Season 17 Recap: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles Talk Toxic Relationships, Joy, and Mental Health Recovery

[00:00:02] Hey there, listeners. Welcome to Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads, our podcast where we normalize conversations around mental health. G-Rex, That's right. I'm Dirty Skittles and alongside my amazing co-host, G-Rex, we hear your stories and tips from our incredible guests. G-Rex, Each episode, we deep dive into struggles and triumphs of mental health, offering practical advice and heartfelt support because no one should feel alone in their journey.

[00:00:31] G-Rex, Join us as we break the stigma and build a community of understanding and compassion. G-Rex, Tune in and let's start talking about the shit that goes on in our heads. G-Rex, Three, Two, One. G-Rex, Welcome back to another episode of Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads. G-Rex, I'm here with the awesome Dirty Skittles and today we are recording our season 17 ender. G-Rex, How the fuck did this happen? G-Rex, We're almost 18.

[00:00:59] G-Rex, That means if we were to get arrested now, we're still not adults, right? G-Rex, Yeah. G-Rex, So it wouldn't really go on my record. G-Rex, Right. G-Rex, We go to what, Juvie? G-Rex, Is that a thing? G-Rex, I think it's Juvie, but I don't really want to go back to 18 again, okay? G-Rex, Oh, where was G-Rex at 17 years old? G-Rex, Itching to become 18 because that's when I could legally buy beer in the state of Colorado.

[00:01:26] G-Rex, Did your parents, did they have like that philosophy like once you're 18, you're out? G-Rex, No, because I was still in high school. G-Rex, Oh. G-Rex, I was held back, so I was held back in second grade. G-Rex, So I was probably like one of the older folks in my senior year. G-Rex, Okay. G-Rex, But I was also the person that bought a lot of beer and had to drive and taught everybody how to drive in my mom's car. G-Rex, Yeah, it was amazing. G-Rex, Oh, I can see that for you though.

[00:01:56] G-Rex, Being that go-to, yeah. G-Rex, Yeah, I was the hookup. G-Rex, Yeah, that's why you were the mayor when I met you. G-Rex, Yes, and you know what? That philosophy has like stuck with me. G-Rex, Yeah, we can't go anywhere with you. You know everyone, and they know you. G-Rex, That's not such a bad thing. G-Rex, No. G-Rex, I mean like we could, you know, we could be wandering down the street in DC and somebody might know us.

[00:02:22] G-Rex, I want to go to DC. We should put that traveling next season. No, just kidding. G-Rex, I don't really want to fly. Can we drive? G-Rex, Fair, fair. I feel like that's a very far drive. G-Rex, No, it's not. Like for me, it's not. It's about probably a four hour drive for me and maybe a little bit more of a drive for you. G-Rex, Yeah, anything over six hours is tough. G-Rex, Can I put you on a train?

[00:02:49] G-Rex, Is it like one of like the old time movie trains that has like a little food cart and, you know, I have my own little space and bathroom? G-Rex, That is called a sleeper car on an train. G-Rex, Okay. G-Rex, Like old timey train. G-Rex, Do you like the old- G-Rex, Do I know about trains? No. G-Rex, Like the old like two trains like with the wheels that go like shh, shh, shh. G-Rex, I don't think they have those anymore.

[00:03:17] G-Rex, Only train I have ever been on is a commuter train. That's it. Commuter rail. G-Rex, Haven't been on a train. G-Rex, We need to, we, you need to, you know, we need to take you out. G-Rex, Live life a little bit more. G-Rex, We need to take you out of the house a little bit more. G-Rex, But you know, it is allergy season. G-Rex, Yeah. G-Rex, It's hard to stay outside unless you're taking an allergy pill or five. G-Rex, Yeah. G-Rex, That's why I sound stuffy today. G-Rex, You're still cute. G-Rex, Oh, thank you. G-Rex, But you do sound a little bit like this.

[00:03:47] G-Rex, My name is Dirty Skittles and I have a little bit of a stuffed up nose. G-Rex, I just ask if you clip a reel, make it where I'm not picking or scratching my nose G-Rex, because it is very itchy guys. G-Rex, Next commercials for Clarendon. G-Rex, Yeah, speaking of commercials. G-Rex, So, you know, the network keeps coming back to us and asking us to do more host red ads. G-Rex, Here's the funny thing folks, is like we are not professionals by any means.

