308. It might get worse before it get's better

Sharing a little life update with you around my mental health, my physical health, where my minds at, what I've been struggling with and how I'm constantly reminded that life can always get better!!!!! ORDER MY BOOK: https://www.psychologyofyour20s.com/general-clean Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg https://www.instagram.com/jemmasbeg/?hl=en# Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast https://www.instagram.com/thatpsychologypodcast/?hl=en# For business: [email protected] mailto:[email protected] 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 https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.

• 0:04Jemma Sbeg?

  I've been really trying to prioritize my health in a realistic way this year. And something that has kept me really motivated is my Whoop. I am such a data person, which is why I love Whoop. Because I can genuinely see why my body feels differently depending on the day, why I'm running differently, why I'm maybe less focused. Whoop effortlessly tracks my sleep, it tracks my strain, my recovery, my stress, and most importantly, my overall health. And it just gives me all that data and all those patterns. So I can make better decisions, which includes knowing when to go easy and knowing when to go hard. New members can try Whoop with a 30 day free trial before committing to a membership. That's join.whoop.com/psychology for your free month of Whoop.

• 0:49Jemma Sbeg?

  Hey, question, are you an extra care member at CVS? Because there is literally no reason not to be. It's super easy to join and members instantly get extra big deals on things you buy most. I mean, this is stuff you're already buying, things like snacks, personal care products, all of it. And after you join, the savings just show up. Deals refresh every two weeks, but they don't last long. Head to your local CVS or open the CVS app, look for extra big deals and start saving today. This episode is sponsored by Gymshark. Gymshark has spent over 14 years obsessing over gym clothing and the people who wear it. And let me just say, I think we all know they are very, very good at what they do.

• 1:33Jemma Sbeg?

  No, seriously, their stuff is so good. Their everyday seamless collection is light, it's soft, it's stretchy. All of their stuff just looks good on and it's made for people who love to exercise, whatever exercise that is, lifting, cardio, Pilates, running around campus, maybe just doing errands. Discover Gymshark and find your new favorite gym clothing at gymshark.com.

• 1:59Jemma Sbeg?

  These days, there are more people than ever telling you how to manage your health. Your social media feed is packed with wellness trends telling you to cold plunge, protein max and so much more. But what's actually real? What's exaggerated? What's just wrong? Health versus Hype from the American Medical Association breaks it all down. Emmy nominated host Trace Dominguez talks through health influencers, real people, and most importantly, doctors, to separate fact from fiction. Because when it comes to your health, who you listen to really matters. Listen to Health vs. Hype wherever you get your podcasts.

• 2:42Jemma Sbeg?

  Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the Psychology of Your 20s, the podcast where we talk through some of the big life changes and transitions of our 20s and what they mean for our psychology.

• 3:01Jemma Sbeg?

  Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the show. Welcome back to the podcast, new listeners, old listeners, wherever you are in the world. It is so great to have you here back for another episode as we, of course, break down the psychology of our 20s. It's a bit of a different episode today. It's a chit chat, catch up with me kind of episode because it's kind of been a while since I've just popped myself in front of the microphone and talked about my life, Gemma's life, what's been happening, what's been happening behind the scenes of the psychology of your 20s.

• 3:43Jemma Sbeg?

  I always feel a little bit weird doing these life updates, doing these like chatty episodes because I feel like that's not what you're really here for. Perhaps I feel like you expect more from me sometimes. Like you expect the fully researched, fully fleshed out episodes and not delivering on that. It's like not delivering on a promise and people are going to be disappointed that it's just me and my personality and no science. But I'm trying to get over that a little bit. I also just think that that's my toxic productivity. You know, I release two episodes a week. One of them. Every now and again can just be me getting to talk about myself and my learnings

• 4:27Jemma Sbeg?

  and how my beliefs and my life is changing. I'm actually reading this book right now called The Ambition Trap. I cannot remember who it's by, but it's called The Ambition Trap. And it's completely like fundamentally changed how I'm viewing work and productivity. Specifically how I'm viewing perfection and allowing myself to make mistakes. And not even make mistakes, but allowing myself to have fun with my job and to have fun with my life. And something I'm really aiming for at the moment is trying to measure my life more by how I feel, what I can do for others, whether I feel creative, whether I'm patient,

• 5:12Jemma Sbeg?

  whether I have the capacity for patience and the capacity for kindness and how I'm taking care of myself. And this is kind of an effort to do that, to just sit down and talk rather than feel like I owe people something. So anyways, a long-winded way of saying hello, welcome. Today, we're going to talk about what's been going on in my life. You may remember maybe almost a year ago, I would say seven months, I did another little chatty episode, what's been going on with me. And it was very, very different to what I normally talk about. It was me essentially giving you the details behind my mental breakdown. Let's call it what it is. It was a mental breakdown.

