352. Twentysomethings with Meg Jay

Psychologists Off the Clock

Our 20s are a time of great change and transformation. But many people overlook this and label them "snowflakes" for not having certain things, like partners, houses, mortgages, big jobs, or kids. The truth is that trying to achieve all those milestones at once without any guarantee of success can leave us feeling insecure and stressed. For this episode, we bring you guest, Meg Jay, a clinical psychologist who joins us to chat about her new book, The Twentysomething Treatment: A Revolutionary Remedy for an Uncertain Age. Her insights are valuable for anyone in their twenties, about to enter their twenties, or even in their early thirties. Even If you are a parent with young adult children or a therapist who works with young adults, her book offers a solid foundation to help you understand the experiences of individuals at this developmental stage.

Listen and Learn:

• Are we being too hard on twenty-somethings?
• What do evolution and science tell us about the role of uncertainty for humans?
• The impact of technology, particularly the internet and social media, on the difficulties faced by individuals in their twenties
• Is medication always the best medicine?
• Your default mode network and your task-positive network
• Why your twenties may not be the best years of your life (and why that's okay!!)
• Is work the leading cause of stress and anxiety in 20-somethings?
• Finding your purpose as a 20-something

Resources:

• Meg’s website: https://megjay.com/
• The Twentysomething Treatment: A Revolutionary Remedy for an Uncertain Age: https://bookshop.org/a/30734/9781668012291
• Connect with Meg on social media:
• https://www.threads.net/@drmegjay
• https://twitter.com/drmegjay
• https://www.tiktok.com/@drmegjay
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/meg-jay-phd/
• https://www.instagram.com/drmegjay/

About Meg Jay

Meg Jay, PhD, is a developmental clinical psychologist who specializes in twentysomethings. She is the author of The Twentysomething Treatment: A Revolutionary Remedy for an Uncertain Age, Supernormal: The Secret World of the Family Hero and the cult classic The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter and How to Make the Most of Them Now. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages and her work has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review and on NPR, BBC and—maybe most important for her audience—TikTok.

A recent New York Times profile called Dr. Jay “the patron saint of striving youth, a prophet-like figure for a generation of young people buried under mixed messaging,” and her TED talk “Why 30 Is Not the New 20” is among the most watched to date. Dr. Jay earned a doctorate in clinical psychology, and in gender studies, from the University of California, Berkeley. She is on faculty at the University of Virginia and maintains a private practice in Charlottesville.

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