Untroubled people are all alike, but every haunted person is haunted in their own way. Me, I wince over fish bones, a particular kind of bad handshake, the music of Apocalypto’s Blu-ray menu (which someone at a party left playing on a loop literally all night long): They all conjure unpleasant memories, much like hearing the millennial whoop or seeing Kit Harington's face.
It does not stop there. I reflexively dodge strangers who look or talk like one of my aunts. No matter how many times I’ve locked in my audio settings, I check them again every time we start recording an episode. Plus I’m haunted by those I’ve loved and lost, as we all are. Perhaps humans are safer and wiser because of our ability to make terrifying and unshakeable associations.
But in this week’s episode, the haunting of our friend-of-a-friend transcends the commonplace. When creaks in the night, phantom sensations, and bad luck accumulate beyond what can be explained by paranoia or coincidence, it becomes much harder to wax philosophic about the nature of the brain. Turn on all the lights, atone for your transgressions, call Ghostbusters—whatever your strategy might be, a true haunting spurs you to action.
This week our guest is Sonalee Rashatwar! Sonalee Rashatwar (they/he) LCSW MEd is an award-winning clinical social worker, sex therapist, adjunct lecturer, and grassroots organizer. They are a superfat queer bisexual non-binary therapist (hell yeah) and co-owner of Radical Therapy Center.
Sonalee brought us a morsel of “forbidden gossip” from the world of therapy, which was as tasty and messy as we always dreamed goss from the far side of the couch could be. Then Kelsey told Sonalee the tale of Mina, leaving us all to ponder what is most horrifying: supernatural distress, digestive chaos, or being stuck in a house with your extended family for days on end.
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