• 5:57Jemma Sbeg?

  I was in such a dark and raw place and I was honestly so deeply detached from who I am. And I felt so awful and detached from the world and from reality. And I was just a complete mess. And I feel like I kind of released that episode. I felt very brave doing it. And then I just went back to like my regularly scheduled programming and I didn't really acknowledge it again, probably because so much happened afterwards. You know, I announced my book probably a month or two after I released that episode.

• 6:39Jemma Sbeg?

  So then I just got so caught up in, you know, promoting person in progress. Then I launched my new podcast, Mantra. So then I got so caught up in launching Mantra because I love it and because it's incredible. And then the book came out and then I had to promote the book coming out. And from the outside, you would definitely have this perception, or maybe not, but I think that there would be this perception that um this last year of my life has been like amazing and incredible and I must be on such a high. And I'm not really. Um, there's definitely elements of it in which I'm very happy and, and in which my

• 7:20Jemma Sbeg?

  life is getting exceedingly better. But there has been a lot of misery, I guess, a lot of silence, struggling like behind the scenes that, you know what, we need to talk about because what you see online isn't real, what you hear on podcasts isn't always real, what you think about someone else's life isn't real. And as much as I love talking about our twenties and I love talking about psychology, I think my real passion is just talking about the vulnerable things that make us human. And part of that is being open, just just sitting here and saying, hey, like, there has been some things I've been really, that have been really hard in my life recently, and you wouldn't have any clue. So let's talk about it. Despite all of that,

• 8:04Jemma Sbeg?

  and I will obviously give you updates on what I'm talking about, um, life is slowly getting really, really good. And I feel like I've had some really incredible epiphanies and mindset shifts and just like radical, I've just experienced some radical acceptance about unchangeable things in life. And when you have those kinds of radical moments and transformative moments, like, you just kind of want to scream it from the rooftop and just say to people, like, it gets better, like, it's going to get better. I've had a really tough year. I felt very ungrateful and guilty for not being able to enjoy my moments as much as I wish I had been able to. But throughout it all, like, there are some really incredible learnings that I think are life changing for me. So that's what we're going to talk about today. We're going to talk

• 8:49Jemma Sbeg?

  about why sometimes it has to get worse before it gets better, what it means to struggle, what it means to thrive, what it means to be fricking human. Without further ado, let's get into a little life update.

• 9:05Jemma Sbeg?

  So behind the scenes of the podcast at the moment, I have been going through it and I've been really building like this very whole new deep belief system. Um, I feel like the reason I had this mental breakdown last year was quite existential. For those of you who don't know, like when I was growing up, I used to be, I used to have a really deep faith. Um, my family was not religious. We never went to church. They were about as atheist as it comes, but for some reason, I always really felt called into like organized religion. And so like for a lot of my teen years and like definitely just my late teen years, maybe like the first year of my twenties, like I always felt this like real higher calling and this sense of like

• 9:50Jemma Sbeg?

  uh, meaning in life that was attached to religion. And then I don't think I've ever talked about this, but I went through something I don't want to call it traumatic, but just like really frustrating and disturbing with the church that I was in involving someone I was dating and um, I just never went back. Like I was just like, no, I just can't do this anymore. Like I just, it just completely like broke my belief structure. And then for a while, there was just kind of like this abyss. There was just this hole, I guess, like in my soul where I, all these big questions that faith really filled for me, like I didn't have answers to, like, what are we here for? What's the meaning of love?

• 10:32Jemma Sbeg?

  Is this a hostile or a loving universe? Like, what does fairness mean? What does justice mean? Like, I didn't really have answers for those things. And I feel like that all kind of came to a head last year when I was like, oh, I really don't have answers for these things. And that's actually really scary. And I have to kind of figure out what I want to believe in. And I have to figure out what I see my place in this world is, like through my own means and through. Uh spirituality through science, through philosophy, whatever it was that was going to guide me there. And there were some other things going on as well. And it really like pushed me to such a low place, um, just thinking about the absurdity of the world.

