Welcome back to the place we find ourselves podcasts. I'm Adam Young.

And in today's episode I talk with Andrew Bauman, who is a therapist and an author in Seattle, Washington.

One of the consequences of trauma is that we tend to do great harm to ourselves,

and particularly to our bodies after the trauma.

Today, Andrew talks about the reality of self-contempt, and the damage it does to our hearts.

We discuss the necessity of honoring our stories with kindness and care,

and the importance of engaging our bodies in the process of healing.

And we also talk a bit about pornography in the context of our stories.

If you want more about the intersection of pornography in your story,

check out Andrew's book called The Psychology of Porn,

Essays on Porn Objectification and Healing.

The Psychology of Porn. It's available on Amazon, and here is my conversation with Andrew Bauman.

When did you first learn that you had a story, and what prompted you to begin engaging it?

For me, my story grabbed me.

It almost like a howm dog hunting me down, and I'm fairly stubborn, man.

And I'm fairly competitive.

So I ran away from it for as long as I could until it nearly killed me.

Meaning 13 years ago, I found myself in a psych ward,

nearly contemplating suicide.

And I felt like that was the beginning of my journey 13 years ago.

That was when I lost everything.

When all my addictions no longer worked, when all my mask no longer fit,

...