[00:04:16] G-Rex, And someday that reel will see the light of day. G-Rex, It takes us like 20 tries to get a 60 second ad out. G-Rex, Because we're laughing constantly. G-Rex, Well, the problem that we have is that Dirty Skittles thinks it's a movie. G-Rex, And so you know those little clapper things? G-Rex, Take two. G-Rex, Take two clap and then I start laughing. G-Rex, And then the whole like first six seconds are ruined and we have to start over again. G-Rex, Yeah.

[00:04:46] G-Rex, But you know, we like it actually. G-Rex, Send us more ads. G-Rex, Send us more ads. G-Rex, The things that if we are going to record on a day that we actually record on, maybe let's record first thing in the morning. G-Rex, Yeah. G-Rex, And not after seven hours of recording. G-Rex, Right. G-Rex, Right. G-Rex, Because we were tired. G-Rex, Yeah, our voices were primed. G-Rex, Our brains were shocked. G-Rex, Checked out. G-Rex, So checked out. G-Rex, So checked out. G-Rex, But man, we had such a great season of guests.

[00:05:16] G-Rex, And you know, once again, everything kind of falls into place. G-Rex, We can both relate to it or we're living through it. G-Rex, Always a theme. G-Rex, Always a theme. G-Rex, Like a thread, I would say. G-Rex, It is the thread. G-Rex, And I think, you know, for you, especially because, you know, you're still on the nine to five grind. G-Rex, Yeah. G-Rex, And trying to help you find that happy place. G-Rex, Yeah. G-Rex, If we can find a happy place in there, I don't know.

[00:05:45] G-Rex, Or out of there, could be. G-Rex, Or out of there, which would be kind of a saving grace. G-Rex, Yeah, which is like the perfect segue for the first guest and what the theme was. G-Rex, No, I'm just kidding. G-Rex, No, but seriously, the first guest, Kate King, this was her third, she graced us with her presence for the third time. G-Rex, She sure did. G-Rex, Love her. G-Rex, I just love her and I love, you know, how we talked about like toxic relationships. G-Rex, Yep, that's the reference.

[00:06:15] G-Rex, Yeah, you know, we all have those toxic things that go on in our life, but we also learn how to mend or move on. G-Rex, Yeah. G-Rex, Like for me, it was a light bulb went off in my head and I was able to just move on. G-Rex, Like I didn't want to mend it, I just moved on. G-Rex, Yeah. G-Rex, No, I agree.

[00:06:34] G-Rex, The note I have for when we recorded this episode was how there was a moment where she put her hand on her heart and would basically like reassure herself like this belongs, like whatever this thing is, this belongs to like and you're deserving of it.

[00:06:50] G-Rex, That was a note I wrote was that I wanted to have that as my takeaway is, you know, in yeah, toxic relationships, toxic workplace, more for me like the self doubt, like I'm not good enough to get that thing or I can't possibly have that thing. G-Rex, Like I like, I liked that takeaway from her pushing myself to hold my hand over my heart and say, this belongs, I can do this, like reassure myself I'm deserving of those things and I don't need to be in a toxic work relationship to get there, you know?

[00:07:20] G-Rex, And it was funny, we were talking and I was like, God, I wish this book had come out like four months ago because I could have really used it. But I've also noticed that as I get older, I give less and less of a fuck about things. And so I don't sit on things as long anymore. And I can just walk away from it. Because here's the thing, I'm going to be 63 in a couple of months. I just, I just don't give a shit. You either like me or you don't, I don't care.

[00:07:48] G-Rex, Yeah, I think I'm, I'll get there, you know? I'll get less likely to want to mend shit though, I can tell you that much. That's already kicked in. G-Rex, Yeah, I'm like, move on. Bye, Felicia. I got better shit to do. But what I really liked, what she had to say is you don't have to keep abandoning yourself just to keep a relationship alive. G-Rex, Yeah, fuck that shit. Like life is too short. Right. No, honestly, it really is.

[00:08:16] And God, I hate when we like have these like epiphany moments that just seem like common sense. You know what I mean? Like it's like, yeah, no shit, life is short. Yeah, no shit, do the things that make you happy while you have the time. But like sometimes you need to hear somebody else's story and like what they're writing about and what message they're putting out there to help others to like really get it. For sure. I mean, because we both have been through stuff like that, right?

[00:08:42] Like sometimes I just, I'm not going to change because you want me to change. You know what? Maybe you're just not the right person for me and I am going to deuces out. Yeah, 100%.