• 11:12Jemma Sbeg?

  And what I really learnt through that, and I, I honestly feel like the last month has been the first time that I've really come out of it. Since like it happened last year, like it's this last month, I've really been having like a moment of like, oh my God, like I'm getting things now and like, I'm happy and wow, like life is beautiful. And I feel like I'm such an optimistic person that I spent so much of last year and the start of this year, feeling like life was defined by misery and suffering. And I've finally been able to appreciate like the miracle of existence. And that's like something that I really value as such an optimistic person. I have to see the good in the world.

• 11:51Jemma Sbeg?

  So I'm glad that that is coming back to me. But what it's really reminded me of is like, it's just continually reminded me that it's always darkest before the dawn. That sometimes true growth does come from suffering and that you can endure so much more than you think you can. And I remember like hearing people say that and being like, what are you talking about? Like, what are you on about? And then like the mental kind of battle that I've been through has just proven that to me time and time again, like how strong I am, how resilient I am. I also want to talk about some other things that have been happening. Um.

• 12:29Jemma Sbeg?

  I so I haven't talked about this at all, but right before my book was launched, I went into the optometrist. Random, I needed to get new glasses. And when I was at the optometrist, um, they like found something really scary on my, what's it called? Op- optical nerve, optic nerve, sorry. And I was in just like a regular schedule, regularly scheduled like eye appointment and this optometrist like. Was looking at these like retinal images that I had gotten done and it was so random that I gotten them done. I wasn't paying attention and the person at the front desk was like, oh, do you want these done? And I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then I was like, oh, do I really want those done? But I'd already said, yes. So she was looking

• 13:11Jemma Sbeg?

  at these photos and she was, she basically was like, oh, you have, I'm not going to say what it is, or maybe I will, like, basically, it was like the, it's swelling. Um, and it's all around the optic nerve, which is a really, really bad sign. And within like twenty, I think like forty eight hours, I was like at a specialist, doing all these tests. The things they had to rule out were really scary. They had to rule out, um, MS, they had to rule out a brain tumor, they had to rule out all these really scary things that I wasn't having stroke. Um, within forty eight hours, like, it was like, oh, this huge thing

• 13:53Jemma Sbeg?

  is happening with my vision, with my brain, like, that's so scary. And I, I was in like the ophthalmologist's office, um, forty eight hours after I found out I had this thing that I literally don't know, knew nothing about. And I remember I like kept my cool and then suddenly they were dilating my pupil, which I don't know if you've ever had this happen, but they put this stuff in your eye that makes your pupil go huge and then you can't see for like, the next four hours. And I was sitting there and I was like, and why does they were putting it in my eye? I was like, oh, my gosh, like, this is something huge is happening to me. Like, this is really scary and I've only just started processing it. So they're trying to put these like drops in my eye and I'm like crying and I'm like

• 14:36Jemma Sbeg?

  hysterical and like my boyfriend's there being like, I know it's so scary. And, um, anyways, the thing is, is that I still don't have any answers around what's going on. This was literally, um, I'm trying to get the timeline right, like, very, like, within weeks of before my book was launching, um, before my book was coming out. Um, it, and suddenly it was just like, oh, my God, what is happening? And we're still trying to figure it out. Um, this, having to get all these tests done, having to get all these MRIs, having to get all this, this blood work. Um, and it's been really, really scary. And the thing is, is that

• 15:18Jemma Sbeg?

  That was, that was life getting worse. Like, I had all this other stuff going on and then it was like, and bam, health scare. And, you know, and bam, like, life is fragile. Like, just in case you needed that reminder. And it was incredibly stressful. Like, I'm laughing about it now, even though, like, I think now that I know I don't have like a significant brain tumor, and now that I definitely know that I wasn't having a stroke, I can laugh about it. But like, it was kind of touch and go there. And actually, like, the optometrist like called me after I'd left because she'd been like, oh, just go to the doctor eventually. And then she called me like six times and was like, hey, like, this is actually an emergency. Um, so that was scary. Now I feel fine. And I feel like that was really the low point.

• 16:03Jemma Sbeg?

