Getting Old Quickly

In Episode 160, Billy Donnelly talks about his miserable work situation and how feeling useless in his current role has been having an overall negative impact on his mental health over the last several weeks. He discusses our innate need to feel productive and contribute meaningfully to society, and how when it feels like that has been taken away from us, we grow frustrated -- and depression can set in. He talks about our desires to be seen and how, in a work environment, that means allowing you the space to maximize your potential and display your talents, skills, and abilities. We don't want to feel like our time is being wasted, and when it is, it's hard to shake loose from.

In Episode 159, Billy Donnelly talks about the escalating levels of travel anxiety he's found he experiences now -- particularly after his most recent trip to Detroit and Chicago. While he felt a certain degree of nervousness in traveling before, since the diagnosis of his GI condition, he's found that being in situations where he lacks control over his surroundings and environment can take a toll on how he physically feels -- which then plays a role in his level of concern over inexplicably finding himself with a bathroom emergency. He describes several scenarios from his trip to explain further how his mind and gut wind up in a vicious cycle of worry that does him no favors. And he talks about the burden he carries in certain situations when he can just tell his health and its inconveniences are becoming an annoyance for others and the feelings he then has to deal with as a result.

In Episode 158, Billy Donnelly discusses his recent travels to Michigan and Chicago, this time for yet another Drewpies reunion with his internet friends from the pandemic. And while the last time didn't go so well for him, he talks about the enjoyment he was able to take from this trip. In addition, he recaps how this whole unique situation even came together and shares just how much this "band of misfits" means to him as they were a key part of his life at a very difficult time. And as a result, making it through such a tough stretch has bonded him to all of them from here on out.

In Episode 157, Billy Donnelly shares his latest hobby: painting (or spray paint art, to be more specific). He discusses where he first was exposed to it and how long he's been waiting to give it a try. And, after buying the supplies and putting himself on the hook to not back out, he dove headfirst into giving it a shot -- finding that it's both relaxing and incredibly enjoyable. The larger point he makes from this experience though is that we need to find ways to get to "yes" for ourselves, as opposed to throwing up all the excuses and reasons for why we can't do something, afraid to not be good at it right away. He reiterates the fact that he's been doing so much better at throwing caution to the wind and just doing the things that excite him, worrying less about negative outcomes and more about taking the risk to find things that excite him.

You can see the first batch (and continuing pieces) of Billy's work on Instagram, if you're curious.

In Episode 156, Billy Donnelly celebrates the three-year anniversary of Getting Old Quickly by having no idea what to say that he hasn't already said about the show's beginnings and progress. He actually goes back and looks at last year's anniversary show to find out that he mostly said all the things he'd want to say then -- which might be why he was struggling with putting together this week's episode. Therefore, he expresses his thanks and gratitude during his bewilderment that he's been doing the podcast for as long as he has. He also fills everyone in on the show's future and touches upon the few things he can take away from the last year.

In Episode 155, Billy Donnelly had to confront the fact that sometimes you are the source of someone else's triggers. For all the talk about handling one's own triggers on the podcast, he's never had to encounter the idea that you might be responsible for the negative feelings of others born from past events. This week, he dives into that situation, discussing the feelings in him that then in turn had to work through. However, he also shared that the work he's done on his own approach to triggers in his life led to a better sense of understanding and empathy of what another was going through -- something he's not sure would have gone so smoothly in years past.

In Episode 154, Billy Donnelly experiences a rare occurrence of FOMO. Having experienced WrestleMania weekend several times in years past, he started to feel a little bummed this year seeing all the people in Los Angeles for this year's annual event -- and wanted to talk about how he's coping with those feelings on this week's show.

In Episode 153, Billy Donnelly discusses imposter syndrome, primarily because he finally found his own. After years of believing that he sometimes almost belonged too much, a couple of recent instances -- centered around going to concerts -- had him feeling like maybe he didn't belong in those situations. It prompted some reflection about past cases in which he limited himself and what he did because he didn't think he'd be welcomed into particular communities. Likely buoyed by other gatekeeper experiences, his anxiety about being seen as a fraud or a poser was enough to keep him away, protecting him from hurt and discomfort. However, faced with decisions about New Found Glory and Taylor Swift, he finally found it within himself to push back on the idea that he didn't belong.

In Episode 152, Billy Donnelly tells the story of an internet influencer who negatively affected his mood recently. He shares all his feelings about a vague individual who claimed to spend "5 figures" on tickets to see Taylor Swift on the opening night of her new Eras Tour. And while he is quick to explain that people can do whatever they want with their money, it was the tone-deaf approach to humble bragging about certain behaviors as of late that he found led to him feeling a little jealous and a lot angry. However, what he chose to do with those emotions led to a few proud moments of his growth. In addition, he lays out why he felt the need to tell such a tale, as even knowing how bad the internet can make you feel from time to time, especially with the fakeness of social media and influencer culture, he still found himself sucked into it on a specific thing.

In Episode 151, Billy Donnelly discusses parenting and how it's no picnic. He talks about the difficulty and mess of parenthood that not many people want to discuss because they think it's some poor reflection of them. However, he stresses the need to talk about the mess, because nobody's perfect at raising children, and it can often be a frustrating experience. He also taps into the idea that sometimes your kids aren't great, and it's normal to think so instead of working overtime to convince yourself otherwise that they're somehow perfect angels. He shares a couple of experiences he had recently with his children that pushed him to those negative thoughts of failing as a parent. However, he pushes back on them hard and sees it for what it is, knowing he's doing the best he can with no instructions or manual available on how to do this "the right way."