Polyamory, inner critics and infected boils (we know) – this week’s episode of The Spill

Have you ever had one of those days that screamed for a wine and chats sesh with your girlfriends?  Enter Image.ie’s podcast, The Spill. 

The Spill is hosted by our very own self-proclaimed agony aunts Sophie White and Rhona McAuliffe. With a mix of discussion on current affairs, arts and culture and some healthy advice to our listeners, it’s the best place to unwind and deliberate the issues affecting Irish women today.

First up on this week’s episode is the rise of polyamory. Sophie and Rhona begin by discussing the ins and outs (excuse the pun) of what polyamory actually means by 2018 standards, as opposed to relationships from years gone by. The hosts discuss where monogamy came from and why marriage came about, and why people are increasingly turning against one-on-one relationships. With the divorce rate so high in countries like the U.S, Sophie put it to her Instagram followers to see how Irish couples feel about polyamory; and the response was overwhelmingly negative. Is Ireland just not ready for polyamory? Rhona feels that it’s a generational thing – young people are more open to non-monogamous set-ups than older couples. But, as one of Sophie’s followers voiced, polyamory is not something you can ‘try out’ – you’re either wired that way or you’re not. Have you ever tried an open relationship? Can they ever work for everyone involved?

Next up on the agenda is that annoying little voice of your inner critic. Everyone has one, but how strong is yours and how often should we let them shout? Both our hosts cite the hard work that goes into silencing inner critics and how hard it is not to berate yourself for mistakes. Sophie begins the discussion by relaying how she’s been improving the symptoms of her imposter syndrome over the past six months, and how her brain has “talked mean” to her so much in the past. Sophie mentions how she has become used to and feels that she is good at failure, whereas Rhona says that one of her biggest downfalls is being afraid to fail. When she first embarked on a new career as a writer a few years ago, she allowed negative comments and criticism to badly affect her but has worked to move past that. How strong is your inner-critic? Should we all be working harder to curb negative self-talk?

On this week’s Hit Me Up, Rhona has received a rather delicate question. Totally Grossed Out has been with her boyfriend for 18 months, having lived together for since March. About two months ago, her boyfriend started getting clusters of boils on his backside, which resulted in them getting infected, excruciating pain, and two weeks with our writer as his carer. She had to wash the area and pack it with gauze, and as a squeamish person, she was unable to hide her true feelings towards the situation. Now, even though the boils have left the building, she can’t bring herself to see anything else when her boyfriend attempts to have sex with her. How can she move past the pus and get their sex life back on track?

Listen to the latest episode of The Spill or catch up on the weeks you’ve missed here….