  I also had some people asking me like, how was my mental health leading up to my book coming out? And I, so you guys might know, I tried to go off my medication. I'm on Lexapro. I tried to go off last year and it didn't go very, very well, unfortunately. This year I have actually tapered down to ten milligrams. And I liked, this is not medical advice. I just like to talk openly about dosages and everything because just might be helpful to you. Um, and I feel like I need it less and less, but it is such a safety net for me, right? Like, I, I was gonna say, I know I could never get to a really low point, but obviously I could, but that was when I wasn't taking it.

• 16:45Jemma Sbeg?

  Um, it's just a nice safety net for me. It's just like, okay, I know that my depression and my anxiety is biological. I know that. I exercise like four to five times a week. I eat really well. I spend a lot of time outdoors. I have loving family, social connection. I have a purposeful career. I'm safe. I have all my needs met and then some. I'm able to give back. Like, I'm doing all the things that people say are, um, externally protective against depression and anxiety. And, you know, I'm doing all the, the behavioral interventions

• 17:27Jemma Sbeg?

  that people always saw as helping and they didn't work. So I know that it's biological and I think just having this kind of. Um, intervention has been really, really useful. So that's kind of like a medication update. But yeah, leading up to my book coming out, I was struggling, uh, not just because I had that health scare thing, which was significant, but because a lot of other big changes were happening in my life. Um, I had to move house the day before my book came out as well, which was just like two huge things happening at once. And also something they may not tell you about writing a book is that it's quite anticlimactic, right? So you um, do a lot of work. It takes so

• 18:10Jemma Sbeg?

  many hours and so much of you to write a book. And then it all like comes to fruition on like one day. And then after that, like it, it's so weird. Like you don't really hear from a lot of the people that you've worked with, like you're suddenly just kind of on your own. Um, and you're suddenly just like, okay, I have to do, I'm just on my own. Like this, this book is here and you know, it's open, it's open for public opinion and you need people to buy it and you don't really know how to do that. And um, you also like will face disappointments in terms of people in your life not supporting you and people in your life. Um, yeah, not really showing up for you in a big moment and not buying copies or um, you know, not saying

• 18:55Jemma Sbeg?

  congratulations or like small things. I was saying to someone the other day, like, you know, they, the quote that's like, you know who your real friends are when you have a baby. Um, you also know who your real friends are when you write a book. Because I don't know, I feel like I'm the kind of friend where people do cool things like that. I'm like really all behind it. Um, and it was interesting seeing um, how big things for you don't necessarily translate to big things for other people. So I think if I had been in a better mental state and hadn't had a big health scare right before my book came out, I would have been able to let those things go a little bit better, but it was a real struggle. So there was like a weird low point, high point where I was like, wow, huge career milestone. Also like, oh my God, what

• 19:37Jemma Sbeg?

  is going on in my life? This is when I want to talk about how things get better. Like the theme of this episode is things get worse before they get better. Things could have gotten a whole lot worse for me. Let's be completely real. Like, honestly, what I was going through is nothing compared to what so many people around the world are going through right now.

• 19:56Jemma Sbeg?

  Things got worse and then slowly these changes started in my life. And I felt like I had been in this waiting room. I felt like I had gone through like the dark night of the soul, as they call it. Um, and suddenly someone like opened the door and was like, all right, cool. You've like done enough, like you've sat here for long enough. We can tell you can take it. Welcome to the next chapter of your life. And I wanna spend the next part of this episode talking about what that felt like. And how grateful I am for where I am now and what, what it is that I'm grateful for. So stick around, stay with me. I wanna tell you why it always gets better.

• 20:44Jemma Sbeg?

  I've been approaching my health really differently this year. I used to be really focused on maximizing and doing more. And now I'm just realizing that if I listen to what my body needs, I perform way better. And that's why I am obsessed with my Whoop. Truly, you guys, you know, I'm such a data and information driven person. And I love opening my Whoop app and seeing how my sleep, my stress, my strain is correlating with my mood, with my running performance, with how I'm just feeling day to day. I'm not an elite athlete by any means, but I do really benefit. And I also just really enjoy knowing more about my body. And Whoop also gives me these actionable personalized insights that have made me more intentional

• 21:29Jemma Sbeg?