[00:09:09] Then we had Nicole and boy, her story. Like I, thankfully for me, like I don't have toxic shame. Like I'm not ashamed of myself. I know where I was and where I am now, but I know other people suffer through that and like, you know, making mistakes and just keep beating the shit out of yourself every single day. No, 100%. I mean, maybe it's just me. Maybe it's just me.

[00:09:38] I, it's weird because I don't want to call myself a perfectionist, but I will say that I do have a bit of a toxic relationship with myself where I know, like for example, I know the type or the vision I have. Like I wish I could be this version of myself, but then I immediately am like, you don't deserve it or you can't get there or you're never going to get to be that version. It fucking sucks, man. It sucks.

[00:10:07] And I think it's because that pressure to do it right the first time is there. And that's the perfectionism that's like shit. Yeah, but you have to give yourself some grace too. You know, it goes back to what my therapist said, you know, give yourself patience and grace. Right. And, you know, and quit with the negative self-talk because that is the absolute worst. Like stop doing that. It's tough, guys. I'm with you in that struggle if you can relate.

[00:10:34] It's tough, but I try to remind myself that it doesn't happen overnight. Right. And it's small, consistent steps to keep moving into that direction so that it encourages me to let go of the toxic mindset of like, if I can't do it tomorrow in this perfect way, then it's never going to happen. Like just take the small steps, be consistent.

[00:10:55] And, you know, remember that it's, you know, live and learn, you know, we all make mistakes, but like don't keep beating yourself up over it because like you can't go back and change what you did. All you can do is learn from it and walk away from it. Right. No. And talk nicer to yourself because I'm telling you, sometimes we talk meaner to ourselves than we, when we, when we're yelling at somebody over text message. Oh, dude.

[00:11:22] I sometimes literally like, I get those thoughts or like, you remember that like really dumb thing you did or dumb thing you said or the silly mistake that you think you made that everybody noticed, but they probably didn't. Like, dude, I'll start yelling at myself like, what the fuck, Charlene? Let it go. It's so hard to let it go. I'm going to make, I'm going to start singing that song. Let it go. Let it go. Yeah. I can't, I can't hold a tune. Okay. I just can't. Well, at least there's one thing you're not good at. I'll sing a tune.

[00:11:54] You're so good at everything else. We just, we've already covered the mayor of any town she goes to. Bought people alcohol when they couldn't. Taught them how to drive. You're my personal mentor. She can't hold a tune. Maybe not the best mentor in some things, but other things I'm pretty okay with.

[00:12:16] Like, I do give you life lessons, like on things that maybe you might want to rethink because certain people are still alive. But, you know, it's all good. Yeah. You do it in a non-judgy way though. Because I laugh. Yeah. You're like, I mean, I could get why you would want to do that, but maybe don't, you know? But maybe we should wait until some people are not around anymore. Okay. And maybe, just think about this.

[00:12:43] I really don't want God coming down and striking you as lightning. Okay. Yes. Yes. Yeah. We've had a couple of those conversations. Where it's just a tad bit sacrilegious. Yeah. But, you know, it's okay. People are going to be like, what are you talking about? We'll get to that towards the end. Yeah. We're going to give you a little teaser. And then we had Justin. And Justin warmed my heart. Project 55.

[00:13:13] Because he was in the exact same place I was three years ago. And thank God for his fraternity, the guys in his fraternity. Yeah. That stopped him from taking his own life. Yes. And we turned that into an incredible mission of making sure that, you know, mental health intervention is available within workplaces and colleges and things like that.

[00:13:39] And the Project 55 has free courses that anybody can take. Yeah. This is like how amazing it is, right? Like, think about that. Like, I mean, you're doing it too. But like to have been in this place where this would have never even dawned on you as something that you could do or a way to share your story or a way to help other people by what you went through. This would have never even been a part of that day, that darkest day.

[00:14:07] And him, the same thing. Like, he's going through something so difficult, so tough. And instead, he chooses to live and create such a beautiful project that helps people in his same situation. Like, how the fuck are you guys able to do that? Like, it's such, it's so beautiful to see. I think, like for me, I think also for Justin too, is that we don't ever want to see somebody go through what we went through.

