The Psychology of your 20s

The fear of missing out or not seizing every moment are some of the biggest worries we experience in our 20s. However, spending time alone isn’t the same as being lonely or doing nothing - in fact, it’s quite the opposite. In this episode, we explore why we resist being alone - but why learning to do so is psychologically positive, and can even be a superpower.
Watch on Netflix: HERE
• Why we culturally and socially villainise solitude
• How constantly being online interrupts our ability to be truly alone
• The creative and emotional benefits of spending time alone
• Why our capacity to be alone is a reflection of our overall maturity
• How we can embrace the power of solitude
Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast
Subscribe on Substack: @thepsychologyofyour20s
For business: psychologyofyour20s@gmail.com
Our favourite sources:
https://spsp.org/news-center/character-context-blog/social-costs-seeking-solitude
https://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts?language=en
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/feb/02/quiet-please-the-remarkable-power-of-silence-for-our-bodies-and-our-minds
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.

Dating can bring out the psychologist in us. One delayed reply, one vague comment, and we try to decode someone’s attachment style, childhood wounds, and capacity for commitment. But while psychological language can help us make sense of relationships, it can also become a way to avoid the much harder truth - sometimes we simply don’t know yet. In this episode we look at why overanalysing feels so reassuring, especially when we have been hurt before, and how the search for hidden meaning can distract us from direct communication, being present, and the person actually in front of us.
Watch on Netflix: HERE
We explore:
• The difference between noticing patterns and control rumination
• Why dating uncertainty makes labels feel so appealing
• Why overanalysing often comes from fear rather than insight
• Why this can stop us from being vulnerable ourselves
• Why behaviour matters more than the story behind it
• How to slow the spiral and regain clarity, communication, and self-trust
Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast
Subscribe on Substack: @thepsychologyofyour20s
For business: psychologyofyour20s@gmail.com
Our favourite sources:
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_stop_overthinking_your_relationship
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352250X16300306?via%3Dihub
https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-3514.75.2.545
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1996-01742-003
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 episode, we explore the psychology of the quarter life reinvention: the period that can come after the confusion, uncertainty and identity crisis of our early and mid-20s, when things finally begin to fall into place. We look at how the quarter life crisis can transform us, the stages we move through, and why sometimes everything has to fall apart before we can rebuild a life that feels more like our own.
We explore:
• The difference between a quarter life crisis and a quarter life reinvention
• The ‘locked in’ and ‘locked out’ forms of the quarter life crisis
• The four stages of the crisis
• The signs that you’re entering your reinvention era
• How experimentation, risk taking and new experiences help us rebuild
• The role of narrative psychology and rewriting the story you tell about your life
• Why learning to tolerate uncertainty may be the key to finally moving forward
Watch on Netflix: HERE
Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast
Subscribe on Substack: @thepsychologyofyour20s
For business: psychologyofyour20s@gmail.com
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.

What is the shadow self? And how do we meet ours? In today's episode we explore what it means to get curious about the shadow parts of ourselves. We take a grounded look at shadow work - where the idea came from, the layers of our psyche, and how the repressed parts of ourselves show up.
We explore:
• What Jung meant by the shadow and the persona
• How the dark or disowned parts of ourselves can develop
• Why anger, neediness, ambition, or confidence can feel uncomfortable to acknowledge
• The role of projection, triggers and repeated patterns
• How to approach shadow work cautiously and with curiosity
Watch on Netflix: HERE
Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast
Subscribe on Substack: @thepsychologyofyour20s
For business: psychologyofyour20s@gmail.com
Our favourite sources:
The book I spoke about: HERE
The YouTube video: 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.

We're talking about reputation. On a fundamental level, our reputations are a signal of our qualities that make us worth associating with, and we tend to spend a large amount of time ruminating and even obsessing over what others think of us. In this episode, we explore why we need reputations as social creatures, understand why we can misinterpret others’ reputations, and think about what we can do to repair a bad reputation.
We unpack:
• Where our reputations come from
• Why two people can view the same person so differently
• The halo effect and how appearance biases our perception of others
• How our reputations can change over time
• Why we shouldn’t always believe what others say
• How we can repair a bad reputation
Watch on Netflix: HERE
Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast
Subscribe on Substack: @thepsychologyofyour20s
For business: psychologyofyour20s@gmail.com
Our favourite sources:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8487743/ https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/ecology-of-minds/202509/what-makes-a-good-reputation https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349443219_The_halo_effect
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.