The Psychology of your 20s

We blush, we look away, we replay the moment for hours (or years) after it happened, becoming convinced that everyone noticed far more than they probably did. Embarrassment is an interesting and complex emotion, but it can help us recognise social expectations and communicate how our behaviour affects others.

Watch on Netflix: HERE

We explore:
•        When we first develop the capacity to feel embarrassed
•        Why we blush and the role of embarrassment in trust
•        Why some of us feel embarrassment more than others
•        The role of rumination 
•        The psychological and social role of embarrassment 
•        How we can form a better relationship with it

Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast

Subscribe on Substack: @thepsychologyofyour20s

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Our favourite sources:

https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fa0025403

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-psychiatry/article/not-intended-still-embarrassed-social-anxiety-is-related-to-increased-levels-of-embarrassment-in-response-to-unintentional-social-norm-violations/F4143AB3B88D41FB18F9962696A77151

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/desc.70024 

The Psychology of your 20s is not a substitute for professional mental health help. If you are struggling, distressed or require personalised advice, please reach out to your doctor or a licensed psychologist. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brain fog is so much more than just feeling tired. It's that frustrating feeling of knowing what you want to say or do, but your brain simply won't cooperate. And whilst it's incredibly common, we're only just beginning to understand what actually causes it.

Watch on Netflix: HERE

In today's episode, we're breaking down the fascinating new research behind brain fog, including:

• The three main causes of brain fog, from physical depletion to cognitive overload and neurological disruption

• Why chronic stress, anxiety and mental load can leave your brain feeling exhausted

• The surprising links between brain fog, inflammation, long COVID and gut health

• Why women may be more susceptible to brain fog

• The science of sleep, nutrition and the brain's natural cleaning system

• What actually helps clear brain fog, beyond just drinking more water and getting more rest

Extra links: 

Brain fog and trauma: HERE

Brain fog and ADHD: HERE

Brain fog and food: HERE

The Psychology of your 20s is not a substitute for professional mental health help. If you are struggling, distressed or require personalised advice, please reach out to your doctor or a licensed psychologist. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Does the taxi cab theory actually explain why some people suddenly become ready to settle down, or is it just another dating myth?

In this episode, we’re breaking down the psychology behind the infamous, Sex and The City taxi cab theory and asking whether timing really can determine who we end up with. We explore commitment readiness, the social clock, why our relationship priorities change as we age, and the painful psychology of watching someone give their next partner everything they refused to give you.

Watch on Netflix: HERE

We discuss:

• The psychology behind the taxi cab theory
• Why someone can suddenly become “ready” for commitment
• The foster girlfriend phenomenon
• Why timing matters, but compatibility matters more
• How to tell when someone is genuinely serious about you
• Why waiting for someone’s “light to switch on” can keep you stuck

Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast

Subscribe on Substack: @thepsychologyofyour20s

For business: [email protected] 

The Psychology of your 20s is not a substitute for professional mental health help. If you are struggling, distressed or require personalised advice, please reach out to your doctor or a licensed psychologist. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How much of your behaviour is really “you” - and how much has been shaped by the environments around you? In this episode, we explore how childhood, relationships, social expectations, habits and physical spaces can influence the way we think, feel and behave. From nervous-system responses and beliefs about what is possible for us, to the people we pursue, the habits we repeat and the versions of ourselves that present in different places, we look at the psychology of how environments programme our behaviour.

Watch on Netflix: HERE

We explore:
●        What our ‘environment’ can include
●        Impacts of childhood experiences on our nervous system 
●        Where our belief of what it possible or attainable comes from
●        How relational environments shape our pursuit of love
●        How our environment shapes our habits
●        The impact of our physical environment on our personalities

Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast

Subscribe on Substack: @thepsychologyofyour20s

For business: [email protected] 

Our favourite sources:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02309.x

 https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-33544-001

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.883795/full

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-08705-013 

The Psychology of your 20s is not a substitute for professional mental health help. If you are struggling, distressed or require personalised advice, please reach out to your doctor or a licensed psychologist. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this bonus episode, we’re looking at the placebo effect - what it is, how it became an important part of medical research, and why an inactive treatment can sometimes produce genuine changes how we feel, and what this tells us about the relationship between the brain, body and experience of receiving care.

The FULL Debunking Psychology playlist: HERE 

We explore:
•        How placebos became an important part of scientific research
•        Some of the earliest placebo experiments
•        Why our expectations can change the way we experience symptoms
•        Whether the placebo effect produces real, biological changes
•        Why the ritual of receiving care may itself influence how we feel
•        Whether placebo effects represent genuine, lasting change

Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast

Subscribe on Substack: @thepsychologyofyour20s

For business: [email protected] 

The Psychology of your 20s is not a substitute for professional mental health help. If you are struggling, distressed or require personalised advice, please reach out to your doctor or a licensed psychologist. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From abusive MLM’s and wellness programs to doomsday sects and UFO religions, we’re all fascinated by cults. Their mystery offers us a way to explore the darkest recesses of human behaviour, while remaining seemingly out of their reach. But how do we actually define a cult? 

