This Isn’t Therapy

This Isn't Therapy... it's a discussion about the mind-body connection~ wooOOoO!! Nah, in all seriousness, Jake and Simon unpack some interesting data about the gut and how it's being considered a second brain for its ability to drive instinct, help us refocus, and hone in on what really matters. In this episode, we discuss through some final lovely listener submissions and hear what y'all are thinking about as it pertains to this important, and often overlooked, piece of the mental health puzzle!

P.S. This is our final episode of the season. Stay tuned for epic encore replays all summer long and keep your eyes peeled for an announcement about our next season in Fall 2025!

Got an episode idea? Or maybe even a quandary, query, or question? Submit your thoughts (anonymously) to Asking For A Friend...

Creators & Guests

Original music composed by Kat Burns and performed by KASHKA.

This Isn't Therapy... it's the episode about emotions! In this episode, Jake and Simon respond to a listener question... so what are emotions, anyway? They break down the core emotions and how to distinguish emotions from feelings, thoughts, and moods. This episode is def for you if you've ever wondered how to control your emotions (or can you?) and what to do when the social emotions like guilt, shame, jealousy, pride, and indignation come into the mix. Come on in... emotions don't have to be scary! ;)

Got a quandary, query, or question? Submit your Q (anonymously) to Asking For A Friend...

Creators & Guests

Original music composed by Kat Burns and performed by KASHKA.

This Isn't Therapy... it's a juicy convo about what it takes to become self-led. In this episode, we talk about self-leadership and how to build a sturdy and reliable self-esteem that doesn't dissolve under the sometimes-crushing weight of criticism, negative feedback, shame and self-doubt. This is an active episode so grab your pens and notebooks. Jake walks the lovely listeners through a four-part journalling exercise, rooted in four reflective questions, to help you create authentic self-leadership.

Got a quandary, query, or question? Submit your Q (anonymously) to Asking For A Friend...

Creators & Guests

Original music composed by Kat Burns and performed by KASHKA.

This Isn't Therapy... it's an episode about seeking validation (online). Are we becoming obsessed with our quest for constant reassurance, approval, and external validation? In this episode, Jake and Simon explore the sugar high that comes with too much external affirmation and how this weird, wacky, online world is eroding our sense of self. But is it vain to want a compliment? How can I become a more secure and confident person? Is it bad to want to look to others for approval? Or is that... survival? All this and more on this week's juicy, juicy episode!

Got a quandary, query, or question? Submit your Q (anonymously) to Asking For A Friend...

VOX Article: Validate Me, Please! by Allie Volpe

Creators & Guests

Original music composed by Kat Burns and performed by KASHKA.

This Isn't Therapy... it's the episode about the pressure to be happy. In this episode, Jake and Simon talk about how to feel authentically happy when there's a lot of pressure to perform positivity or force happy feelings. Jake and Simon hear from two Lovely Listeners who wonder about the true meaning of happiness and how to spot the difference between authentic joy versus fake happiness. In a culture that might encourage us to "just think positive!" we're asking "...should we?"

This Isn't Therapy... it's the episode about parasocial relationships; the one-sided emotional connections we have with casual acquaintances, people we "know" online, characters we watch in television and movies, and people we admire from afar. In this episode, Jake and Simon talk about some examples from pop culture, such as Chappell Roan's desire to set boundaries as a celebrity and Sabrina Carpenter's previous relationship. In addition, they pull examples from two articles to answer one curious question: Have we reached Peak Parasocial?

Article 1: In a Celebrity-Obsessed World, Have We Reached Peak Parasocial? By Anna Cafolla

Article 2: What are parasocial relationships doing to our brains? By Allegra Rosenberg

Got a quandary, query, or question? Submit your Q (anonymously) to Asking For A Friend...

Creators & Guests

Original music composed by Kat Burns and performed by KASHKA.

This Isn't Therapy... it's the episode about the four F's: fight, flight, freeze, and fawn. In this episode, Jake and Simon discuss the four threat responses and how to move through tough situations and face what's in front of us. This episode is for anyone who feels trapped by their reactions or is left feeling overwhelmed by stressful situations. These responses are what make us human; it is better to embrace them and face them rather than become ruled by them.

Got a quandary, query, or question? Submit your Q (anonymously) to Asking For A Friend...

Creators & Guests

Original music composed by Kat Burns and performed by KASHKA.

This Isn't Therapy... it's a long overdue convo about the two most essential skills in relationships. In this episode, Jake and Simon discuss a statistic about emotional availability: on average, we are only emotionally available for our partners about 9% of the time. With that in mind, they discuss how to get closer to the 9% using the two essential skills of attunement and repair. Throughout the episode, they discuss how to implement these skills through the development of micro-skills.

Got a quandary, query, or question? Submit your Q (anonymously) to Asking For A Friend...

Creators & Guests

Original music composed by Kat Burns and performed by KASHKA.

This Isn't Therapy... it's a conversation about mental health stigma and how we may have lost the plot in our attempts to de-stigmatize mental health. In this episode, we unpack RaQuel Hopkins' viral videos about mental health language, turning mental health labels into identities, and expanding our resilience and personal capacity to tolerate difficult life circumstances. Jake and Simon discuss her idea that the over-reliance on mental health tools may be making us "weaker" and how to build a real, stronger capacity to handle what comes our way versus just managing mental health symptoms.

Got a quandary, query, or question? Submit your Q (anonymously) to Asking For A Friend...

Creators & Guests

Original music composed by Kat Burns and performed by KASHKA.

This isn’t therapy… it’s part three in our series about the war on human connection. In this episode, we talk about how overwhelming people with tragic and distressing information about the world leads to a decline in empathy. Jake and Simon discuss how a decline in rates of empathy affect our ability to practice perspective taking and experience empathic concern.

Article: Empathy Is Dying And So Are We by Rita Jabbour

Got a quandary, query, or question? Submit your Q (anonymously) to Asking For A Friend...

Creators & Guests

Original music composed by Kat Burns and performed by KASHKA.