The ClearOut

Dara Clear
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Mental Health

Welcome to the turbulence! Join Dara Clear, a domesticated Irishman who is trying to work out the best ways to cope with what life throws at him. Husband, father, actor, writer, teacher, karate instructor and sea swimmer, Dara wants to take the wuss out of wellness. Mixing storytelling, philosophy, humour, psychology, and emotional honesty as a recipe for increased wellness, positivity, and resilience. Become a Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 4 days ago

    The Instagram Detox! - Changing Habits, Changing Stories, Changing Pathways

    In this episode, Dara is reckoning with his Instagram addiction. Why does the algorithm keep sending him such juicy morsels? Why is it so enjoyable, yet so insubstantial? And who are these women who convince so many men that a great parasocial relationship is about to begin? And what was that one comment that prompted the substance of this episode? Dara considers the nature of 'real' men and women. What are they? Who qualifies and who doesn't? Is it purely aesthetic, or is there another way to differentiate the real from the unreal? Perhaps it's just another absurd reflection of online discourse. What is and isn't real can be a very subjective experience. Dara has been telling himself a story for over thirty years that has felt very real. It is a destructive and harmful story that his brain keeps convincing him to return to, no matter that there is substantial evidence that should lead in an entirely different direction. He considers the power of the stories that create our neural pathways. They are as habitual as any addiction. What makes them so alluring? Why are they so comfortable? And can they be changed? Website: https://theclearout.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theclearoutpodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theclearoutpodcast/ YouTube: The ClearOut Podcast Email: theclearoutlive@gmail.com   Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theclearout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1hr 8min

  2. 17 June

    Props, Struts, and Straps - the Scaffolding of Self-Support

    In this episode, Dara is considering the concept of scaffolding and how it might be applied as a wellness metaphor. Utilised in the world of developmental psychology to describe evolving stages of cognitive growth and early learning, the basic idea relates to baby steps and layered instruction to help someone become more independent. Borrowing also from the world of construction, why can't scaffolding be applied to self-care? The question is about what we put in place to help ourselves stay up. And is it an act of delusion to tell ourselves we can impose either meaning or order on the chaos of existence? Dara argues for the value of repeated actions and patterns that help set our personal metronomes of daily living. He also wonders if we can imbue these habits of survival with more ritualistic significance. And what does the consumerism-capitalism axis have to do with any of this? It has something to do with notions of happiness, completion, and arrival. And maybe even sex! Website: https://theclearout.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theclearoutpodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theclearoutpodcast/ YouTube: The ClearOut Podcast Email: theclearoutlive@gmail.com   Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theclearout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr

  3. 10 June

    Don't Look Now - The Scariest Movie Moments of my Life

    It's end-to-end movies this week as Dara recalls his most vivid memories of the film scenes that shocked, scandalised and horrified him from as young as six up to his mid-twenties. It started on TV with the 1980 adaptation of James Clavell's Shogun. In that memorable mini-series, the beautiful Richard Chamberlain was subjected to an unimaginable indignity that made young Dara blush to his socks. Surely there weren't worse things still to come... From Jaws (1975) through Happiness (1998) to Irreversible (2002), featuring directors such as Tarkovsky, Aronofsky, Clarke, Coppola and Cimino, as well as provocateurs like Verhoeven and Stone, there's something grim and gross for everyone. This isn't lascivious wallowing, it's a reckoning with innocence and shockability - two very finite experiences. Dara concludes that the scariest stuff was the least horror-coded, and the things that are more likely to disturb and upset him now are connected to love, grief and family. Website: https://theclearout.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theclearoutpodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theclearoutpodcast/ YouTube: The ClearOut Podcast Email: theclearoutlive@gmail.com   Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theclearout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1hr 8min

  4. 3 June

    Keeping It Lit - The Flame of Idealism

    In this episode, Dara is trying to make sense of his relationship to repetition. What compels him to adhere so faithfully to his exercise routines? What is he trying to achieve? Or prove? And do those habits cross over to other areas of his life? He argues it is connected to his liking for order and rightness. He also acknowledges it has something to do with small 'c' conservatism and his own flavour of idealism. Idealism can be routinely dismissed by a sneering world as immature and unrealistic, but Dara makes the case for it being the most important thing we might have. He believes it is something sacred that can be at the very heart of our integrity. It can be the one thing that enables us to hold our centre and keep our heads when the whole world feels like it is going to blow. He concedes there may be something masochistic and self-punishing about continually subjecting oneself to further physical and psychological testing, but that happens to be the type of idealism he favours and he sees no reason to change it anytime soon. If it ain't broke... Website: https://theclearout.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theclearoutpodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theclearoutpodcast/ YouTube: The ClearOut Podcast Email: theclearoutlive@gmail.com   Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theclearout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    57 min

