The Psychology of your 20s

This week we are discussing the ups and downs of living alone in your 20s: from the freedom and independence, to the loneliness and social isolation, financial anxiety and stress, but the authenticity and emotional maturity that comes with it. We talk about: 

• Why being alone doesn't make you lonely
• Sliders versus deciders - why you should wait before moving in with a partner
• Cognitive distortions and overspending 
• Lifestyle creep 
• Habits for building social connection and community
• How to successfully live alone 

All that and more, listen now! 

Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg

Follow The Psychology of your 20s on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feeling jealous over our partners past can feel highly irrational, but its still a feeling many of us have and contributes to a lot of obsessive and unhealthy behaviours like stalking their exes, asking intrusive questions, starting arguments in hopes of getting the reassurance we need. In today's episode, we talk about the psychology of retroactive jealousy, including its origins and how to move past your jealous feelings. We will talk about: 

• How past relationships and trauma create jealousy
• Overthinking and anxiety 
• Rejection sensitivity 
• Self sabotage 
• Interrupting mental compulsions 

Listen now! 

Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg 

Follow The Psychology of your 20s on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Panic attacks are awful, they sneak up on us in the worst moments and make us feel overwhelmed by an invisible fear. In today's episode we are going to talk through the psychology of panic attacks including: 

• Why they occur?
• Panic disorders vs. panic attacks 
• The flight, fight, freeze or fawn response
• The car alarm analogy 
• The function of anxiety and panic
• Anxiety avoidance vs. acceptance
• 7 evidence based tips for managing panic attacks 

We also have a 7 minute meditation at the end of the episode that will talk you through a visualisation exercise for managing an actual panic attack. Listen now! 

If you need immediate help please call your local crisis centre or access the following resources: 

• 988 Mental Health Emergency Hotline (US)
• 13 11 14 Lifeline (Australia) 
• https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/mental-health/find-an-urgent-mental-health-helpline (UK) 

Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg 

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's my birthday. Let's talk about my fear of growing older. 

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Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thepsychologyofyour20s 

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Our 20s are one of the best times for us to change careers. Perhaps you're feeling burntout, bored, unmotivated, craving something bigger, something with purpose or better hours, a change from the life and job you currently have. In this episode we break down how we can change careers in our 20s, some of the challenges, how to manage the financial insecurity, the signs your old job is not right for you and discovering your true mission and purpose and life (even if it doesn't always revolve around your job and a pay check). 

We are joined by the founder and CEO of The Career Contessa, host of the hit podcast and author, Lauren Goodwin who shares her years worth of advice and best tips. 

Follow Career Contessa here: @CareerContessa 

Listen to the podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0k0EzNNiLnWICq7gQuFQFg?si=3b84c545aea54800 

Follow Jemma here: @jemmasbeg

Follow The Psychology of your 20s here: @thatpsychologypodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Acne has just as many emotional and mental symptoms as it does physical. Having acne in our 20s is a significant source of insecurity, frustration and hopelessness, impacting how we go about making new friends, dating, career opportunities and so much more. In this episode we break down the psychology of acne, investigating the myths about the causes of acne, the subsequent stigma towards acne, the mental consequences we are observing more and more, the impact of social media and facetune, along with how we can manage our self esteem in the face of chronic acne. Listen now! 

The article I reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5029236/ 

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Sustaining a relationship has a lot more to do with the division of domestic, emotional and physical labour. A massive component is the mental load - the additional energy that goes into organising, scheduling and managing the daily tasks, chores and things that need to be done whilst also accounting for your partners needs. It's not a secret that women carry a lot more of the mental load than their male counterparts and in this episode we break down exactly why that is, how an unfair division of cognitive labour can lead to resentment and relationship breakdown and how we can address this in our relationships, including our friendships. Listen now! 

Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The end of a relationship or a friendship can leave us with a lot of unanswered questions, especially when the split is sudden, out of the blue, and the other person is unresponsive. In other instances, we don't quite know what went wrong and are looking for answers. In today's episode we talk about the elusive myth that is closure: whether we need it, how to get it, and why we should not rely on others to provide us with permission to move on. We also discuss the closure cycle and the reasons we may THINK we are looking for closure, but are really looking for an excuse to reconnect. All of that and more, listen now! 

Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg

Follow the podcast: @thatpsychologypodcast 

For business enquiries: psychologyofyour20s@gmail.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A considerable question for those of us in our 20s is how do we create a good life? What does it mean to design a life we love and how exactly do we do that? In today's episode we break down five ways we can do this, including: 

1. Deconstructing your old life for your new one + the Odyssey Plan
2. Prototyping your new life + the 15 minute rule 
3. Addition through subtraction 
4. Pursue daily joy 
5. Positive future planning + dopamine scheduling 

Listen now! 

Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg 

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sometimes we become more attached to the idea of someone and their potential, than the reality of who they actually are. We begin to project our wants and desires on to them and ignore the red flags, the disappointments, the truth. This is what we call fantasy bonding and it prevents us from seeing someone for who they truly are, causes us to be lead along and invest in the wrong people. In this episode, we break down the psychology of fantasy bonding, including: 

• The origins of fantasy bonding in childhood
• How a fantasy bond emerges 
• Relationship intensity and attachment
• Why our fear of loneliness drives us into the wrong relationships
• The idealisation of our partners 
• What happens when the fantasy fades 
• How to avoid a fantasy bond 

Listen now. 

Follow us on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast 

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Anger is one of our most primal emotions and yet we have no idea how to manage it. We suppress it, allowing it to rule our lives; we hide from it, we let it explode onto people who don't deserve our rage. In this episode we break down the psychology of anger and why anger is often a secondary emotion, masking our true fear, anxiety and insecurity. We explore how to manage our anger, use it for fuel and motivation, why the anger we experience as children often leads to our inability to full express emotions, where our anger comes from and whether forgiveness truly is the solution. Listen now. 

Follow us on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast

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Two of the most noteworthy elements of our 20s are dating and our experiences with mental health. They also interact - our mental health will influence how we date, how we deal with rejection, how we meet new people, and subsequently, our dating experiences can have a profound impact on our mental health. In this episode we dissect everything about this interaction and how we can take care of our mental and emotional wellbeing, avoid codependency whilst also finding the love we deserve.

We also talk through some advice for people who are dating partners with mental health struggles and how to support them, whilst also not stepping into the role of caregiver or savior. Listen now! 

Follow us on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast 

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Being able to travel and explore the world in our 20s is such a unique privilege, but sometimes we can overdo a good thing and hit a point of complete emotional, mental and physical exhaustion, causing us to want to go home early, abandon our trip or enjoy our travels a lot less. In this episode we break down the psychology behind travel burnout, why it occurs, what it says about our human need to belong, creature comforts and my tips for overcoming the fatigue and exhaustion and getting the most out of your adventure. Listen now! 

Follow us on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast 

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We experience chronic guilt towards a lot of things: guilt for resting, guilt for not resting, guilt for prioritising ourselves, guilt for being a bad friend, a bad partner, a bad student, for not deserving your opportunities. In today's episode we break down the guilt complex by exploring: 

• The childhood guilt wound
• People pleasing 
• The fawn response 
• Perfectionism 
• Negative self esteem 

We also discuss how we can overcome our chronic guilt by deciding to live for ourselves and putting energy into our wellbeing first, alongside the paradox of the guilt we feel towards ourselves vs the guilt we inflict on others. Listen now! 