[00:14:37] And getting the resources out there. And, you know, every time we share our story, we unlock somebody else's prison. So they don't feel so alone in this journey and realize that there's really help out there. And, you know, something he reminded me is that we can't save everybody. And it's not our job to carry their pain. Right. That there's a reason and that they, you know, we can give them a reason to stay and feel valued again, right?

[00:15:06] And I think that's what, it kind of goes back to like being nice to people. And, you know, showing people that you care. And he was just, it was such a great conversation. Yeah. He like created tools to help people. Like, that's what I'm saying. Like, dude, like what? Like, that's amazing. That's beautiful that you're able to take your pain, live through it. He saw that there was something that didn't exist. How can I build something to make this easier for other people to like let people feel less alone?

[00:15:36] And he went for it. That's cool. That's beautiful. Kind of like how we started the podcast, right? I know. Yeah. And look, here we are 17 seasons later and we're, and we still love doing this. That's the craziest thing. And it, but it's not crazy. I mean, I love our days that we record. I love our planning sessions. I love meeting all the different guests. Yeah. To me, it's not, it's not, I'm not a job. It's something I'm just super passionate about.

[00:16:06] Yeah. I feel lucky every time you get to talk to somebody. And I get to do this with you. Oh, same here, bud. And we laugh about shit that we should never fucking laugh about. On and off hair. I can't. I can't. Y'all. All right. Then we had Shannon and I'm going to have to lean on you for this one because I still cannot say this word, but she is the founder of the wellness. I can't say. The Wellness Paradigm Paradigm. Okay. Paradigm. Paradigm. Maybe.

[00:16:36] Bless it. It's hard to spell because like hard to say because it's got a G in it. Yeah. No, but I mean, what an amazing, that's another one. Like I felt just super fortunate to be sitting across from somebody who's willing to share their story, who started this whole thing. Like I'm like, dude, how it just really put, again, to tie back to that like thread that went through every episode, it really put into perspective that there are people out

[00:17:04] there who are able to see what they can do and like what they can provide to help others and they're doing it. So for somebody like me who's so afraid to try and then to be sitting across from somebody who's gone through something and is doing it on such a large scale is amazing. And she was another one of them. Yeah. And like getting totally gaslit by the doctors. Yeah. You know, that reminded me of when we interviewed Talia and, you know, how she became a cancer

[00:17:33] doula after being completely gaslit again. Alone. Yeah. Alone. And like people don't realize that there's like other resources out there to help them get through this, especially when doctors are gaslighting you. And it happens every single day. Yeah. You really have to, God, that's so hard. It's so hard because you never know what somebody's going through. And if you're at the doctors and they're telling you it's not a problem to have to find that

[00:18:03] strength to advocate for yourself. God, that's difficult. And, you know, it was funny what she said about physical symptoms are actually a physical manifestation of things showing up, you know, in your life. Like think about when you're stressed out, like how bad your stomach hurts or how tense your muscles get. But there's always something underlying to that. And like with doctors and they're telling you, oh, it's just stress. Okay, listen, bitch. No, I can't breathe. My stomach hurts.

[00:18:33] I can't eat. Like something is physically wrong. Yeah. And, you know, I think that doctors need to take that way more seriously now. Think outside the box sometimes. Yeah. Think outside the box. Okay, let's peel the fucking onion. Yeah. What else could it be? You know, because that and that kind of reminds me of the Regent days. I was like peeled, like in consulting, peel the onion. I don't know. Yeah. It's not this, but keep peeling until you figure it out.

[00:18:59] And I really liked how she is really standing up for herself and out there really helping all these amazing people feel better. Yeah, literally. That's crazy. And walking away from traditional medicine because don't even get me started on that path. And again, just somebody who went through something that was difficult and is sharing her story to help others go through something. If they're going through something like hers to know that there's other resources out there. Oh, for sure. Yeah.

[00:19:29] And then we had Lewis and Lewis was awesome. He fanboyed on us the entire time that we were recording. And he was one of our last end of the day recordings. And we laughed and laughed. Yeah. He was really funny. He was, he was, he reminded us about what joy really is and about burnout and going out and finding you're happy. Yeah. And like, he loved the idea of the happy album.

[00:19:59] I remember that, like the things that make you happy. And he was like, he was like, I might be turning that into something. But no, I mean, yeah, like it just goes to prove. Again, you never know what somebody is going through. Me looking at him, hearing how his life was, I would have never guessed that he was struggling with anything because on the outside, it just looks like he has everything anybody could ever want. Yeah. Yeah. It's that mask. It is. She was raising her hand, guys. I know you can't see her. She was raising her hand. But it's true.

