The Full Stop

In Episode 39, we put our own Sarah Lawrence in the hot seat with coach Sarah Bagg. They've teamed up to launch the Childless Mental Health Hub and shared the story of the idea from it's website to a business with a network that promises to make a huge change. 

If you're inspired to ask to Sarah Lawrence (for the counseling side) or Sarah Bagg (if you offer coaching), you can get in touch through the website. Sarah Bagg can also be found via her website, Life, Love and Me.

In Episode 38, we were reunited with Sarah who was recovering from Covid, and Stella Duffy OBE joined us. It's fair to say that when we asked Stella to be a guest and she said 'yes' we were thrilled, as admirers of her work. You’ll also see Stella in Gateway Women's videos.

Where does anyone start with describing the work and joy that Stella brings to theatre, yoga, mentoring, literature and life? As you'll find out, we struggled to find the words! There's a lesson right there - ask the guest to describe what they do in their own words!

"There is huge power in grief, power in understanding what loss is like but as well as being pronatal and heteronormative, our culture is 'let's be happy' and to never admit that things are hard sometimes." Stella Duffy, OBE

It's a very passionate episode as we discuss worth, loss and life-changing experiences, but there are some moments of profound discovery. There are tears and lots of laughter too. As with all podcast guests, we wanted Stella to join us in person for a party and a book reading too - but we'll have to wait a bit longer for that in this ever-changing world. We do hope you'll love this episode as much as we loved recording; it felt extra special for us for so many reasons, as you'll hear. 

We invited a few guys from the Clan of Brothers to discuss this topic, we were lucky enough to get guys from three different continents and cultures. Of course it was a rhetorical question we all need community, but what I found enriching were the reasons why.

We are not immune to loneliness as you will hear. We all need a safe space to share those inner most emotions and feelings with others knowing we will not be ridiculed. We also know that in community we have so much potential that can make our lives even better as we age.

Empowerment can be a big act or something personal. In this episode we share our podcast episode with Judy Graham and Sarah Roberts who run their own practices supporting people who are childless not by choice. They’ve also dived into politics and tackled the issue of equality and this episode is an astonishing example of shared alliances and experiences.

In this episode, we share the details on our plans. The background to the change is future proofing our work and making it more streamlined so that we can continue to inform, entertain and give a voice to our community.

We feel very fortunate to spend time with each other and our community including you, and people who support each other and take time out to care, making some incredible connections. Please listen and join us!

This episode was recorded during January 2022 and Covid-19 rules and restrictions we might discuss may have changed in your location in the meantime.

In this episode we are joined by past guests from the podcast to share messages of hope and coping techniques to help you through the festive season. Our guests share their experiences, and as always, there maybe some mentions of infertility treatment and miscarriage in this podcast.

We were joined by Helen Segal, Bindi Shah, Professor Krista Cooper, Clare Elleray (Mee) and Tessa Broad. You’ll also find some messages from past guests too.

This episode was recorded during November 20121 and Covid-19 rules and restrictions may have changed in your location in the meantime

In this episode we discuss the healing properties of The Full Stop, what we’ve learned from our guests and share the episodes that made an impact on us. We also share the plans we’re making to secure the future of the podcast from 2022.

In this episode we were joined by Katy Schnitzler who is a trainer, researcher and lecturer, studying for a PhD. She’s doing amazing work as the founder of MIST (Miscarriage & Infertility Support Training) providing workshops and information for businesses who want to support employees who are struggling with miscarriage, infertility and childlessness, and give them advice on creating a balanced workplace.

If you are a business owner, work in HR or any area of training, you’ll find this very useful. Colleagues and managers of anyone who is childless will also benefit from this as well as our listeners who will find a wealth of advice in Katy’s words. We also think you’ll find it a huge comfort.

You can find out more about Katy’s work here and she’s on Twitter too, right here.

Some of you mentioned, in our World Childless Week webinar, that you found LinkedIn to be a challenge. You maybe interested to know that The Full Stop podcast is on the platform and we’ll be pleased to connect with you. Click here to find us.

 

Join us - Michael, Berenice and Sarah - as we talk about sex and how being childless affects mental health, perception and worth. We discuss the triggers, the challenges and misunderstandings that come with not being a parent and how this life-changing journey has impacted intimacy.

We also celebrate being World Childless Week Ambassadors and Sarah’s award as the World Childless Week People’s champion, voted by our community.

In this episode, we talk about sex and there may be triggers for you as we include trying to conceive, fertility treatment, miscarriage and grief. As always we speak with care and sensitivity.

In this episode, we were joined by the founder of World Childless Week, Stephanie Joy Phillips to get the inside information on the plans for the 5th year of this week-long event. World Childless Week brings together Ambassadors selected from the thought leaders, campaigners, and awareness raisers who volunteer alongside Steph, to give hope, support, and strength to our childless not by choice community.

In this exclusive gathering with Sarah Lawrence, Ambassadors Michael and Sarah, Steph also discussed what next for World Childless Week, how you can be involved and some of the events that are new to the week for 2021.