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.