[00:20:29] You never know, right? Like he just, I can imagine to others, seems like he's got it all together. He's got, he's checking all the boxes, right? Like what does success look like? He has it all, but still. Feeling super miserable inside and, you know. Struggling. And struggling and, you know, recognizing that he was struggling and getting help. And the fact that he is, you know, he's a son of an immigrant, you know, just seeing

[00:20:57] those struggles and trying to figure out like what he needed to do to go back and find that joy. Yeah. And, you know, he was, he said it perfectly. Don't chase the money. Don't chase the dream. Chase joy. And I'll say that every single day. Like don't chase the first two. Chase the thing that's going to make you happy. Yeah. And he shared a story of that restaurant in Nashville, which I swear the next time I'm

[00:21:23] there, I'm going to find it and eat there because I don't know, just sitting at a table with like-minded individuals that are strangers and sharing and laughing together. And again, finding that joy when. Can we go? I can introduce you to a whole bunch of people that we know that we don't know. The mayor has entered the national restaurant. The mayor. Somehow they know you, I'm sure. Well, it's maybe just by my voice because you can't see me.

[00:21:52] I'm not tall enough. And they have booster seats. It'll be fine. Can I have a phone book, please? And then we had Sherry and I loved the two episodes we did with her.

[00:22:19] She has had, she had such a hard life and found, you know, through plant-based meat, you know, through plant-based healing that she could actually feel better. And, you know, it kind of goes back to like traditional medicine. You know what? Sometimes it doesn't work out for you. And, you know, just all the things that we talked about, like beating yourself up, you know, the visualization of beating yourself up with a feather duster rather than a bat.

[00:22:49] Yeah. And she's like, I like one of her quotes that says, I don't care if you're making it happen from your bed, you're still being brave enough to be in your bed and you can go from there. Yeah. Like, I don't know. There's something really sweet and beautiful about that. And like, you don't have to always, you know, conquer and defeat dragons every day. Like just being here is good enough. The fact that your ass is sitting in that seat right now. Right. After being at work all day.

[00:23:19] Yeah. Like, fuck this shit. But, you know, just, you know, she just reminded me of, you know, think about who the fuck you are, right? We are all unique human beings. We all treat our pain differently. We all treat our stress differently. But we need to be fucking nicer to ourselves. Dirty Skittles. I'm trying. You got to be your biggest cheerleader.

[00:23:49] Yeah. Okay. Ra-ra-shush-kum-ba. Shush-kum-ba. Shush-kum-ba. Okay. Listen, I can't talk today either. I did too. It's a terrible story because he needed to find a way to deal with all that chronic pain. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:24:19] And surprisingly, it was all in his subconscious. So he was able to use hypnosis to make himself feel better. Yeah. And that's, and again, sharing that story because we've said this multiple times on our past episodes that it's not, healing isn't linear. It looks different for different people. And this is just another thing that's out there and available for somebody to try. And I think to his point, right? Like you get to this place where you don't know what else to do. So let's try something.

[00:24:48] And I feel like if listeners are out there, they should try. Try hypnosis. It goes back to... You never know. You never know because it kind of goes back to us too, like talking about speed dating our therapist. Mm-hmm. Maybe, you know, talk therapy's not for what you want. Like go and try some hypnosis. Go and try some art therapy. Go to one of those places where you can huck and, you know, throw an axe. Maybe you just need to get... Smash rooms. Smash rooms. Yeah.

[00:25:16] Like anything to like, you know, beat the shit out of anything but... Something other than yourself. Than yourself. Right? Like go beat the crap out of a vase or, you know, go color, like go angry color. Do those things. And, you know, he was just super chill. Yeah. And, you know, reminded me that, you know, it's okay to be who you are, you know, and quit beating ourselves up every day.

[00:25:46] Yeah. Yeah. And you can get through it. Ooh. Okay. Sorry about that. So I got a new chair and it massages me after 45 minutes. I heard something. Yeah. It's my chair. Okay. I think you need to not have you be in your massage chair as we're filming at this. Dude, I can't help it. Like, it's my only office chair now. Like, the other one's gone. I just forget that it like comes on and like gives me a little massage. It's awesome. All right. You ready?

