Mental

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 obs...

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...

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 sh...

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 teen...

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. ...

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 frie...

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’...

You didn’t waste your degree. You didn’t fail your kid. And you’re not behind. You just bought into someone else’s definition of success. This episode? It’ll help you rewrite it.

What if your major doesn't match your job? What if your career doesn’t look like your resume? What if being a great parent isn't about getting it right — but about listening right?

In this episode of Mental, Nick sits down with Laura Ollinger, a teen and...

Your family’s not falling apart because of politics. It’s falling apart because no one knows how to talk anymore. Antonia didn’t wait for peace—she built it herself at 18.

This one’s for anyone who’s ever wanted to scream at the dinner table.

Antonia is 18. Her family's got 8 people, 0 chill, and a dinner table that becomes a political battlefield every Sunday. But one night? She snaps. And what happens next? You’ll wish you had ...

Everyone’s posting their wins. You’re just trying to remember the WiFi password from high school.

Myles isn’t failing to launch. He’s j

ust honest enough to say:

“I don’t know if I’m burnt out, or if this system is just fire.”

This episode is for anyone feeling stuck between who they thought they’d be by now… And who they actually are. Spoiler: You’re not behind. You’re just awake.

This isn’t a motivational episode. This is a bruta...

47,000 followers. And not one of them noticed she was drowning. You ever been so online that you forgot what it felt like to be here? Mallory didn’t think she had a problem… Until the people who loved her most couldn’t get her to look up. This isn’t just a story about screen time. It’s about what happens when your phone becomes your personality. And your life becomes a performance.

Seventeen-year-old Mallory Smith has it all: a 4...

You ever say yes to something small… then wake up in a nightmare?

That was Tyler. One favor. One bag. One lie to protect a friend—nearly cost him his sister, his family, and his future. Sometimes it’s not the big choices that break you. It’s the tiny ones that sneak in and blow up everything.

Tyler’s just a regular 17-year-old—honors student, softball-practice chauffeur, and go-to big bro. But one decision to “help out” his best ...

I built a box for myself. Everything neat. Everything controlled. Then life, betrayal, and depression came in like a wrecking ball. The box shattered—so did I.

This is the episode about what happens when the people you trust break you… and the tools that keep you from breaking yourself.

Sometimes the people you count on the most let you down the hardest.

In this raw conversation with Jeb Brofsky, we unpack what happens when your ...

They say becoming a parent changes everything.

What they don’t say?

Sometimes… ‘everything’ includes your will to keep living.

I was 20. My baby was 2 pounds. And I was ready to give up.

Until one text—with a stupid little heart emoji—changed everything.

On December 18th, Tara Williams became a mom. By March 15th, she almost wasn’t here to be one.

This is the unfiltered, emotional story of a 20-year-old NICU mom navigating postpa...

I was 20, sleep-deprived, broke, and convinced my baby hated me.

I wasn't scrolling at 3am. I was on the edge of a parking garage.

Then I got a text.

From his mom.

That stupid little red heart emoji might've just saved my life.

What if the person who saves your life… isn’t your partner, your best friend, or even your therapist… but your boyfriend’s mom?

This is Tara's story.

20 years old. A mom too soon. NICU alarms at 2am. No sl...

I was supposed to go to Joey’s house that day. Then he did what he did.

I’ve spent years wondering—could I have saved him? Could I have changed something?

That’s the guilt that lives in you when suicide hits close.

But the truth is, sometimes it’s not about having the answers— It’s about finally letting go of the questions that were never yours to carry in the first place.

What happens when trauma doesn’t just hit your school—but...

June 16, 2002. I thought it was the best day of my life. My dad pushed me on the swings, bought me ice cream, told me I was brave.

Hours later, he was gone.

Not from a heart attack. Not from an accident. From a decision no 6-year-old should ever have to carry in silence for 30 years.

Sometimes the most beautiful days… carry the darkest endings. This is the story I never wanted to tell. But maybe… it’s the story someone else needs t...

The day I found out how my dad really died… was the same day I started learning how to live. I was 6 when he died. 36 when I finally found out why. And what no one tells you about hiding the truth to ‘protect’ your kids… is that the silence leaves its own scars. This isn’t just about my dad. It’s about what happens when you don’t say the hard things. And what it took for me to finally say them to my kids.

After decades of believi...

"I wasn’t planning to die because I hated life. I just didn’t know how to keep living it. And one mom — who overheard everything — saved me before I could save myself."

When you’re 17 and drowning, planning your way out can feel mature — logical even. But under the weight of toxic friend drama, family pressure, and a brutal breakup, Reese didn’t need a perfect plan. She needed someone to overhear the pain she didn’t know how to s...