On today's episode, we have Daniel O'Shaughnessy (he/him). Daniel is a London-based, nutritionist, Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner, mindset coach, and author. The topic of today's conversion is body dysmorphia is, why queer people, particularly gay men, are susceptible to it, and how we can heal from it. Ultimately, this conversation is about healing shame the world put onto us, and I so appreciate Daniel both for his work and sharing his own story of suffering and then what has supported his own healing (shoutout: psychedelic therapies!). This is an important topic and a layered conversation, and I'm excited to get to invite you into it.

About the guest:

Daniel O'Shaughnessy (he/him) is a nutritionist, Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner, breathwork facilitator, and mindset coach whose work sits at the intersection of physiology, psychology, trauma, identity, and lived experience.

He is the author of The Queer Guide to Nutrition and Lifestyle, publishing in August 2026, and Letting Go of Perfect: A Gay Man’s Guide to Healing from Body Dysmorphia. His books explore LGBTQ+ health, body image, shame, self-worth, and the deeper patterns that shape our relationships with food, body, and wellbeing.

With a Master’s degree in Trauma and Transpersonal Experiences, Daniel brings together evidence-informed nutrition, functional medicine, breathwork, and transpersonal practice to create spaces for safety, reflection, and meaningful personal change. His work is shaped by both professional training and lived experience, including neurodivergence and trauma, giving him a grounded understanding of how healing often requires more than information alone.

You can learn more about Daniel at danieloshaughnessy.com/

Instagram + Tik Tok @thenakednutritionist.

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com or @secondadolescencepod (IG).

We all know what homophobia is but what exactly makes people homophobic? Yes, culture, religion, and media have historically perpetuated homophobic messages but not every person who receives those messages becomes homophobic, and definitely not every one of those people engage in homophobic violence or actions. So what exactly makes people homophobic? That’s the question counseling psychologist and psychodynamic psychotherapist Dr. Julian-Pascal Saadi (he/him) has spent so much time exploring in his research and he’s here with us today to talk about it. Specifically, we’ll be exploring why men in particular are often perpetrators of homophobic violence, what’s happening here, and why as queer people it could be helpful for us to have this understanding. This was such a fascinating conversation for me to be in, I so appreciate Julian and his work, and for also sharing with us his own personal story which was also just so powerful.

About the guest:

Dr Julian-Pascal Saadi (he/him) is a Counselling Psychologist and Psychodynamic Psychotherapist working with the LGBTQIA+ community in Australia and the United Kingdom. He has an interest in the ways psychoanalysis can help us make sense of cultural issues and politics. His work focuses on the developmental origins of homophobia and internalised homophobia, and what this means for Queer people as they embark on their healing journeys. You can find him on Instagram at @drjulianpascalsaadi, or visit his website at www.juliansaadi.com.

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com or @secondadolescencepod.

We are back after quite a pause! Our last episode was in June 2025, and host Adam James Cohen shares about the reason for the pause plus brief discussion about why we're returning now amidst everything going on in our world.

The bulk of today's episode is Adam guiding listeners who are interested in space to check-in on their queer healing journey. Adam created a FREE PDF reflection guide: "THIS QUEER YEAR: A New Year Reflection Guide for LGBTQ+ Adults Healing From Anti-Queerness" which you can download here. Today's episode is an audio companion to this guide, inviting listeners to reflect on the 6 key areas supportive of helping LGBTQ+ adults heal from the impacts of having grown up queer in an anti-queer world.

More episodes are coming soon. If you are interested in being a future guest on the show, guest submissions are currently open. Visit https://www.secondadolescencepod.com/beaguest to submit your interest!

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com or @secondadolescence (IG)