It turns out the “post-travel crash” is common enough that therapists and travel writers have a name for it: post-vacation blues—that mood drop when you go from high-stimulation adventure back to routine. And if you’ve ever felt it, you know it doesn’t feel like “blues.” It feels like your happiness got used up.

It’s 6:43 AM on a Wednesday and Emily’s alarm has gone off three times… but her brain is still in Barcelona.

What this episode is about

• The emotional dip after an amazing trip or big event

• Why “back to normal” can feel gray, flat, and pointless

• How to rebuild that alive feeling without buying another plane ticket

Meet Emily

• 21-year-old college junior (University of Oregon)

• Returns from a two-week Europe backpacking trip with her best friends

• Comes home to: work shifts, roommate chaos, relationship routine, and a heavy “now what?”

The problem

• The trip wasn’t just fun—it was newness, freedom, and real connection

• Back home, everything feels smaller by comparison

• She starts spiraling: comparing her apartment, her relationship, and her life to the trip

I’m 16, standing in my aunt’s kitchen on Thanksgiving, trying to convince myself that a marshmallow is a threat. Everyone else is laughing in the dining room, and I’m over here negotiating with a casserole like it controls my entire future. That’s when it hit me: this isn’t discipline anymore. This is fear dressed up as focus.

This episode follows Devin, a 16-year-old wrestler whose “discipline” slowly turns into an unhealthy obsession with food, weight, and performance. What begins as a simple request to cut six pounds becomes a months-long battle with body image, self-worth, and the pressure to succeed at all costs.

Through Thanksgiving moments, late-night spiral thinking, and one terrifyingly honest conversation with his coach, Devin learns that winning isn’t worth it if it costs your relationship with yourself. We explore identity, diet culture, high-school athletics, and the mental skills that help teens rebuild a healthy relationship with food and their bodies.

By the end, listeners walk away with compassion, clarity, and the reminder that your body is supposed to be your teammate—not your opponent.

If your “best friends” are the reason your stomach drops every time your phone buzzes, this episode is for you. 221 unread messages, one toxic group chat, and the moment Maria finally chooses herself over being “included.”

In this episode, we follow Maria, an 18-year-old senior in San Antonio, through one of the hardest moves you can make in high school: leaving the friend group that’s been slowly tearing you down. What starts as late-night FaceTimes and “main character energy” turns into backhanded comments, secret plans, and group chat jokes that land like punches.

Over Black Friday, Maria hits her breaking point, calls out the dynamic, and gets labeled “dramatic” and “the problem” for finally speaking up. With help from her older brother and a beat-up journal, she makes the terrifying choice to leave the chat, set real boundaries, and rebuild her circle with people who actually see her.

This episode is a guide for anyone stuck in a toxic friend group, learning that no is a full sentence, and that temporary loneliness is better than permanently feeling like you’re not enough.

If overthinking was an Olympic sport, Gen Z would take the gold—but all we get is anxiety and insomnia. This episode is the cool-down routine your brain's been begging for.

Freshman year. Private school. Family pressure. Sammy's life feels like a never-ending marathon of mental gymnastics, and he’s not alone. In this episode, we follow Sammy through the Overthinking Olympics—those 2:00 AM spiral sessions where your brain won't shut up about everything from forgotten homework to your entire self-worth. Through honest storytelling, laugh-out-loud moments, and the kind of advice that actually lands, we unpack the toll overthinking takes on young minds and how cool-down routines, breathing tricks, and honest conversations can start to bring peace.

For any teen who's tired of being tired, this is your reminder that mental skills aren't soft skills—they're survival skills. You don't have to control every thought. You just have to stop letting them control you.

You ever feel behind in life… like everyone else already bloomed and you're still figuring out if you’re even a plant? 🌱 Redwoods get it. They grow 350 feet tall, live for 2,000 years… but start smaller than a chip. No comparing. No scrolling. Just growing. Quiet. Steady. Rooted in the right forest. So maybe it’s not about how fast you grow—but who’s growing with you.

This episode is a mindset shift for anyone in their late teens or early twenties feeling lost in the scroll. Using redwoods as a metaphor for growth, host Nick Gumpert shares why consistency, not comparison, is the real measure of success. We talk about growing slow, staying grounded with the right people, and how sometimes it’s not you—it’s your soil. Mental skills are the hidden roots that help you stand tall when life gets stormy. By the end, you’ll feel less rushed, more rooted, and reminded that the tallest trees grow in good company.

You ever say yes so many times you wake up buried in commitments, caffeine, and a crusty planner? That’s Ariel. And this is the story of her yes hangover—and the breakthrough that followed.

In this episode, Ariel, a high-achieving senior, opens up about her chaotic fall into overcommitment—from three clubs to a demon dog to organizing a winter formal she didn’t even want to attend. At first, her schedule made her feel important. But slowly, it left her burned out, forgetting birthdays, and crying on boxes of frozen french fries in the walk-in freezer at work. After a humiliating friend fail and some blunt but loving truth from her parents, Ariel starts learning the value of saying no—and how boundaries don’t make you boring, they make you better. It’s raw, hilarious, and painfully real for any Gen Z listener trying to be everything to everyone.

By the end, you’ll realize that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is back out and show up fully for fewer, better things. Especially yourself.

I just deleted the group chat. 3 years of inside jokes—gone in one swipe. My hands are still shaking, and no one knows why... yet.

If you've ever felt group chat fatigue, this one’s for you. In today’s episode, Theo shares what led him to delete a group chat with his 8 closest friends. It wasn’t drama—it was exhaustion. From FOMO pressure to the weight of constant connection, we break down how Gen Z teens are navigating real friendship in the age of digital overload.

Learn how to recognize when your mental bandwidth is maxed out, why ghosting the group chat isn’t always toxic, and how to set boundaries without burning bridges. Whether you're a teen buried in DMs or a parent trying to understand why your kid hasn’t replied in days, this episode is a powerful look at how to protect your peace and rebuild connection—on your terms.

You ever feel like you’re collecting unfinished hobbies instead of achievements? One month it’s Italian on Duolingo. The next, guitar lessons. Now there’s an embroidery hoop staring at you from your dorm desk like it’s judging you. You’re not lazy. You’re not lost. You’re just curious in a world that keeps demanding commitment. This episode? It’s for every “hobby hopper” who’s still figuring it out.

Feeling lost in your 20s? Can’t commit to one thing? You’re not alone. In this episode of Mental, we meet Declan, a 20‑year‑old college student who’s mastered one thing: starting things. From embroidery to guitar to Italian lessons, he’s exploring everything—and blaming himself for not sticking to anything.

But what if curiosity isn’t failure? What if it’s a kind of mental skill—the courage to keep exploring even when the world tells you to commit?

Through Declan’s story, Nick explores:

• Why Gen Z struggles with identity pressure and fear of commitment

• The myth of “finding your thing” before 25

• How curiosity actually fuels creativity, self‑discovery, and confidence

• What it means to build mental skills for the in‑between seasons of life

Whether you’re a parent trying to understand your “indecisive” kid or a 20‑something wondering if you’re behind—this episode will make you rethink what success really means.