In today's show I chat with writer, poet, musician and published author Alfred Israel Mead. Alfred is an extraordinary artist of many talents who kindly agreed to speak with me about how he alchemizes his own pain through creative endeavors.

Published in 2021 his book 'The Novelty Effect: A Black Mirror Novel' is a story of death, love, dreams, personality disorders and megalomaniacs. It is a tale of despair amongst the skyscrapers of London. A new technology allows you to live among your dreams, but is life truly a dream? In one man's pursuit to escape suffering, does he multiply it?

We talk about Avoidant personality disorder, Borderline personality disorder, break down some of the traits and how diagnosed or undiagnosed one can resonate with some of the key traits of these disorders listed in the DSM.

Chronic feelings of emptiness, unstable self identity. We explore the Buddhist concept of Anatta or no self. We talk about maladaptive coping mechanisms and how to better navigate the world through self individuation and increased consciousness. We talk about sex as a form of self harm and how different levels of avoidance have affected our lives.

Alfred's many articles and poetry can be found here at https://medium.com/@alfredmead

His book here at Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Novelty-Effect-black-mirror-novel/dp/B09DMWBVQN

and music here at Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/7nxGo8Dg4VOsq7MIzSxsWP?si=12UZtbIIRKW8RhgQj94xjg

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