  and meant that I make smarter decisions day to day about what I need, rather than just putting my foot on the gas and just going, going, going, going. New members can try Whoop with a 30 day free trial before committing to a membership. That's join dot whoop dot com slash psychology for your free month of Whoop. Who out here shops at CVS? Most of you, right? Well, if you're not signed up for Extra Care, you need to fix that because when you are, you get Extra Big Deals. These are limited time offers you can find in store or in the app, and it's where being an Extra Care member pays off. So sign up now. If you're already shopping there, it's a no brainer. If you're not, well, you need to do something about that as well. Signing up couldn't be easier. And once you've joined,

• 22:13Jemma Sbeg?

  the exclusive member discounts instantly appear. You don't have to do anything. No coupons. You'll just enjoy savings on the items you buy most. We're talking about savings on essentials like household items, snacks, health, personal care products, plus travel and seasonal stuff too. All right there in store. Couldn't be easier. Deals refresh every two weeks, so there's always something new, but they don't last long. Extra Big Deals with Extra Care. Instant savings made simple. Head to your local CVS or open the CVS app, look for Extra Big Deals and start saving today. This episode is sponsored by Gymshark. Gymshark has spent over 14 years obsessing over gym clothing and the people who wear it.

• 22:58Jemma Sbeg?

  And let me just say, I think we all know they are very, very good at what they do. No, seriously, their stuff is so good. Their everyday seamless collection is light, it's soft, it's stretchy. All of their stuff just looks good on, and it's made for people who love to exercise, whatever exercise that is. Lifting, cardio, Pilates, running around campus, maybe just doing errands. Discover Gymshark and find your new favorite gym clothing at gymshark.com.

• 23:28Jemma Sbeg?

  These days, there are more people than ever telling you how to manage your health. And we've all gone down an internet rabbit hole exploring the latest health trends. Your social media feed is packed with wellness advice telling you to cold plunge, protein max, detox, track your sleep. But what's actually real? What's exaggerated? What's just wrong? That's exactly what Health vs. Hype from the American Medical Association and iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio is here to find out. Each episode Emmy nominated science communicator Trace Dominguez, who's racked up billions of views across PBS, Discovery Channel and YouTube, talks to health influencers, real people, and most importantly,

• 24:11Jemma Sbeg?

  doctors to separate fact from fiction. Because when it comes to your health, who you listen to matters. Listen to Health vs. Hype on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 24:28Jemma Sbeg?

  So this was the first thing that transformed my life and has gotten me out of a very dark period. I fostered a dog. And you guys might know that that foster is no longer my foster dog. It's now my actual dog. But I started out fostering this dog. Her name is Taru because I saw her on the RSPCA website. And I just don't know what it was. I was like, I need to help this dog. I need her in my life. Like, I have space, I have capacity, I have time, I have, well, my house at the time did not allow dogs, but whatever, I got around that.

• 25:10Jemma Sbeg?

  Like, I just felt this calling to go and rescue her. And we brought her home and within like two days, me and my partner Tom were like, oh, oh, oh, like really, really screwed up here. Because this dog is the biggest sweetheart. She is so smart. She is so kind. She just so wants to be loved and she just so wants to be part of the pack. And we said to each other, we have to, we have to give it three months before deciding. And if nobody has adopted her in three months, we can consider it. And that did not last very long. We adopted her after a month.

• 25:53Jemma Sbeg?

  And there's just something around having a dog that changes your perspective. It makes you so much more selfless. It makes you more patient. You see life through it through their eyes. I feel like I'm rehashing what so many other people have discovered, but. Oh my lord, it was just so glorious. Get like waking, like every single morning I wake up and I have to take her outside and I have to take her for a walk. And it's meant that I'm outdoors more and I, and I have to do these things for her, even if I don't want to, even if I'm busy, even if I'm in a bad mood. Life has become about her. And honestly, I think that it was the just, not the distraction, but I think it was the thing I needed to get myself out of my ego.

• 26:38Jemma Sbeg?

  Like, I feel like I was really investing in this like idea of myself as like being, uh, being like suffering. And I was like, oh, life is really hard and I'm trying my best and it's not working. And then I rescued her and her history is so terrible. Like she, um, yeah, was really badly abused. And then was removed, like was forcibly removed, like someone came in and rescued her. And then the people who they rescued her from like took, took the R S P C A to court and wanted to get her back. And like, so that meant she had to stay in the pound for a year before she was even allowed to go out of the pound and do visits and stuff. And I don't know, I was just like, wow, my life could be so much worse.

