Dr. Greeley Miklashek is 80, recovering from long COVID and a second round of prostate-cancer radiation, and unwilling to apologize for any of it. He’s also a retired neuropsychiatrist who treated 25,000 people, wrote Stress R Us, and spent a career arguing that what most of his colleagues called “disease” was, more often than not, a body trying to survive chronic stress. In a wandering, generous hour, he gives Soso, Beth, and Nick a working definition of guilt — self-punishment for breaking the rules of a group — and then complicates it by pointing out that most of us no longer live in the group those rules were written for. The result is one of the more useful episodes the show has done on a topic that usually gets reduced to a slogan: stop feeling guilty for being sick.
I’m Nick Paro, and I’m sick of the shit going on. So, I’m using poetry, podcasting, and lives to discuss the intersections of chronic illness and mental wellbeing, masculinity, veteran’s issues, politics, and so much more. I am only able to have these conversations, bring visibility to my communities, and fill the void through your support — this is a publication where engagement is encouraged, creativity is a cornerstone, and transparency is key — please consider becoming a paid subscriber today and grow the community!.