  5. 27 May

    Lowering the Bar and Keeping Sight of What Counts

    In this episode, Dara is considering the merits of low bars. How can you talk about heatwaves when it's only 18 degrees? Very easily actually, when you live in Ireland! How can you celebrate being the fourth worst team in the league? With the greatest of ease when your team has underachieved so badly for two straight years. But it's a fine line between understanding the usefulness of lowered expectations and giving in to total complacency and the complete absence of any standards at all. Dara tries to shoehorn the low bar measure into two romantic films he recently watched - The Remains of the Day (1993) and Crossing Delancey (1988). The former is a period drama of almost unbearable emotional repression and suppressed longing, the latter a de facto period piece by virtue of being set in 80s New York. Neither film is flawless - in one there is no climax, only loss and regret; in the other a consummation that is barely worth the wait - but they are well written and acted, and don't call unnecessary attention to themselves. What does call attention to itself is the soundtrack of Crossing Delancey, which consists of some appalling 80s compositions by The Roches, a vocal group from New Jersey whose members were three sisters that came up in the 70s folk scene. Could that be the same band that recorded the beautiful Hammond Song less than a decade earlier? And what did Paul Simon do to inspire that superior work? Oh, and happy 5th birthday to the pod! Toot-toot! Hot Press 2019 article on The Roches: https://www.hotpress.com/music/secret-story-roches-happened-critically-acclaimed-folk-group-22792416 Website: https://theclearout.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theclearoutpodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theclearoutpodcast/ YouTube: The ClearOut Podcast Email: theclearoutlive@gmail.com   Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theclearout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1hr 14min

  6. 20 May

    The Taste of Victory and a Life Worth Sharing

    In this episode, Dara is weighing up winning and losing. His football team is driving him to the brink of all-consuming rage, so much so that he sought out escapism in a TV show dedicated to gory bloodletting, heartrending betrayals, and gratuitous equal opportunity nudity. One climactic moment was so compelling that the vicarious exultation caused Dara to leap from his chair, fists thrust emphatically skywards in celebration. One standout performance is given special mention. A much-needed release? Or simply happy for a favourite character doing well? Deeper probing reveals thoughts on how extreme emotions can be very telling, especially when they are a break from the norm. Dara acknowledges a need for something to cheer, even though generally he finds life gives him plenty of reasons to be grateful. Nonetheless, he does ask if you think you have a life worth sharing. What would that look like? And what is the role of gratitude and perspective when it comes to evaluating what one has? Things accumulate, things bite, things corrode... Website: https://theclearout.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theclearoutpodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theclearoutpodcast/ YouTube: The ClearOut Podcast Email: theclearoutlive@gmail.com   Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theclearout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    51 min

  7. 13 May

    The Deceptive Exhaustion of Standby Mode

    In this episode, Dara is wondering why he feels so exhausted. Is it because he has switched from standby mode to being fully turned off? Do we struggle to fully relax because we so seldom do it? And does this connect to more than just the usual life concerns that trouble most of us? Is it possible it may be connected to the remorseless self-branding, self-commodification, and self-selling of the tech age? Dara advocates for resolution over optimisation. Strip it all back until there's nothing left but the elemental self. Return to one true thing and proceed from there. He knows there is a connection between that position and the idealism that drew him to acting and martial arts as a young man. In those two pursuits he was trying to find things he could not find elsewhere in his life. But that same idealism dulled his senses at times and led to missing things that were right in front of him. Also in this episode, a Robert Duvall connection, uncertain orientation, the wisdom of bendy trees, and the importance of sharing our burdens with others. Website: https://theclearout.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theclearoutpodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theclearoutpodcast/ YouTube: The ClearOut Podcast Email: theclearoutlive@gmail.com   Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theclearout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1hr 1min

  8. 6 May

    Nobody Asked For This! - the 250th Episode 'Celebration'

    In this episode, Dara is wondering how 250 episodes have come along so quickly. It hasn't been an effortless process by any means, but somehow the show (or 'the tell') has kept trundling along, quietly going about its business. And what business is that, exactly? Amongst other things, it has been an offer of quiet and reflective positivity in the wake of the Covid pandemic and an alternative to much of the shrieking discourse of an increasingly distressed world. It has also been the attempt to cultivate a genuinely authentic and honest voice via personal storytelling and unapologetic vulnerability. It has largely been monologues with occasional and welcome guests, but the conversation has been primarily between Dara and whoever has been listening. Finally, it has continued to try to be...'Wellness, with attitude'. For this special milestone episode, Dara decides to share an extended extract from a piece of writing that he started a couple of years ago. Part memoir, part autofiction, part identity excavation, 'Monkey-Boots' is something that will hopefully become a book at some point in the future, but for now, like Dara, it's a work in progress. If you have been, thanks for listening! Website: https://theclearout.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theclearoutpodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theclearoutpodcast/ YouTube: The ClearOut Podcast Email: theclearoutlive@gmail.com   Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theclearout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1hr 11min
See All (257)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Welcome to the turbulence! Join Dara Clear, a domesticated Irishman who is trying to work out the best ways to cope with what life throws at him. Husband, father, actor, writer, teacher, karate instructor and sea swimmer, Dara wants to take the wuss out of wellness. Mixing storytelling, philosophy, humour, psychology, and emotional honesty as a recipe for increased wellness, positivity, and resilience. Become a Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Dara Clear
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    257
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Dara Clear
  • Show Website
    The ClearOut