• 27:20Jemma Sbeg?

  And here is this beautiful animal, this beautiful creature who, you know, has a burn on her nose and is missing teeth and had such a hard start. And she freaking loves life and she is like down to play. And every moment that she is allowed like to roll around in the grass is a beautiful moment. And breakfast is the best thing of every day. And she wakes up and gets twenty minutes of cuddles in the bed because of course we're such softies, we allow her in the bed. And it's just really transformative. And now I keep saying to people, like, if you struggle with socializing, if you struggle, um, with feeling optimistic about life, if you struggle to see the joy in little things, foster a dog. If you can't adopt a dog, foster a dog or adopt a dog and to see how it completely changes your life.

• 28:05Jemma Sbeg?

  Obviously, like make sure that you are in a good space. Like I feel like we didn't rush into it. We were really concentrated around like, can we have a pet right now? And, um, it just happened to work out, but the introduction of her into my life, I honestly feel like was a gift from the universe. Then I started seeing a new therapist and that was also incredible because I feel like I was getting really stuck with my old therapist. She was amazing, but I just felt like I had reached. It sounds weird. I reached what I was willing to share with her. And I was so like deeply worried about being triggered, actually, and about a therapist saying something that I hadn't considered and really upsetting me, that I wasn't revealing anything more to her. And I feel, I felt like

• 28:50Jemma Sbeg?

  because I hadn't revealed things to her in the past, that she would like call me out for almost lying, like saying that I was okay when I wasn't. So I needed a fresh slate. And so I went and I started seeing a new therapist, an existential therapist, who was, has just been fricking amazing and has really just revealed to me how so much of what I struggle with is just a fear of the unknown and so much of what I struggle with is just, just my brain working differently. And I also have started running. I, I just, I'm just gonna leave that there. I felt like my life was becoming very much an obsession with work and

• 29:28Jemma Sbeg?

  an obsession with how much more I could do. You know, I was doing, I'm still doing the Psychology of Your Twenties. I was also doing Mantra, my other podcast, um, where there were more spiritual discussions going on and I love them both so much, but it is a lot to put your brain into. Like it is a lot of mental energy to create two things that you really love and promote a book and do all these other activities as well. Um, and I needed something else. And so my friend Sarah, I was at the park one day and she was running and I ran into her and she was like, do you just wanna run with me for a little bit? And I was like, yeah, okay, I'll do that. Ever since then, I've got the bug. I've got the fricking bug and I've been posting about it on my personal Instagram a lot and you guys have been like,

• 30:12Jemma Sbeg?

  what the heck? How come you are suddenly running fifteen kilometers, um, when you used to say you hated running? It's because I've been going slow. I've been going super slow. I started at like, I started at a pace that was probably like a walk or a jog. And now I feel like I'm actually running. And I feel like through running as well, I've also been. Really testing my limits. I've been testing my ability to persevere. Um, and to endure. And I've showed myself how strong I am and I've taught myself patience. And I've taught myself like consistency. There's just all these discoveries that I'm having around, the meaning of life that I'm figuring out through such simple acts.

• 30:54Jemma Sbeg?

  Through moving my body in a way that so many other people have done for centuries. Through sharing a bond with an animal, through connecting with people, through having new discussions. And I just finally feel like I'm out of this really dark cloud. Also, it's just been so wonderful to see how many of you have been reading my book. Um, and how many of you are relating and resonating with it? I think it's been a while since I've really appreciated that I'm doing meaningful work. I think that I can be a little bit too self-deprecating. Tell me if you're the same.

• 31:34Jemma Sbeg?

  Where I'm like, if I acknowledge that I'm good at what I do, or that I care about what I do, or that maybe I have something to say. Um, people are going to immediately cut me down for that. Or that's entitlement, or it will be taken away from me. The moment that you feel, um, I guess not grateful, but the moment that you take something for granted, or that you assume that you're good at something, or you assume that something is safe. Um, it will be up in the air. And I just have been reminded that that's not the case, that there are people who really want you to succeed. And that it's okay to just say like, I'm good at this thing and I care about this and I put a lot of work into it.

• 32:15Jemma Sbeg?

  And I'm proud of it. That's not bragging. That's not even a humble brag. That's just talking about the thing that you care about. I think all of this is just to say that I'm learning so much. And I'm constantly being reminded that there is a lot of darkness in the world. And life is really painful sometimes, but you will come out on the other side and that you have handled it all.

