Coping with miscarriage

Losing a child is one of the most devastating traumas a person can experience. And losing that child before they are born into the world doesn't lessen the pain or negate the sense of loss. In fact sometimes the grief for the mother is worse because others don't usually show the same level of sympathy even though the loss is just as real.

And what about fathers? How do they view, experience and cope with losing a child? Is it any less real for them because of the lack of physical connection?

Three of our regular Chatback guests have all encountered very real, very personal traumas relating to miscarriage and in this podcast they relate those personal stories and reveal how they coped with that intense sense of loss. One common thread with our guests is that they all firmly believe they will see their unborn children again one day.

The desire to start a family

Do you think the desire to have a family is the same for both men and women? Or do you think women want to have kids and so husbands aquiess to keep their wives happy? Or is it all about status, society expectations and the perpetuation of a family heritage?

Mahfuzur Rahman asked Chatback, "Why do married females like to give birth to children during their married life?" Paul, Julie and RJ Fee discussed this real life question on chatback and the podcast is up!

And why is the desire for children so strong in some girls but not others? And is it possible your girlfriend or boyfriend might change their views on this over time? Discussing and understanding your partner's feelings on this issue are essential before making the choice to marry!

That fine line between love and hate

The Podcast is up! Check it out below.

Why is it that we can be so overwhelmingly "in love" with someone and then hate them so thoroughly? How does someone go from sending twenty smiley tweets a day to someone special ... to blocking them from their Facebook account and reporting them?

One Chatback Facebook fan wants to know why love and hate are so closely linked. Is it that we didn't really love them in the first place? Were we just enamored and lusting and it wasn't real love or is it more complicated than that? Have you ever been totally sure you had found the love of your life ... only to be thoroughly heart broken, dumped, shattered and hate filled?

How can we stop worrying?

Do you worry? Do you find yourself overly concerned about people or problems? Does this cause you to have a physical reaction like a knot in the stomach, heavy breathing or shaking?

Do you feel that you worry more than necessary, especially about things that are beyond your control? Do you sometimes become immobilized by the unwarranted fear of what might happen and so it prevents you from reaching your potential in the here and now?

Mel, Rick, George and RJ Fee all discussed their views on worry and how they cope with it. Click the link below to check out the podcast from last Sunday night's show.

How can we resolve conflict in long distance love?

Maintaining a  healthy, solid, loving relationship over long distances can be tricky. For starters the lack of physical contact can sadden our hearts and make us question our loved one's commitment.

Secondly, having to rely on text messaging, phone calls, emails, skype, IM and social networking sites to "talk" to each other leaves scope for our imagination to "read" nuances into those communications. How often has the lack of a smiley face or a LOL on an email made you wonder if the tone of an email or text was angry?

And thirdly when a drama does arise, it can be awkward to deal with when you can't just drop everything and sort it out face to face. Paul, Ethan, Michelle and RJ Fee discuss this all too common senario in the podcast below.

Is marriage essential for human existance?

Another great Real Life Question came into Chatback via facebook from Mahfuzur Rahman who wants to know, "Why do people get married? Is it essential for human existance?"

On one hand the human race can perpetuate itself through reproduction without formal unions, so life can go on without marriage ... but what kind of society would that create?

God created marriage. It was his idea and he arranged the first marriage so if He thinks it benifits mankind then surely we should question whether the Western trend away from it is harmful.

Check out what Michelle, George, Karl and RJ Fee had to say in the podcast below and then share your perspective.

Do guys and girls date ... just for sex?

Mahfuzur Rahman asked Chatback to tackle a curly Real Life Question. He asked through Facebook, "Why do people have boyfriends or girlfriends? Is it only for sex?"

Hmmmmm. We asked Michelle who is dating ... Karl who just finished dating and is now happily married ... and George who has been married for ages why they think people date (have boyfriends and girlfriends before they get engaged or married).

While I can't believe that is the only motivation the post-modern, western teenager dates, I was in for a reality check Chatback.

Click the link below to hear the podcast from Sunday's show.

Life is so precious and love shows us why

Okay I'm a chick and this stuff makes chicks cry ... but if it makes even one more son, brother, father or friend buckle up then it was worth putting here!

You too can look cool in a CVC Polo!

Mogire Machuki always keeps us on our toes with his Real Life Questions for Chatback. Send your question through too and if we use it on the show, we'll send you a CVC Polo shirt as well!

Music and movie piracy - YOU lose!

Music and Movie piracy is crippling both industries worldwide as CDs and DVDs are illegally dowloaded and copied. The ultimate winners in this criminal activity is organised crime and the ultimate losers ... YOU and me. As more and more artists, actors and movie makers go bust and throw in the towel. As budgets dwindle and production houses think twice about commiting to that next potentially awesome film ...

Mogire Machuki asked Chatback to tackle this RLQ, "I would like to know what measures the music industry as well as the film industry are taking to nip the bud on CD/ DVD piracy now rocking our computer rooms? Are our musicians making anything from their hard work of producing records? How can this act of piracy come to an end?"

Michelle from the newsroom and our music director Karl were the perfect people to answer this RLQ on Chatback. If you missed last Sunday's show ... just click the podcast links below!