Episode 7: How young adults can take care of their mental health

People in their 20s often find themselves catching up with a long list of life skills, from finding a job to managing responsibilities for the first time, all the while dealing with uncertainty about the future. It's no surprise that this phase can leave many feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or simply lost.

In this episode of How to Adult, host Hala Nasar opens up about her own mental health journey, reflecting on how learning to recognise emotions became an important turning point.

We also hear from Diya Pramod, a graduate who talks about the challenges of stepping into adult life immediately after university. She tells how she is adjusting to the expectations of a full-time job, what helps her cope, and what she’s still trying to figure out.

Hala is later joined by Dr Christian Perrin, a psychologist and professor at the University of Birmingham Dubai, who explains why this phase of life often brings what he calls “transition overwhelm”, and why building small, meaningful habits is more powerful than chasing big-picture goals.

How to Adult is a series helping young people tackle real-life skills they were never formally taught. New episodes appear each Monday across podcast platforms.