Getting Old Quickly

In Episode 155, Billy Donnelly had to confront the fact that sometimes you are the source of someone else's triggers. For all the talk about handling one's own triggers on the podcast, he's never had to encounter the idea that you might be responsible for the negative feelings of others born from past events. This week, he dives into that situation, discussing the feelings in him that...

In Episode 154, Billy Donnelly experiences a rare occurrence of FOMO. Having experienced WrestleMania weekend several times in years past, he started to feel a little bummed this year seeing all the people in Los Angeles for this year's annual event -- and wanted to talk about how he's coping with those feelings on this week's show.

In Episode 153, Billy Donnelly discusses imposter syndrome, primarily because he finally found his own. After years of believing that he sometimes almost belonged too much, a couple of recent instances -- centered around going to concerts -- had him feeling like maybe he didn't belong in those situations. It prompted some reflection about past cases in which he limited himself and what he did...

In Episode 152, Billy Donnelly tells the story of an internet influencer who negatively affected his mood recently. He shares all his feelings about a vague individual who claimed to spend "5 figures" on tickets to see Taylor Swift on the opening night of her new Eras Tour. And while he is quick to explain that people can do whatever they want with their money, it was the tone-deaf appro...

In Episode 151, Billy Donnelly discusses parenting and how it's no picnic. He talks about the difficulty and mess of parenthood that not many people want to discuss because they think it's some poor reflection of them. However, he stresses the need to talk about the mess, because nobody's perfect at raising children, and it can often be a frustrating experience. He also taps into the idea that som...

In Episode 150, Billy Donnelly shares his gratitude for hitting such a milestone episode, given that he never thought this podcast would reach this point when it first started. But then he moves on to embracing the idea that no one has any clue what they're doing. He discusses the front that people put up to display that everything is good on their end, but -- thanks to a therapy lesson -- he's co...

In Episode 149, Billy Donnelly re-enters a mental space from the past that he does not like being in: seeking acceptance and outside validation. He once again shares the story of his time as a writer and his desperate desire to be part of "The Cool Kids Club" of people whose stamp of approval would solidify him as someone of note in the community. That brings things to today when he found himself...

In Episode 148, Billy Donnelly is once exploring the idea of making adult friendships. Once upon a time (back in Episode 3: I Get By With Very Little Help From My Friends , to be exact),  he tackled the loneliness of having far fewer friends the older he gets than he ever did when he was younger and spoke about the difficulty of making new friends as an adult. This time, he looks at some of t...

In Episode 147, Billy Donnelly discusses his unhelpful habit of traveling down the rabbit hole of negative thoughts. He talks about his acceptance of a reality where nothing goes right and everything is bound to go awry, leading to disappointment, heartbreak, and hurt. While not one to wholeheartedly catastrophize situations, it is very difficult for him to find any degree of hope or optimism as h...

In Episode 146, Billy Donnelly recovers enough of his voice to talk about his recent trip to Texas to attend the WWE Royal Rumble. He elaborates on his visits to both Austin and San Antonio, but also touches upon the meaning that the Royal Rumble event has for him, in relation to his birthday and his childhood. In addition, a chance encounter with a pinball machine ties in nicely with some of the...

In Episode 145, Billy Donnelly has no voice. Hoarse from a weekend trip to the Royal Rumble and struggling to be heard, he decides to honor his body's limits and not do much of a show, only showing up to apprise listeners of the situation before getting back to resting up his vocal cords to be back to 100% soon enough.

In Episode 144, Billy Donnelly celebrates turning 43 -- sorta. He discusses this year's birthday and the fact that it felt like just another day. He talks about not wanting to do anything special for it, which he finds amusing given how he talked about having birthdays that didn't feel like they were treated as big deals in the past ( Episode 39 - Turning 41 ). But he fills us in on how he ra...

