Damian Barr, writer + presenter, on how he's coping through Covid How To Cope - with Becky Howard + Lucy Clyde

 
For natural extrovert Damian Barr, lockdown has presented a new set of challenges. Without being able to enjoy unplanned, unscheduled interactions and the layers of connection we have in our normal life, he’s had to learn how to live in the present and slow down.
 
In this brilliantly insightful and honest chat, we speak to Damian about how he has coped with the past year, and how, having lived through the Aids pandemic of the 80s and 90s, and survived a traumatic childhood, he was unusually well equipped to deal with the immediate emergencies thrown at us by Covid.
 
Damian also opens up about his experience of online bullying on social media last summer – and how a forced break from digital platforms has led him to entirely reassess his relationship with social media, consider what he puts online and also rediscover a love of speaking on the phone. He also talks about why he's gone back into therapy and how he’s approaching 2021 (it’s about dreams, not plans).
 
Thanks so much to Damian for talking to us – we hope you enjoy it.
 
Damian’s next Literary Salon Live featuring Russell T Davies and Ruth Coker Burks is February 18th https://www.theliterarysalon.co.uk/get-tickets
 
Damian’s book You Will Be Safe Here is available in paperback now: https://www.waterstones.com/book/you-will-be-safe-here/damian-barr/9781408886052
 
The second series of the Big Scottish Book Club is on iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m000bc3j/the-big-scottish-book-club
 
 
How to Cope is hosted by writer Becky Howard and psychotherapist Lucy Clyde. You can follow us on Twitter @_beckyhoward @lucysclyde @cope_podcast
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