Are You Going Broke for Your Adult Child?

Are you paying your adult child’s rent, car payment, or other bills while your own retirement savings take a back seat? Helping an adult son or daughter can come from a place of love, but when temporary assistance becomes an ongoing financial arrangement, it may put your own future at risk.

In this episode of The Self Help Briefing with Mike and Jen, we explore the difficult line between supporting an adult child and enabling financial dependence. We also look at how enmeshment, guilt, fear, and family expectations can make setting boundaries especially difficult.

Mike and Jen discuss why financial boundaries don’t mean abandoning your child, how couples can get caught on opposite sides of the issue, and why helping an adult child become more independent may ultimately be more valuable than continuing to write checks.

• The difference between support and enabling
• Why financial help can quietly become a long-term arrangement
• How enmeshment can make boundaries difficult
• Protecting your retirement and financial future
• How supporting an adult child can create conflict between couples
• Setting clear boundaries with a realistic end date
• Helping an adult child build independence without withdrawing love

“I don't have to assume responsibility for my adult child's finances. I can embrace focusing on my own future and it doesn't mean I love my child any less.”

Failure to Launch: Why Your Twentysomething Hasn't Grown Up...and What to Do About It By Dr. Mark McConville See Amazon for price

I've Been Paying My Adult Son's Rent and Now I Have No Retirement – WTF Should I Do? Couples Counseling Chicago

If you enjoyed today's conversation, be sure to follow The Self Help Briefing on your favorite podcast platform. And if you have a moment, we'd really appreciate a quick review. It helps other listeners discover the show.

You can visit the podcast at www.theselfhelpbriefing.com to check out our latest episodes or to make contact.

The Self Help Briefing may include affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, the podcast may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Recommendations are selected because we believe they may be useful or relevant to the topic being discussed.

The Self Help Briefing is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing discussed on the podcast should be considered medical, psychological, mental health, legal, or other professional advice. If you have concerns about your physical or mental health, please consult an appropriately qualified professional.

The Self Help Briefing is a production of G Digital Studios. Episodes may be developed from sources available online. Episode artwork may be created using Adobe Firefly or other royalty-free sources. Articles, books, and other resources discussed in an episode are credited and linked in the show notes when applicable. Voiceovers are generated using synthesized audio.

How do you cope with grief after losing someone you love? Grief can bring sadness, anger, guilt, confusion, exhaustion, loneliness, and even moments of relief—and there isn't one right way to experience it.

In this episode of The Self Help Briefing, Mike and Jen explore how to cope with grief and loss, including ways to work through difficult emotions, care for yourself, stay connected with others, and remember someone you've lost without feeling like you have to simply “move on.”

They also talk about why grief doesn't follow a predictable timeline, how memories can unexpectedly bring emotions rushing back, and why support can sometimes look different depending on your family, culture, community, and relationships.

• Why grief can feel unpredictable
• Coping with sadness, anger, guilt, and other emotions
• Why grief doesn't follow a simple timeline
• Remembering and honoring someone you've lost
• Taking care of yourself while grieving
• Exercise, connection, and social support
• How community can influence the grieving experience
• Why some gay men may experience different support systems around grief
• Learning to live with loss without leaving someone behind

The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss — Mary-Frances O'Connor, PhD

Psychologist and neuroscientist Mary-Frances O'Connor explores what happens in the brain when we lose someone we're deeply attached to and why adapting to that person's absence can take time.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4qPNWCy

Overcoming Grief: How to Cope With Loss

Learn more about grief, coping with loss, self-care, support, and ways of navigating the grieving process.

The Recovery Village: https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-health/grief/overcoming-grief/

Grief can sometimes be complicated by relationships, family dynamics, social support, and experiences unique to LGBTQ+ communities. This resource explores grief and loss specifically for gay men.

Chicago Therapists: Gay men and grief by Chicago therapists

If you enjoyed today's conversation, be sure to follow The Self Help Briefing on your favorite podcast platform. And if you have a moment, we'd really appreciate a quick review. It helps other listeners discover the show.

