How to Build Adult Friendships
ShrinkChicks
Jennifer Chaiken, LMFT and Emmalee Bierly, LMFT
4.9 • 755 Ratings
🗓️ 1 June 2026
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week on ShrinkChicks, Em and Jen talk about making friends as an adult and why something that used to happen naturally can suddenly feel so difficult. They unpack what actually creates friendship (hint: it’s less chemistry and more repeated proximity), why exclusion feels so dysregulating, and how friendships naturally evolve over time.
They answer listener questions about where to meet people, making friends without kids, maintaining self-esteem when you feel left out, navigating friendships that have drifted, and what to do when one friend starts carrying too much emotional weight. They also talk about introversion, political differences in friendship, and how to know when a friendship is changing versus when it’s truly run its course.
Tune in to gain insight, awareness, and action! PS: Fast forward to around 4:30 to skip the intro and get straight to today’s content.
Get Matched With One of Our Therapists at The Therapy Group!
Our Know Yourself Grow Yourself Journal!!
Check out ShrinkChicks on YouTube by subscribing here! https://youtube.com/channel/UCrxuhDqoL4ML3UE8b2J2BBg
A special thank you to this week's sponsors for supporting ShrinkChicks! We have these exclusive offers for our listeners:
Boll & Branch: Upgrade your sleep with Boll & Branch. Get 15% off your first order plus free shipping at BollAndBranch.com/shrinkchicks with code shrinkchicks
Skims: Shop Everyday Cotton, and all of our favorite bras and underwear at
http://www.skims.com/shrinkchicks. After you place your order, be sure to let them know we sent you! Select "podcast" in the survey and be sure to select our show in the dropdown menu that follows
Shopify: Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at Shopify.com/shrinkchicks
Perelel: New customers can use code SHRINKCHICKS to get 20% off their first order at perelelhealth.com/shrinkchicks
Zenni: Go to Zenni.com/podcast and use code PODCAST15 for 15% off your first order
GreenChef: Head to Greenchef.com/50shrinkchicks and use code 50shrinkchicks to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for two months with free shipping
Quince: Go to quince.com/shrinkchicks for free shipping and 365-day returns on your next order
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Starting something is honestly terrifying. The version of me right before we launched this podcast |
| 0:05.5 | was just a person standing in her kitchen spiraling. What if no one listens? What if I sound |
| 0:09.9 | weird? What if I'm about to spend a year on something that goes absolutely nowhere? And looking |
| 0:14.0 | back, every single what if was worth pushing through. But I will tell you what I wish I had known |
| 0:19.4 | sooner. Shopify exists for the business |
| 0:22.2 | version of that exact spiral. It's the e-commerce platform behind millions of businesses from |
| 0:27.8 | household names you have definitely heard of to people who are just taking a leap of faith. |
| 0:32.4 | You get hundreds of ready-to-use templates so your business actually looks like your brand. |
| 0:37.1 | They have built-in AI tools that write product descriptions actually looks like your brand. They have built |
| 0:37.6 | an AI tools that write product descriptions and clean up your photos. They run your email and |
| 0:42.2 | social campaigns for you so it feels like you have a full marketing team. And if you get stuck, |
| 0:47.1 | there are 24-7 supports right there. It's time to turn those what-ifs into with Shopify today. |
| 0:57.4 | Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at Shopify.com slash shrinkchicks. Go to Shopify.com slash shrink chicks. That's Shopify.com |
| 1:03.5 | slash shrink chicks. Most adult close friendships have a natural lifespan of five to seven years before major change or disillusion. |
| 1:13.8 | I actually found that very difficult to read. |
| 1:18.0 | Like I'm like, oh, Jen and I've been in a relationship forever. |
| 1:20.8 | For 15 years. |
| 1:22.2 | Right. |
| 1:22.5 | Has to be 15 years. |
| 1:23.5 | I think so. |
| 1:24.6 | But before major change. |
| 1:27.3 | Oh, okay. It's not just disillute. It's not just. So something has major change. Oh, okay. |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 23 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jennifer Chaiken, LMFT and Emmalee Bierly, LMFT, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Jennifer Chaiken, LMFT and Emmalee Bierly, LMFT and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.