Follow The Psychology of your 20s: @thatpsychologypodcast

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For business enquiries: psychologyofyour20s@gmail.com 

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In today's episode we are going to discuss the psychology behind our health anxiety, something we don't speak about enough in our 20s. Health anxiety leaves us feeling incredibly hypervigilant to symptoms or feelings in our body that could indicate a life threatening illness or impending death, even if they are just a projection or derived from stress. This comes from our need to feel in control of our bodies and a lot of primal, evolutionary origins. It can also leave us struggling with feeling connected with ourselves, unable to live out our daily lives or constantly anxious. We discuss all of this and more, as well as my 5 top tips for managing our health anxiety. Listen now!

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For business enquiries: psychologyofyour20s@gmail.com 

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Getting into a new relationship can bring up a lot of past trauma from previous relationships, and cause a lot of self sabotage or anxiety, resulting in behaviours such as: 

• Emotional unavailability
• Knit picking behaviour 
• Starting unnecessary fights 
• Stone walling 
• Pushing people away 
• Ignoring red flags 

In this episode we answer the question "do you need to completely heal before entering into a new relationship?". We are joined by the incredible, Tasha Bailey, otherwise known as the Real Talk Therapist as we break down the way past relationship trauma can show up in our new relationships and how to heal whilst still accepting the love you deserve. 

Follow Tasha here: @realtalk.therapist 

Buy Tasha's book here: https://www.amazon.com/Real-Talk-Lessons-Therapy-Self-Love-ebook/dp/B0BGXKR5T2 

Follow the podcast here: @thatpsychologypodcast 

Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg 

For business enquiries: psychologyofyour20s@gmail.com 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many of us find ourselves obsessively focused on the opinions and judgements of others, letting their opinion of us influence our sense of self worth and confidence. However, true power and success comes when we embrace the courage to be disliked and recognise that the negative words of others come from their own insecurity, rather than as a reflection of us. In this episode we break down this concept, alongside the role of reputation, conformity, the chameleon effect and how we can embrace our authentic selves, our TRUEST selves to live in our power. Listen now! 

Follow us on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast 

Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg 

For business enquiries: psychologyofyour20s@gmail.com 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alcohol is a drug, highly addictive, has proven to do damage to our minds and our bodies and yet makes up a huge part of our 20s, especially how we socialise and connect with others.

In today's episode we are going to talk about the psychology of alcohol, the impact of alcohol on our brains, the influence our social circles and friendships have on our drinking habits, hangiexty, binge drinking and all the conversations about alcohol we should be having in our 20s, that maybe we are not. As part of this, we want to answer or at least explore the question: should we quit drinking in our 20s? We discuss the reasons for quitting or at least being 'sober curious' and tips for how to moderate our drinking habits. Listen now! 

Follow us on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast

Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg 

For business enquiries: psychologyofyour20s@gmail.com 

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Welcome to 2024! With each new year on the podcast, we set a new theme or intention for the next 12 months. This year our theme is RISK, embracing our fear of change or making a mistake and embracing risk in all its forms! We discuss how we can get a better idea of what we want for our future, discover our purpose, what type of risks will get us there, the difference between bounded and unbounded risk and why risks not always have to be impulsive or spontaneous. Listen now and welcome to your year for taking risks! 

Follow us on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast 

Follow me on Instagram: @jemmasbeg 

For business enquiries: psychologyofyour20s@gmail.com 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dating with an anxious attachment style comes with a number of challenges: struggling to feel secure, requiring constant reassurance, mistrust, a fear of abandonment, feeling unworthy of love or difficulty setting boundaries. But your attachment style is not a life sentence, it is something you can challenge and heal by embracing vulnerability, healthy love, boundary setting and applying the love you crave from others to yourself. We are joined by the wonderful Thais Gibson, an author, speaker, leader in the personal development field and founder of The Personal Development School as we break down what it means to date and love as someone who is anxiously attached. 

Find Thais here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHQ4lSaKRap5HyrpitrTOhQ 

The attachment quiz we spoke of: https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/quiz 

Follow us on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast 

For business enquiries: psychologyofyour20s@gmail.com 

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