What if healing in a polarized world starts with choosing hope instead of outrage?

In the season one finale of This Triggers Me, Dr Audra Horney (a therapist for men) and Dr. Brendan K. Hartman (a sociologist who researches the emotional well being of boys) reflect on what it means to stay human in an increasingly triggered, divided culture.

Recorded shortly after the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the intense online reactions that followed, this conversation explores how algorithms fuel outrage, emotional exhaustion and disconnection and why real healing requires community, vulnerability and face to face connection.

Together, they unpack how triggers can become opportunities for growth and why sustainable change in men’s mental health and men’s wellbeing depends on moving beyond fear, cynicism and isolation.

Key takeaways:

• Why trigger warnings may increase anxiety rather than reduce it
• How triggers can become mentors for healing, self-awareness, and growth
• The role algorithms play in outrage culture, polarization, and emotional exhaustion
• Why online spaces can both harm and help men’s mental health
• The importance of in-person community and face to face connection
• How collective action and local communities can create meaningful cultural change
• Why joy and connection are forms of sustainable resistance
• The problem with “one-size-fits-all” healing advice
• Why healing is often unfair, nonlinear, and deeply personal
• The stages of real behavior change: attitudes, emotions, skills, habits, and practice
• How vulnerability and emotional honesty can be contagious
• Why hope matters in conversations around masculinity, therapy for men and men’s wellbeing

Connect with us

Email- thistriggersmepodcast@gmail.com

Social media- https://www.instagram.com/dr.audra.horney/

https://www.instagram.com/re.masculine/

https://www.instagram.com/thistriggersmepod/

https://www.tiktok.com/@thistriggersmepod

Find a Therapist for Men: www.draudra.com

Podcast post-production: Stacy Blackburn

What if the people who trigger you the most are actually showing you something about yourself?

In this episode of This Triggers Me, Dr Audra Horney (a therapist for men) and Dr. Brendan K. Hartman (a sociologist who researches the emotional well being of boys) turn the conversation inward by unpacking who they get triggered by and why. Instead of using triggers as proof someone else is wrong, they explore how triggers can become invitations toward self awareness, accountability and growth.

From online outrage culture to jealousy, self censorship, polarization, and fear of being misunderstood, this conversation dives into the emotional complexity behind public discourse around men’s mental health, gender, and relationships.

Key takeaways:

• Why triggers can be opportunities for self-reflection instead of just blame
• How outrage culture rewards certainty, confidence, and black and white thinking
• Why people with overlapping views can sometimes feel more triggering than complete opposites
• The emotional impact of online audiences, comment sections and public scrutiny
• How fear of credibility loss shapes conversations around masculinity and men’s mental health
• Audra’s reflections on jealousy, self censorship and being compared to creators she disagrees with
• Brendan’s critique of gender essentialism and overly simplistic relationship advice online
• The tension between intention, audience impact and nuance in creator spaces
• How polarization makes meaningful dialogue more difficult
• Why therapy for men and emotionally honest conversations require tolerating discomfort and complexity

Connect with us

Email- thistriggersmepodcast@gmail.com

Social media- https://www.instagram.com/dr.audra.horney/

https://www.instagram.com/re.masculine/

https://www.instagram.com/thistriggersmepod/

https://www.tiktok.com/@thistriggersmepod

Find a Therapist for Men: www.draudra.com

Podcast post-production: Stacy Blackburn

What if men and women stopped arguing about who suffers more and started trying to understand each other instead?

In this episode of This Triggers Me, Dr Audra Horney (a therapist for men) and Dr. Brendan K. Hartman (a sociologist who researches the emotional well being of boys) take on “suffering contests” and the growing divide in conversations around gender.

Through a role reversal exercise, they each advocate for the other gender’s experience, exploring the pain, pressure, loneliness, fear and emotional labor that often go unseen. Instead of debating who has it worse, this conversation focuses on empathy, nuance and what both men and women wish the other truly understood about men’s mental health, relationships, and emotional wellbeing.

Key takeaways:

• What “suffering contests” are and how they fuel polarization around gender
• The difference between acknowledging pain and weaponizing “what about…” arguments
• Why many men crave emotional intimacy, affection, and closeness beyond sex
• The impact of touch starvation, shame, and fear of being a burden on men’s mental health
• How boys and men are often negatively reinforced for emotional vulnerability
• Why many men are trying to grow despite limited emotional socialization
• The invisible emotional labor many women carry in relationships and daily life
• How safety vigilance and threats to bodily autonomy shape women’s experiences
• Why “not all men” conversations often miss the emotional point being made
• How role reversal and empty chair exercises can build empathy and understanding
• Why emotionally honest dialogue matters for healthier relationships, men’s wellbeing and connection

Connect with us

Email- thistriggersmepodcast@gmail.com

Social media- https://www.instagram.com/dr.audra.horney/

https://www.instagram.com/re.masculine/

https://www.instagram.com/thistriggersmepod/

https://www.tiktok.com/@thistriggersmepod

Find a Therapist for Men: www.draudra.com

Podcast post-production: Stacy Blackburn