419. How to ACTUALLY process your emotions
The Psychology of your 20s
iHeartPodcasts
4.8 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 21 May 2026
⏱️ 46 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
When we’re detached from our emotions, things can feel a little… flat. But though our brain might be trying to protect us from harm, emotionally detaching stops us from being able to appreciate the true richness of life. In this episode, we’ll unpack why emotional blunting occurs, the ways we might be avoiding our true emotions, and look at some ways to actually start to process your emotions.
We explore:
• Why we’re bad at feeling what we’re feeling
• The hidden strategies we use to push our emotions away
• How maladaptive coping mechanisms can cause us long-term harm
• Why most emotions are actually driven by fear
• How we can more effectively process our emotions
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://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12916575/
https://positivepsychology.com/maladaptive-coping/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/basics/intellectualization
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.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human. |
| 0:09.6 | Hello everybody. I'm Jemma Spike and welcome back to the psychology of your 20s, the podcast where we talk through the biggest changes, moments and transitions of our 20s and what they mean for our psychology. |
| 0:29.2 | Hello everybody. Welcome back to the show. Welcome back to the podcast. It is so great to have you |
| 0:34.8 | here back for another episode as we of course break down the psychology |
| 0:38.3 | of our 20s. |
| 0:40.1 | Today, let's talk about something I think many of us believe we are doing, but probably |
| 0:46.1 | aren't doing very well, which is processing our emotions. |
| 0:51.0 | This is something that I've come to find. |
| 0:52.4 | If you are a very self-aware, smart individual of whom I know many of you are, and you cry occasionally, and you get sad occasionally, and you're happy occasionally, and you have every word under the sun to explain what it is your feeling and why, you probably believe that you are someone who processes your emotions well, |
| 1:13.0 | or who finds that their emotions have a very nice, like, beginning, middle, and end, |
| 1:18.2 | you definitely see yourself as somebody who is very emotionally adjusted. |
| 1:22.0 | Maybe you are. |
| 1:23.2 | But I'm very guilty of this, just knowing the words for your emotions, |
| 1:30.3 | or just knowing how you think you should be feeling and knowing why you should feel that isn't the same as A, actually |
| 1:36.5 | allowing yourself to feel those emotions fully, even in their ugliest form. And B, is not the same as |
| 1:42.8 | being able to move through those emotions |
| 1:44.7 | and move through the discomfort. I think more and more of us, thanks to social media, |
| 1:51.6 | thanks to just the reduction of stigma, thanks to just education. Like we have the language for |
| 1:57.6 | our motions without actually having the tools and without actually being able to fully |
| 2:02.1 | express them that's meaning we're still kind of feeling emotionally stunted even though |
| 2:06.8 | we're very informed that means that without realizing it um we can become somebody who can't |
| 2:15.3 | connect with their emotions in a deep way who can't connect with their emotions in a deep way, who can't connect with |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 14 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from iHeartPodcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of iHeartPodcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.