[00:26:15] Or did you need a minute with your... Do we need to turn the cameras off? Sorry, guys. That's not how I hurt my tendon in my shoulder. Well, we don't know. The jury's still out on that one. Yeah, whatever. And then we had... Joe. Joe. Yes. Joe. My God. That man has lived a life. And just like me. Yeah. Somebody that wore that mask.

[00:26:44] Didn't think he needed any help until it got to that point where he's like, yeah, I need help. I always find it like so hard to put in words when I can see... Well, I come from a family full of veterans and militaries. I just... I've grown up around that my whole life. So anytime I'm sitting across from somebody who was a former Marine or in the Army, they're a veteran.

[00:27:09] And also being a police officer, like they're kind of like masks for me, at least I'm imagining. These are versions of a quote unquote man, right? Like he is a soldier. He was a police officer. But for him to break through that and show vulnerability and to share mental health. And it just... It's so amazing and beautiful to see somebody rip themselves raw and show you,

[00:27:38] hey, I have mental health issues too. And there are others out there like me. And this is how we're going to conquer it together. And the fact that he is a man, right? And also a vet and a police officer showing them that it's okay to take that mask off. Because, you know, they see a ton of pain.

[00:28:02] And for first responders, their mental health takes a hit every single call they're on. Yeah. The things... The things you have. Like, you know, there was a huge, you know, uptick in first responders like taking their own life. Right. Or just like checking out. And so he gave people the permission to like take that mask off. And like learn how to love yourself, right?

[00:28:28] It's okay to like see that pain, but don't live in it. Right. Right. You're correct. I'm correct. You're correct. I get an A. That chair has made you real happy. I can tell you. Well, that and the two coffees and two Cokes I had today too. So I probably won't sleep until about four o'clock in the morning. But it's all good.

[00:28:55] But then we had Catherine and I loved another fucking growth opportunity because we all have those. Great. And fucking growth opportunity. That's... I need to write that down on a post-it and put it on my work monitor because that's literally... That is going to get me through the day. It's going to get me through the day. I'm telling you. It is. And like she came...

[00:29:20] That came up while her wife was dealing with cancer. It was a way to get through it. A way to get through it. Mm-hmm. Making her journey, you know, home. And instead of getting all pissed off, they just called it another fucking growth opportunity. Humor. Like the silver lining of this is like when they were still able to find humor and do it together. And now she's sharing that with the world.

[00:29:48] And then she shared the dying moments, which I still think is absolutely beautiful and gorgeous. And... And made me cry. Thank you. Yes. Well, it's... It's... I mean, I... We've all experienced loss, right? And maybe not everybody is as spiritual or into that other side of life, right? Like she even mentioned, like she just sees her partner as having gone to the other thing, right? Like they've moved through the other thing.

[00:30:18] They're not lost. They're not... They haven't disappeared. They're just somewhere else. And I feel like I can relate to that. Like even loved ones that have passed many years ago, I still have things that whenever I see it, I associate to that person. So the dying moments, I think it's just beautiful. Dying to say I love you. And like for me, it's hummingbirds. Every time I see a hummingbird, I think of my mom. Hummingbirds were her favorite thing. Mm-hmm.

[00:30:45] And fortunately, just like two days ago, we had a hummingbird show up here. Aw. I don't know why I braved the cold because, you know, weather's still been fucking stupid up here. But, you know, I love the fucking growth opportunity because we deal with it every single day. And now, like with me, now that I'm out on my own, I just kind of laugh that shit off. Okay, listen, I made a mistake. Whatever. I will fucking grow from this.

[00:31:13] I may or may not do it again. But if I do it again, I'm going to do it better. Yeah. Yeah, I think... I think that's the point, right? Like another fucking growth opportunity. It was like their way to... They were still getting over the hurdle. They were moving through that. They just had that as like their tagline to find the humor there. To find the humor. And like, you know, with us, yeah, you know, a lot of the topics we talk about are really tough. Mm-hmm.

[00:31:39] But we do add some levity to it because it makes it easier to digest, right? And sometimes hindsight is 20-20. We can go back and laugh at the shit that's happened. One day. May not be right away, guys. May not be right away. You may laugh at it. You may laugh at it. I mean, I still like think about the day that I stood up in the office and called everybody a bunch of fuckers. Yeah. At the moment, it was not my finest moment, but I can laugh about it now. Yeah. It was another fucking growth opportunity.

