398: Choosing to be Childless, Sex Mismatch, & Inpatient Treatment

Hello, friends!

In today’s episode, we tackle three insightful listener questions that many of you might relate to:

Choosing Not to Have Biological Children Due to Mental Illness: A listener shares their decision to not have biological children to avoid passing on their mental health struggles. They feel confident in this choice but encounter surprise and judgment from others. We discuss the validity of their decision, the heritability of mental health conditions, and the importance of respecting personal choices.

Navigating Barriers to Inpatient Mental Health Treatment: Another listener is considering inpatient treatment but faces significant logistical and financial barriers. We explore the challenges of dealing with insurance, paperwork, and managing life responsibilities during treatment. Suggestions for alternative treatment options like intensive outpatient programs (IOP) and partial-hospitalization programs (PHP) are also discussed.

Addressing Mismatched Sex Drives in a Relationship: A listener in a relationship with differing sex drives seeks advice on how to encourage their partner to address potential low testosterone or other medical issues affecting their libido. We delve into the complexities of communication about sexual needs, potential underlying relationship issues, and strategies for fostering open dialogue and seeking professional help.

As always, you can send me questions to duffthepsych@gmail.com and find the full show notes for this episode at http://duffthepsych.com/episode398.

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