphones, Simon being able to hear himself, replacing the battery on Bose headphones for £200, "Buy Now" documentary (Netflix), e-waste, Karl Marx and deskilling the work force, Lee's new Payntr Harris Twead overcoat, Boglioli Milano, Loewe electronics and Loewe spanish fashion hour, Lee not buying anything again, unnecessary food, Percy Pigs, Simon's Marshmallow Test failings, the resources required to produce 'junk' food, Tony's Chocolonely chocolate, Bob Whalley makes a guest appearance (at remove, lean in to hear) and comes up with a suggestion or three for next week's episode, plus mukbanging and fart walking.

Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net.

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Lee and Simon start with a bit of follow-up before droping into a conversation about human resources and being in conversations that are not what we think they are.

Things covered: Lee sings Simon a song, some follow up re Simon's TikTok job, IBAN numbers, foreign exchange trading, Irene Miller's FX chops, why Irene passed out last week (fanmail from Midlifing's resident Doctor Corbetron), Strictly Come Dancing research, anger at Bruce Forsyth, BBC spending money on EDI agenda, OfCom, Candoco Dance Company, human resources, Scooby Doo, Wayne's World, paradigm shifts (see link below), sending emails while naked, legal arse covering, Lee running a little hot, body temperature in general, Lee's contradictions, lighthouse keepers, embarrassing climb-downs, showering with a t-shirt on just in case, colleagues who you have never met, mandatory training at work, PREVENT training, radicalisation, intimacy co-ordination, Simon zipping up, interoception land, Simon's internet broke.

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Related links (and necessary corrections):

• Ship vs lighthouse paradigm shift: https://www.deseret.com/2023/12/14/23953259/paradigm-shift-families-faith/

Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net.

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The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)