[00:32:10] And nobody died. Okay. Yes, maybe I made a couple people cry, but nobody died. And it was a growth opportunity, right? And then we had Jacinta. Yeah. And so in the episode, she wanted to just call her Jay. It was just easier for us to say. And she was awesome. And the thing she's doing with kids in Australia called Happy Souls Kids. Yeah. It warmed my heart.

[00:32:38] And it reminded me of the things that you do for Night Out. Nugget. Yeah. Yeah. I think there was that moment in that episode where I shared that I can see him sometimes and understand, even in his frustrated moments, like I want to see him in those. Like I want to acknowledge that they're there and find a way through it and figure out what's going on. And how do we help him in that moment? And I think that is something I'll take away from her episode.

[00:33:06] Just hearing that is, it's almost like you need the acceptance or somebody to tell you, yeah, that's the right thing to do. Yeah. And, you know, being able to like share those emotions with your kids and, you know, letting them have their, navigate their own storms and, but helping them. Mm-hmm. And not being harsh, you know, just letting the kids feel their feelings. Yeah. It's part of the process sometimes to get through something. It is. To feel it.

[00:33:34] And, you know, the thing that's hard for kids is sometimes they don't have the words for what's going on. Right. But, you know, there are organizations like, you know, Happy Soul Kids and there's a ton of really good books out there that they can kind of help you have those discussions with your kids. Yeah. And you as a parent, because, you know, we were talking about this during that episode. There was no book, no parenting book. None. That told you what's the right or wrong way to deal with your kid when they're having a meltdown.

[00:34:04] Because they can't explain to you what's going on. Yeah. There was no secret equation. Yeah. There was no way to crack the code. You just, you've got to figure it out. You've got to figure it out. And, like, this whole season just, you know, made me think back to my own childhood. It made me think about, you know, everything that took place three years ago and where I am now. Yeah. And I'm so eternally grateful. Yeah. For you, for the show, for my life. For yourself.

[00:34:34] For myself. And I'm super proud. You did the hard work. And I'm proud. Yeah, you fucking should be, man. Like, look where we're at. Yeah. This is wild. This is wild. I'm still very grateful that we get to do this. And, like, you know, season 18 is, you know, right around the corner. And, you know, Skittles and I, we're working on some stuff that'll probably come to fruition maybe in the summer. We're working on it.

[00:35:03] Yeah. Or, yeah, in the summer for sure. For sure. Maybe by the next season ender, we can give you not as big as we're teased. But I will tell you, Jury Skittles has put me through the ringer lately. Like, I have not laughed this hard in months. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know how much we can say, but I will say that for us, and I hope I'm not speaking for you, but...

[00:35:32] I think for both of us, it's a way to find the lighthearted side of mental health, I suppose. Or how do we escape? How do we escape it? Yes. Like, everybody needs an escape, right? Mm-hmm. And just, you know, the thing that's... Everything that's going on in the world right now, we all need to kind of check out. Yeah. I checked out my own way over the winter because, goddamn, it was cold.

[00:36:01] It snowed so much. But I am looking forward to spring. Hopefully, like, in the next couple of weeks, we actually get to feel what it's like to have spring. And... The spring has sprung. Well, maybe in Georgia. The spring has sprung. Not so much. Okay? Just saying. It's been a tiny bit horrid. But I just want to say thank you to all our, you know, all our guests, all our listeners. It's been a fantastic season. You know, we...

[00:36:31] You know, we won that award. We won a couple awards this year so far. Cool trophy. Cool trophy that'll be here soon. Mm-hmm. And just super excited to do this. Cozy comfort robes. Oh, yeah. Oh, did you get it? I did. And why are you not in it right now? It's like buttery because it's like 90 degrees. Girl, put an air conditioner in your office. I mean, I have one. But I'm also perimenopal, so... Oh, yeah. Do not put that shit on.

[00:37:00] I will tell you the sheets, holy hell. I... They are so beautiful that I bought another set. Oh. Nice. Nice. Yeah. Nothing like spoiling myself a tiny bit. Wow. But it's been awesome, dude. See you soon. In the next one. See you on the next one. Yeah. Be good. Have a safe day. You too. Hi, all. Thank you so much for listening to this episode. I'm G-Rex. And I'm Dirty Skittles.

[00:37:29] Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast. We'd love to listen to your feedback. We can't do this without you guys. It's okay to be not okay. Just make sure you're talking to someone. Just make sure you're talking to someone.