You can visit the podcast at www.theselfhelpbriefing.com to check out our latest episodes or to make contact.

The Self Help Briefing may include affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, the podcast may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Recommendations are selected because we believe they may be useful or relevant to the topic being discussed.

The Self Help Briefing is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing discussed on the podcast should be considered medical, psychological, mental health, legal, or other professional advice. If you have concerns about your physical or mental health, please consult an appropriately qualified professional.

The Self Help Briefing is a production of G Digital Studios. Episodes may be developed from sources available online. Episode artwork may be created using Adobe Firefly or other royalty-free sources. Articles, books, and other resources discussed in an episode are credited and linked in the show notes when applicable. Voiceovers are generated using synthesized audio.

Are you worried AI will take your job? As artificial intelligence rapidly changes the workplace, anxiety about job security, career relevance, and what comes next is becoming increasingly common.

In this episode of The Self Help Briefing, Mike and Jen talk about AI anxiety and why the possibility of being replaced by technology can feel so much bigger than ordinary work stress. Losing a job isn't only about losing a paycheck. Work can be closely tied to identity, competence, independence, security, and the future we imagine for ourselves.

They also explore how uncertainty can lead to endless checking of AI news, LinkedIn posts, Reddit threads, and predictions about which jobs might disappear next. What feels like staying informed can sometimes turn into reassurance-seeking that leaves you even more anxious than before.

You'll also hear why completely avoiding AI may actually make the fear feel bigger, how AI can trigger imposter syndrome and comparison anxiety, and why preparing for uncertainty is very different from trying to eliminate it.

In This Episode

• Why AI-related job anxiety can feel different from ordinary work stress
• How uncertainty fuels catastrophic thinking and “what if I'm next?” fears
• Why compulsively checking AI news can become reassurance-seeking
• The connection between work, identity, competence, and self-worth
• How AI can trigger imposter syndrome and comparison anxiety
• Why avoiding AI completely may reinforce fear
• How to separate what is actually happening today from predictions about the future
• Why resilience and adaptability may matter more than trying to achieve certainty
• How cognitive behavioral therapy can help when anxiety begins affecting sleep, concentration, or everyday functioning

Today's Affirmation

I don't need to know exactly what comes next. I can learn, adapt, and handle change as it comes.

Recommended Reading

The Upside of Uncertainty: A Guide to Finding Possibility in the Unknown by Nathan Furr and Susannah Harmon Furr

Explore The Upside of Uncertainty on Amazon

The book explores how we can move forward, make decisions, and find opportunity even when we don't know exactly what the future holds—a particularly useful idea when navigating rapid changes in technology and the workplace.

Source & Further Reading

For a deeper look at AI-related job anxiety, uncertainty, reassurance-seeking, avoidance, and ways to cope with rapid workplace change, read:

Worried AI Will Replace You? How to Cope With AI Anxiety — Calm Anxiety CBT Therapy Clinic

If you enjoyed today's conversation, be sure to follow The Self Help Briefing on your favorite podcast platform. And if you have a moment, we'd really appreciate a quick review. It helps other listeners discover the show.

You can visit the podcast at www.theselfhelpbriefing.com to check out our latest episodes or to make contact.

The Self Help Briefing may include affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, the podcast may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Recommendations are selected because we believe they may be useful or relevant to the topic being discussed.

The Self Help Briefing is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing discussed on the podcast should be considered medical, psychological, mental health, legal, or other professional advice. If you have concerns about your physical or mental health, please consult an appropriately qualified professional.

The Self Help Briefing is a production of G Digital Studios. Episodes may be developed from sources available online. Episode artwork may be created using Adobe Firefly or other royalty-free sources. Articles, books, and other resources discussed in an episode are credited and linked in the show notes when applicable. Voiceovers are generated using synthesized audio.