Speaking on Queer Health, Body Image, and Healing
I speak about the gap between how health is marketed and how it is actually lived, particularly within LGBTQ+ communities.
Much of modern wellness is built around optimisation, discipline, and aesthetics. But for many queer people, health is shaped far more by shame, chronic stress, trauma, and the pressure to belong. My work explores how these forces influence the way people eat, move, relate to their bodies, and seek control through health behaviours.
Drawing on clinical practice, lived experience, and evidence-informed frameworks, I challenge the idea that wellbeing can be reduced to food rules, fitness targets, or willpower. I focus instead on how identity, nervous system regulation, and cultural context shape health outcomes, and why nutrition and mental health cannot be separated from the lives people are actually living.
I am best known for bringing the complexity of queer health into public view. This includes body dysmorphia in gay men, the psychological cost of gym culture and steroid use, disordered eating as an adaptation to trauma and chronic stress, and why LGBTQ+ health requires approaches that go beyond generic advice. My work draws heavily from the themes explored in The Queer Guide to Nutrition and Lifestyle and Letting Go of Perfect, where nutrition is framed not as control, but as support for a body that has learned to survive.
My perspective is also shaped by postgraduate study in psychedelics and transdisciplinary practice, with a focus on how altered states illuminate the relationship between trauma, meaning, identity, and mental health. Rather than positioning psychedelics as solutions, I explore the lessons they offer about control, authenticity, forgiveness, and the limits of purely cognitive approaches to healing, and how these insights can be translated into everyday mental health and wellbeing without the medicine itself.
My talks combine clinical insight with a vulnerable personal narrative. I speak honestly about what real change requires when the nervous system is dysregulated and the body does not feel safe. Rather than offering fixes, I help audiences understand patterns, context, and why certain behaviours make sense, even when they are causing harm.
Where appropriate, I can also integrate brief somatic or breath-based practices to support grounding and reflection. These are always optional, trauma-aware, and used to complement the conversation rather than dominate it.
Topics I speak on
Queer health and nutrition beyond aesthetics
Body image, shame, and body dysmorphia in gay men
Trauma, nervous system health, and eating behaviours
Gym culture, steroids, and the pursuit of control
Minority stress, identity, and long-term health outcomes
Lessons from psychedelics for mental health and self-understanding
Rethinking wellbeing without optimisation or perfection
Formats
Keynotes
Panels and fireside conversations
Pride and community events
Corporate and DEI-focused talks
Media interviews and discussions
Trusted by leaders in workplace wellbeing
“I invited Daniel O’Shaughnessy to speak at our corporate retreats because our clients need wisdom that is practical, clear, and deeply human. Daniel has a rare gift for taking complex ideas about health, identity, stress, and healing, and presenting them in a way that is easy to understand and immediately applicable. His talks combine evidence-informed frameworks with lived experience, so the material feels grounded and real, not abstract or esoteric. Daniel makes healing accessible for audiences who typically expect business language and logic, and he consistently receives the highest praise from participants for changing how they think about wellbeing, resilience, and the connection between mind and body. I recommend him without reservation for any corporate event where you want insight that feels both intelligent and deeply human.”
Dr Miguel Toribio-Mateas, Clinical Neuroscientist and Workplace Wellbeing Consultant.
Frequently Asked Questions
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My talks are designed for a range of audiences, including LGBTQ+ community events, Pride organisers, corporate and DEI teams, universities, and public-facing festivals. I regularly speak to mixed audiences and tailor the framing so the conversation is accessible without being simplified.
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While my work is grounded in queer health and lived experience, the themes I speak about are relevant far beyond LGBTQ+ spaces. Identity, body image, trauma, stress, and the pressure to perform health affect many people. Queer experience often brings these dynamics into sharper focus, which makes the insights broadly applicable.
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It is both. My talks combine evidence-informed frameworks, clinical insight, and lived experience. I am careful not to collapse complexity into slogans or personal storytelling alone. The aim is to offer depth, clarity, and practical understanding, without becoming overly clinical or abstract.
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I speak about psychedelics from an educational and reflective perspective, informed by postgraduate study and clinical understanding. I do not promote their use. Instead, I explore the lessons they offer about trauma, identity, meaning, and mental health, and how those insights can be translated into everyday wellbeing without the medicine itself.
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Yes. I regularly adapt my talks for corporate, organisational, and DEI-focused environments. This includes adjusting language, examples, and framing while keeping the integrity of the work intact. The focus is on creating psychologically safe, relevant conversations that resonate in professional settings.
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My talks are honest and reflective, but not confrontational or overwhelming. I’m careful to create psychologically safe conversations that acknowledge complexity without pushing audiences into disclosure or emotional exposure.
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Fees vary depending on the event, format, and location. I’m happy to discuss scope and expectations in advance to ensure the talk is a good fit. A standard speaker agreement and invoice process is available for corporate and organisational bookings.