Watch on Netflix: HERE

In this episode, we look at popular examples of cults, understand how they’re organised and recruit followers, and examine what makes some people so vulnerable to joining. We unpack: 

• How a cult is defined, featuring the BITE model of authoritarian control
• What makes cult leaders so distinctive - and dangerous 
• The (often surprising) tactics cults will employ to get people to join 
• How people behave during and in the aftermath of leaving a cult
• Why there are cults all around us today, and people are still drawn to them

Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast

Subscribe on Substack: @thepsychologyofyour20s

For business: [email protected] 

The Psychology of your 20s is not a substitute for professional mental health help. If you are struggling, distressed or require personalised advice, please reach out to your doctor or a licensed psychologist.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In our 20s, we’re all vulnerable to feeling that we’re falling behind. Whether it be chasing the perfect job, relationship, friends, living situation, trip abroad, or something else, we’re led to believe that there’s a certain window of time that we should be achieving certain milestones within. In this episode, we unpack: 

• Why social media makes us compare ourselves with ‘the best’
• The figures behind what people in their 20s really have - and don’t 
• How milestone anxiety and the social clock make us panic
• How we can reframe envy as a useful compass
• Why life circumstances mean we might have a different ‘starting line’ to other people
• Why you’re not delulu - things really are getting harder!

Watch on Netflix: HERE

Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast

Subscribe on Substack: @thepsychologyofyour20s

For business: [email protected] 

Our favourite sources: 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40888380/  
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/uk/savings/average-savings-by-age-in-uk/  
https://jessup.edu/blog/cultural-impact/why-do-adults-adhere-to-a-social-clock/#:~:text=Social%20psychologist%20Bernice%20Neugarten%20identified,purchase%20a%20home%2C%20and%20retire 

The Psychology of your 20s is not a substitute for professional mental health help. If you are struggling, distressed or require personalised advice, please reach out to your doctor or a licensed psychologist. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Stanford Prison Experiment is one of the most famous studies in psychology, but also one of the most controversial. In this bonus episode, we look at what actually happened in the basement of Stanford University in 1971.

We explore:

• The landscape of psychological research at the time of the study
• How participants were selected and assigned roles
• The theatrical procedure of the study
• The unexpected outcomes and why it was stopped early
• Ethical lessons around consent and researcher responsibility
• Why the study is so influential to our understanding of institutions, power and authority

The Debunking Psychology series: HERE

Watch on Netflix: HERE

Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast

Subscribe on Substack: @thepsychologyofyour20s

For business: [email protected] 

Our favourite sources:
http://pdf.prisonexp.org/ijcp1973.pdf 
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/heroism-science/vol10/iss1/5/ 
https://gen.medium.com/the-lifespan-of-a-lie-d869212b1f62 

The Psychology of your 20s is not a substitute for professional mental health help. If you are struggling, distressed or require personalised advice, please reach out to your doctor or a licensed psychologist. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If I could sit down with my 21-year-old self, there are a few things I would definitely want to say. Today, I'm going to say them, like 'don't even THINK about moving in with that guy, use your savings account, care less about grades' and a few more. I also asked you guys, the listeners, about your biggest regrets from your early 20s so we can all learn from each other (how nice is that).

Watch on Netflix: HERE

We discuss:

• Why the right relationship should expand your life, not shrink it
• Why you shouldn’t rush into adulthood
• Financial avoidance and learning to actually save
• Why audacity can matter just as much as hard work
• Caring less about grades and more about experience
• Why nobody can tell you exactly how to live your 20s

Happy listening and drop yours below!

Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast

Subscribe on Substack: @thepsychologyofyour20s

For business: [email protected] 

The Psychology of your 20s is not a substitute for professional mental health help. If you are struggling, distressed or require personalised advice, please reach out to your doctor or a licensed psychologist. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many of us are conditioned to believe that being described as kind, nice, accommodating and generous are the key to overall happiness. But when these traits veer into Good Girl Syndrome, we can be left with a pathological need to please others, be hypervigilant towards others’ emotions, and ultimately suppress how we really feel. In this episode, we explore the origins of Good Girl Syndrome, understand the mental and physical cost of emotional suppression, and learn how to challenge this early social conditioning. 

Watch on Netflix: HERE

We unpack:

• Why women are particularly vulnerable to Good Girl Syndrome
• How trying to be liked shows up personally and professionally
• The link between a high score on the Silencing the Self Scale and depression
• Why it can be harder to break Good Girl habits as we get older
• The ways we can challenge Good Girl Syndrome traits

Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast

Subscribe on Substack: @thepsychologyofyour20s

For business: [email protected] 

Our favourite sources:

https://reachlink.com/advice/general/good-girl-syndrome-why-compliance-destroys-mental-health/ 
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/love-sex/relationships/a34642791/good-girl-complex/  
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362662346_Appendix_A_The_Silencing_the_Self_Scale 

The Psychology of your 20s is not a substitute for professional mental health help. If you are struggling, distressed or require personalised advice, please reach out to your doctor or a licensed psychologist. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.