Confessions from the sauna(part 1)
Alcohol, Drugs & Teabagging.
*YOUTUBE VLOG at the bottom the the page*
After a good gym session or if i’m just feeling a little achy I like to spend 20 mins or so in the sauna - its the place to be! especially if you like being around nearly naked men! of which - 50% of them have trench foot. There is no age limit on the naked sauna club & it’s a place where anyone can go to get their worries out & not get judged, even for their holey ‘Y fronts’.
There are some amazing stories that come from the naked sauna, both from strangers & from people who say they are your friends when actually they just want to get in the shower with you.
In the past 4 years or so that I’ve been at my gym I’ve had some amazing, inspirational & quite frankly some very weird conversations with dozens of waxed & unwaxed men on the wooden pew, but the main thing that comes up is struggles with alcohol & drugs, either from the past or something that they are still struggling with.
Don’t get me wrong there are a lot of funny stories that come from nights on the booze, but equally there are a lot of bad memories, bad decisions & in some cases lives ruined and families ripped apart.
I have many stories myself of funny or silly things that I have done whilst pissed in the past that will stay with me forever. I also have have done a lot of things that I’m not proud of, the times that I have driven over the limit or just been a massive Bellend & upset people, if you are one of those people please accept my apology.
In our sauna mass debates one of the big problems men tend to find is that they feel pressured by their friends to get fucked up, sometimes friends get jealous too & want you to continue drinking for their sake otherwise they wont have a ‘drinking buddy’ to talk about the same boring shit day in, day out.
It’s become quite a thing in recent years to do sober October or dry January which is brilliant. I started my journey with sober October. you will be amazed how much clearer you head is and how many more pennies are in your bank that you could be spending on an only fans subscription.
If you are spending £20 a day like I was drinking at home that’s £7,500 a year - chuck in a few nights out on the tiles & you are £10,000 deep! - 10 years on that game and you have literally pissed out a very posh car!
there is no criteria or age range for people who are living with or have had problems with drink or drug addictions.
Naked conversations generally suggest that people are unhappy or bored so they drink or take drugs at the weekend, they are fully aware that it could cost them their jobs, livelihoods or families.
Some have professions that they have trained for years for, gone through college & university & yet still find them selves doing it each weekend only to spend the next week panicking & regretting it in case they are drink or drug tested at work.
My best friend often says that if alcohol was invented today it would be banned, no ifs or buts, & you certainly wouldn’t be doing it at the table on Christmas day with grandma or letting your kids have a dabble.
Society says that its fine to do so & its as right of passage to get bent out of shape on your 18th birthday, parents buying their kids their first legal pint to celebrate…
For most people, birthdays, Christmas, christenings & funerals or in fact any family event is a reason to drink. Could you imagine if everyone snorted coke and dropped E’s at baby Jennifer’s christening…. yet with drink its absolutely acceptable, in fact its part of the plan.
Things that are spoken about behind the steamy sauna door stay behind that door - this is obviously a subject that plays on a lot of peoples minds as it gets spoken about more than boobs, fast cars or even teabagging!
I’m glad that the naked sauna is an outlet for men to air their concerns about their habits or addictions without being judged or your friends calling you a pussy for not wanting to do it.
to those small minded people I say - FUCK YOU.
to the people pissing in the sauna - I hope you burn your bollocks.
& to all my budgie smuggling friends I say - “you got this” one day at a time my brothers.
ITS GOOD TO TALK
SSRI’s - what the f**k are they? (antidepressants)
ARE THESE FAMILIAR????
check out the vlog at the bottom of the page
Take a look in most peoples medicine cabinets & you will likely find Paracetamol, Ibuprofen, some plasters of the wrong size & quite often Sertraline/Citalopram/Prozac or a variety of other antidepressants or SSRI’s.
But why are we all so depressed & what the F**k is an SSRI?
There are so many factors & triggers that can cause us to feel depressed, this could be things like unemployment, relationships, divorce, bereavement, finances, being unhappy in your work, not being able to see your children, alcohol just to name a few.
In the UK between 2023 - 2024 8.7 million people were prescribed antidepressants & they are in the top ten most prescribed drugs in the UK .
I took various different antidepressants for 13 years off & on without knowing what they were or how it is thought they work. Having suffered with my metal health for such a long period of time I thought I would go down the rabbit hole & try & see what I could find out.
Disclaimer here…. I’m not a doctor & I never will be, so all the information I’m passing on is to the best of my knowledge correct as I’ve researched it in various places to make sure of this.
So what is an SSRI???
An SSRI is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor - & you can bet your bollocks to the barn dance that you are still clueless like I was.
Well… they were developed in the 1970s to treat depression by increasing serotonin levels in the brain as it is suggested that depression is caused by low levels of serotonin. To this day it isn’t 100% known how they actually work yet they are the most prescribed antidepressants in the world.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that carries information from the presynaptic neuron to the postsynaptic neuron. (you may find it easier to watch the video at this point)
On the presynaptic neuron there is a transporter protein that wants to gobble the released serotonin back up to reuse it (the reuptake) from the synapse which is the junction between the two cells.