In Episode 143, Billy Donnelly discusses the idea of painting his nails black, but, in doing so, opens up a whole can of worms. He discusses confidence and self-esteem as it pertains to the issue and how he's long cut himself off from trying new things out of concern for what other people might think. He also talks about the nail polish as a form of expression in finding one's self and how you mig...

In Episode 142, Billy Donnelly looks at self-esteem, particularly low self-esteem, as a belief system upon which one's identity has been built. He compares it to other systems of belief, such as politics or religion, where people have bought in so completely -- almost like a cult. As a result of fully embracing what you believe is the truth, any attempts to challenge, question, or topple such syst...

In Episode 141, Billy Donnelly rings in the new year by trying something new -- venturing into the realm of gratitude. He explains his skepticism of what has felt like a gratitude trend over the last several years and his unwillingness to engage in toxic positivity. However, after having the purpose of expressing gratitude (lists, journals, etc.) reframed for him as a way to rewire oneself to focu...

In Episode 140, Billy Donnelly offers up Happy Holidays wishes for you and hopes that you can set boundaries if you need them for things/people that are overwhelming you, stressing you out, causing you unnecessary anxiety, or just being overall toxic toward you. 

In Episode 139, Billy Donnelly stares down the barrel of possibly not going to therapy anymore and finds it a terrifying prospect. After a comment by his therapist, he really examines the scary idea of not having the support system he's built for himself on a weekly basis or not being able to access it again if he leaves it behind. He also ponders when the time might be for him to lose the safety...

In Episode 138, a recent tiff about AI art has Billy Donnelly once again reiterating why your feelings are important. As a result, he discusses the need to advocate for yourself and speak up about your feelings when they are negatively impacted or affected deeply. He talks about how most people don't purposely mean to hurt our feelings, but, when they do, rather than assuming any meaning behind it...

In Episode 137, Billy Donnelly talks about the experience he had getting his first tattoo over the Thanksgiving weekend. He discusses how nervous and excited he was heading in (for more background on his reasoning for getting inked, listen to Episode 136: The Taste of Ink ). However, he also goes through his feelings throughout the process, the point of calm and relief he found along the way, and...

In Episode 136, Billy Donnelly talks about his mindset heading into his first tattoo -- which took place over the Thanksgiving weekend. He discusses the worry and anxiety (and lack of funds) that for so long stopped him from following through on getting inked, and how that also translates to larger parts of his life where it's been easy to find a reason not to do something than just going ahead an...

In Episode 135, Billy Donnelly is just having a day: just one where you sleep in late, are entirely unmotivated to do anything, wind up accomplishing nothing and watch the day pretty much pass you by. However, he discusses why it's okay to be in those days when you find yourself lacking energy or effort, and how it took him a while to get to that place. He talks about the pressures that society ca...

In Episode 134, Billy Donnelly tries to come to terms with the fact that he may have some people-pleasing tendencies, and he's not happy about it. He discusses how easy it is to feel bad if someone has hurt feelings or is upset after an interaction with him, even though he knows their reaction and response are more about them than him. As a result, he dives into the importance to him that others a...

In Episode 133, Billy Donnelly heads to the dispensary for the first time ever. After some recent flare-ups of his GI condition, he figured he'd explore cannabis as a potential treatment to alleviate some of his worse days. So, on his recent trip to D.C., visiting a dispensary made the list of things that had to be done. As a result, he discusses what that experience was like -- not knowing anythi...

In Episode 132, Billy Donnelly talks about a recent road trip to Washington D.C. and a new set of worries and concerns in taking such a long car ride after the incident of Episode 130 - The Emergency Poncho . However, after getting there without a problem, one would later arise during a drive to a dispensary, which was being made in an effort to possibly find something to help alleviate some of th...

In Episode 131, Billy Donnelly is all about learning and growing. First, he dives into why he'd share such an embarrassing story as he did in Episode 130 - The Emergency Poncho . He talks about his belief that sharing our experiences -- even those which have affected us negatively -- can help others feel less alone as they deal with similar situations or circumstances. In addition, he talks about...