Today we’re cracking open a journal prompt that screams "I want more but also have no idea what I'm doing!"

Today's prompt is:

“What is one thing I deeply desire, and what steps can I take toward achieving it?”

So grab your journal, your most unhinged aspiration, and let’s get into what you really want—and how to actually inch toward it without lighting your whole life on fire. Probably.

Join us on the O'Neil Counseling app here: ⁠https://www.oneilcounseling.com/app-landing-page

If alcohol were invented today, there’s no way it would be legal. We’d take one look at the health risks, the accident stats, the domestic violence rates, the economic toll, and we’d be like, ‘Absolutely not, ban that immediately.’ But instead, it’s one of the most socially acceptable drugs in the world. We toast with it at weddings, sip it at funerals, and apparently need it to survive brunch.

At the end of the day, this episode isn’t about villainizing alcohol, it’s about de-normalizing harm. It’s about pulling back the curtain on something that’s been operating in the background for far too long. It’s about reminding you that coping doesn’t have to come in a bottle, connection doesn’t require a buzz, and healing is always possible, no matter where you’re starting from.

Join us on the O'Neil Counseling app here: ⁠https://www.oneilcounseling.com/app-landing-page

Burnout isn’t just about being overworked—it’s about being overwhelmed and under-resourced. It’s your brain hitting Control+Alt+Delete while your body throws up the “nope” sign. And let’s be honest, it’s become so normalized that half of us treat it like a personality trait.

So today, we’re going there. What burnout actually is, why it happens, and what to do when your inner battery isn’t just dead—it’s corroded and leaking sarcasm.

No productivity hacks, no “just do yoga and hydrate” BS. Just the real talk on how to un-crisp your nervous system.

Join us on the O'Neil Counseling app here: ⁠https://www.oneilcounseling.com/app-landing-page

Ah yes, the classic motivational war cry: “You just need to want it more.” As if sheer desire alone can break generational trauma, cure chronic illness, override neurodivergence, or magically conjure up the time, money, and childcare you’d need to chase your goals. It’s the kind of advice that sounds deep until you actually think about it—and realize it’s basically just guilt wrapped in a Pinterest font. So today on Shrink Wrapped, we’re unpacking this weaponized self-help nonsense. Where did it come from? Why do people keep saying it? And how can we chase our goals without internalizing the idea that not achieving them means we’re lazy, broken, or somehow just didn’t want it enough?

Join us on the O'Neil Counseling app here: ⁠https://www.oneilcounseling.com/app-landing-page

On today’s episode, we’re digging into Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD for short) and no, it’s not just about being “emotional” or “dramatic” (but thanks, media, for that stereotype). You know the drill, we’ll break down the DSM criteria, which is just the official diagnostic checklist. Spoiler: it’s more than just being “difficult” to deal with. There’s actual science behind it, and I'm here to translate it into something that doesn’t sound like a dictionary. Then we're going to talk about the media portrayal of BPD, and you guessed it- BPD is way more nuanced and way less “dramatic movie plot” than Hollywood would like you to think. So let's get into it.

Join us on the O'Neil Counseling app here: ⁠https://www.oneilcounseling.com/app-landing-page

At some point, we stopped finger-painting and started filing taxes, and honestly? I think that was a mistake. Remember when you used to lose hours making up dance routines, narrating Barbie soap operas, or building elaborate stick forts like you were training for a post-apocalyptic HGTV special? That wasn't wasted time- that was you, unfiltered. Before the productivity cult got you. Before your calendar looked like a game of Tetris, and joy got shoved into the "maybe Saturday" column, right between laundry and existential dread. Somewhere along the way, we got the message that fun is for kids and adulthood is for suffering quietly with a reusable water bottle and mild back pain.

Today's prompt is "Think back to when you were a child. What activities or hobbies made you lose track of time? How can you incorporate those passions into your adult life?" It's a chance to remember who you were before the world told you who to be. So grab your journal, find a quiet spot, and let's revisit that magic.

You can email questions in to [email protected] and I'm going to compile them all into a bonus episode with your questions and my answers!

Join us on the O'Neil Counseling app here: ⁠https://www.oneilcounseling.com/app-landing-page

You ever look back on the worst months of your life and realize they’re basically… missing? Like your brain just rage-quit mid-season and refused to film the episodes? That’s the thing about deep depression and trauma—they can turn your memory into a drunk intern who lost the filing cabinet, shredded half the files, and then went on vacation. Whole days vanish, conversations get replaced with static, and time turns into one long, blurry ‘previously on’ montage.

Today, we’re talking about why your brain sometimes acts like a shady narrator in your own life story—and why that missing footage isn’t you being broken, it’s your mind trying to keep you alive.

Email your questions and stories to [email protected] be featured on a bonus episode

Join us on the O'Neil Counseling app here: ⁠https://www.oneilcounseling.com/app-landing-page

Communication is allegedly the thing that separates us from the animals—but let’s be honest, a lot of us are just highly verbal raccoons with unresolved issues and Wi-Fi. We say too much, say too little, say the wrong thing, or rehearse the perfect comeback in the shower six hours too late.

Today’s episode? We’re cutting through the noise. No fluff, no corporate team-building retreat energy—just real talk about how to say what you mean, mean what you say, and stop turning every conversation into an accidental episode of emotional Survivor.

Join us on the O'Neil Counseling app here: ⁠https://www.oneilcounseling.com/app-landing-page

Let’s be real—nobody teaches you how to actually do friendship past the age of 12. Like, yes, we learned to “share our toys” and “say sorry,” but nobody prepared us for the adult-level chaos of mismatched priorities, unspoken resentment, and the slow, silent fade of a once-daily texter into a quarterly “miss you!” emoji.

Friendship in adulthood? It's weird. Beautiful, but weird. Friendships are living, evolving relationships that require boundaries, honesty, and the occasional “hey, that hurt my feelings” conversation that makes you want to crawl into a hole and die a little. And managing them well? That’s not about being perfect—it’s about being intentional.

Join us on the O'Neil Counseling app here: ⁠https://www.oneilcounseling.com/app-landing-page

“Close your eyes and travel back in time to a memory you’ve forgotten—a moment when you felt a simple joy. What can you thank your past self for in that moment?”

Yes, we’re time traveling—but instead of fixing the timeline or warning yourself about that one haircut, we’re hunting for a soft, overlooked moment of joy. Something random. Something pure. Maybe it’s riding your bike with no hands, or eating popsicles on a curb, or laughing so hard you snorted in public and didn’t even care. We're talking pre-tax joy.

Join us on the O'Neil Counseling app here: ⁠https://www.oneilcounseling.com/app-landing-page