The SSRI blocks the ability of the transporter to scoop the serotonin back into the cell making more serotonin available in between the cells, this improves the communication between them which is thought to improve mood.
Does it work or is it just a placebo effect?
Up to 2/3rds of people with depression experience some relief with SSRI’s, I have to say that they did work for me & I found myself much calmer whilst taking them especially in reactive situations. SSRI’s are also used for OCD, anxiety, & panic disorders.
Are there any side effects?
Yes there can be. I had to change tablets a few different times before I found the ones that suited me the best. Quite often the symptoms are intestinal like an upset stomach, nausea, shitting bricks or shitting soup, a loss of libido is quite high on the list too…. but if you read the pamphlet you could experience 1000 symptoms.
It is recommended that if you do take SSRI’s that you take them for no less than 6-8 months as it can sometimes take 4 -8 weeks for them to properly take effect.
There are other things that can be done to help with depression like talking therapy & trying to understand triggers. Exercise has been a massive help to me over the years, whether its a good gym session, a walk, a run, a swim or what ever can get your endorphins pumping! Not drinking alcohol as it is a depressant, eating healthily & looking after your gut as 95% of the serotonin in your body is made in your gut…. think on that next time you are thumbing processed sausage rolls & cock sausages in to your mouth!
I’m going to end on some figures that have horrified me whilst carrying out my research.
1 in 5 people have suicidal thoughts.
1 in 14 people self harm.
1 in 15 people attempt suicide.
This information was gathered from people aged 16 & above in private housing & excludes people in hospitals, prisons, sheltered housing & those that are unfortunately homeless so the true numbers are probably much higher!
lets get this subject talked about so we can try & get a better understanding of how to help each other.
stay safe
be kind always
Bob x
A brief explanation of SSRI’s, what they are and how they work.
Goal setting for 2025
January…the new you?
The importance of goal setting for personal development.
Hi, I’m Christine. Welcome to my first blog of 2025! I hope it’s been a positive and healthy start to the new year.
Let’s take a look at the psychology behind setting goals.
We’re getting close to the end of January already! Have you made a new years resolution? Or set yourself a new goal or challenge? For many of us, January is full of the promise of becoming healthier, fitter, more organised, wealthier, happier…the list goes on. But what is the reality of achieving this? Are we setting ourselves up for failure? And how can we set goals and make promises that we can actually stick to?
I have never made a new years resolution in the past for the simple reason that I know I won’t stick to it. But what happens if you do set yourself a goal or a personal challenge? Are you setting yourself up for failure? Or is it a good thing to challenge yourself?
Well this year I’ve gone for it! I have made a few ‘firsts’ (call this a new years resolution if you must!) For the first time I have started a journal where I’m documenting my focus for the year ahead and how I’m feeling about my mental health and well-being. For the first time I have decided to not drink alcohol for the whole of January, with the aim of being more mindful of my alcohol intake in the future. For the first time I have a set of goals for the year ahead. But how will I make sure I stick to them? And does it matter if I don’t?
Here’s the psychology behind goal setting…
Setting goals is essential for self-motivation. The more effectively we plan our goals, the more likely we are to succeed. There is plenty of research that shows us that the more time and thought we invest into setting goals, the more successful we will be at achieving them! Setting yourself a goal actually influences your mind, it’s like turning on a switch that helps you make better decisions.
Edwin Locke created a theory in 1968 called “The goal setting theory”. Based on his theory, here’s what you should consider when planning your goals…
Difficulty of your goal - challenge yourself! An easy goal that’s too comfortable is not productive. The tougher your goal, the more motivated you’ll be, and you’ll feel more satisfied when you achieve it.
Be specific - when you set yourself a plan, be very clear to yourself about what you want the outcome to be, you need to target the area of your life you want to improve. The more specific this vision, the more intension you’ll put into it. Face it head on!
‘Reward reminders’ - seek out motivational speeches or quotes, people who inspire you, surround yourself with positive reminders of why you’re striving to reach your goal. Focus on the end result.
Goal efficacy - Edwin Locke said we often set goals that only offer temporary excitement…for goals to work they need to run a bit deeper than that. In others words, don’t look for instant gratification, look at the bigger picture, look towards long term success! We need to focus on rewards that aren’t necessarily the easiest, but ones that will give us long term satisfaction.
I’ve researched lots of interesting studies on this subject, and to answer my own question ‘does it matter if I don’t stick to my goals?’ yes it does! I want to improve. I want to have a focus. I want to make better decisions. I strongly believe in the power of goal setting.
Make a start by picking up a pen and writing down some priorities for the year ahead. Make your ideas clear and be specific. If you want to become fitter, don’t just write ‘get fit’ as your goal. Write down why you want to get fit, how will you do it? What needs to change in order to do it? What’s going to happen between now, and the end goal to make sure you get there?
What do you think? Are you going to go for it too?
Go on….you know you can!
Christine x
“Set the kind of goals that will make something of you to achieve them” (Jim Rohn)