• 32:43Jemma Sbeg?

  I'm grateful for the fact that this last year hasn't been amazing internally. Because every single day now that I wake up and I feel good. It's this weird thing of like, oh my gosh, like wow, what a great day, what a great day. I've been having just like incredible days and. I don't know how to express it, but I guess the whole purpose of this was just really to.

• 33:08Jemma Sbeg?

  Give you a story that makes you feel optimistic about your future. And just to give you the story of the last year of my life that. Makes you feel that if you're going through something similar. You don't feel like you're always going to be here. And maybe you've heard that a million times before. Maybe you've heard the sentiment, life gets worse before it gets better. It's not always gonna last, time heals a million times over. But I think when there's a personal story attached to it, it really gives us hope. Um, and when I was going through it, I guess I'm still on the tail end of going through it. I just wanted to hear stories of people having hard times and persevering and knowing that.

• 33:52Jemma Sbeg?

  You can change your mindset, you can change the way you think about your problems, you can get yourself unstuck. You will see a better day, you will have hope again, you will have belief again and. I don't know, it's just been a really, really nice feeling and as I'm recording this, I am. About to go to Fiji with my mom and with my auntie and with my cousin for our girls' trip and. This time last year, I was in Bali for our girls' trip last year and I spent that whole trip. Basically crying and panic, having panic attacks and just feeling so awful. And so heavy and uncomfortable in my brain.

• 34:38Jemma Sbeg?

  And now I'm going into this trip one year later, feeling. Not amazing, but pretty remarkable and feeling transformed and feeling like I've kind of. I don't know, I've, I've kind of built a new part of my armour. I don't, it sounds all like cliches and cheesy, but that's really what I wanted to talk about today. And thank you so much to you guys for supporting me. I don't know if you've even noticed if anything's been different. Maybe you've noticed some more like existential themes in recent episodes, but that's really where it's coming from. And I'm hoping that I get a clean bill of health very, very soon, or that at least I have an answer as to what's going on in my fricking brain and with my fricking eyeball.

• 35:20Jemma Sbeg?

  Um, but I'm optimistic and I feel like life is good. I feel good, take the good days, love one another, foster a dog. There you go. That's my life advice, but until next time, uh, make sure you are following me on Instagram at that psychology podcast. Thanks for sticking around for this life update. Tell me how you're going in the comments. Make this a two-way street. I feel like I just dumped a lot of information on you. If you've made it this far, wow, um, thank you for enduring all of that. And also, yeah, I wanna hear what's been happening with you as well. How are we feeling out of town? What's the emoji that best represents your life right now? Make sure you are following along. Make sure that you have left us a five-star review if you feel called to do so.

• 36:05Jemma Sbeg?

  And remember to take care of yourself. Remember life gets better. Remember it is all, it's not always meant to be great and it's not always going to be great, but it's always going to end up amazing. Until next time, stay safe, be kind, be gentle to yourself. We will talk very, very soon.

• 36:26Jemma Sbeg?

  I've been really trying to prioritize my health in a realistic way this year. And something that has kept me really motivated is my Whoop. I am such a data person, which is why I love Whoop, because I can genuinely see why my body feels differently depending on the day, why I'm running differently, why I'm maybe less focused. Whoop effortlessly tracks my sleep, it tracks my strain, my recovery, my stress. And most importantly, my overall health. And it just gives me all that data and all those patterns so I can make better decisions. Which includes knowing when to go easy and knowing when to go hard. New members can try Whoop with a 30 day free trial before committing to a membership. That's join dot whoop dot com slash psychology for your free month of Whoop.

• 37:11Jemma Sbeg?

  This episode is sponsored by Gymshark. Gymshark has spent over 14 years obsessing over gym clothing and the people who wear it. And let me just say, I think we all know they are very, very good at what they do. No, seriously, their stuff is so good. Their everyday seamless collection is light, it's soft, it's stretchy. All of their stuff just looks good on and it's made for people who love to exercise, whatever exercise that is, lifting, cardio, Pilates, running around campus, maybe just doing errands. Discover Gymshark and find your new favourite gym clothing at gymshark.com.

• 37:48Jemma Sbeg?

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• 38:24Speaker 00

  This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.