Manual Not Included with Daniela Tempesta: Psychology, Relationships, and The Life Skills No One Taught Us

You’re feeling lonely, and the friend across the table thinks you’re doing great because “good, busy” is the answer you keep giving. If you want to open up but fear of judgment keeps you from doing so, this episode shows you how to decide when to share personal information and when to keep it to yourself.

I start with my 20-year college reunion, where telling the truth about my divorce led people to confide things they hadn’t planned to say out loud. From there, I get into Harvard Business School professor Leslie John’s research on what saying too little costs us, and the four questions she suggests for weighing whether to open up. I also share what happened when a client of mine told one trusted friend the truth, and one small truth you can try this week.

Listen if you’re working on being vulnerable in relationships and want closer connections without worrying you’re oversharing.

Check out the show notes and other resources at https://thetempestagroup.com/what-im-fine-is-costing-you

Send me a message!

Let's stay connected

Find me on Instagram at @tempestatalk

Check out resources at: https://thetempestagroup.com/resources/

This podcast is brought to you in partnership with Leah Bryant Co.

You made a plan for how long your grief should take, and grief didn't follow it. You told yourself two weeks, then went back to work assuming you'd feel more like yourself by then. You didn't. If you're still waiting to feel like yourself again after losing a parent, this episode is for you.

I talk about what happened in the six months after my dad died suddenly, why the two-week plan I made turned into three and a half months, and why chasing the old version of myself kept me stuck instead of helping me heal. I get into the shoulds that made grief harder to carry, the gap between what grief looks like from the outside and what it really demands, and why there's no such thing as a grief timeline that fits everyone.

If you've ever quietly wondered why grief doesn't work the way everyone told you it would, this one's for you.

Check out the show notes and other resources at https://thetempestagroup.com/what-losing-my-dad-taught-me-about-grief

Send me a message!

Let's stay connected

Find me on Instagram at @tempestatalk

Check out resources at: https://thetempestagroup.com/resources/

This podcast is brought to you in partnership with Leah Bryant Co.

You're exhausted, you know you need to rest, and when you finally try, you feel guilty, anxious, and weirdly worse. If rest feels like something you have to earn instead of something you're allowed to have, this episode explains exactly why that's happening and what to do about it.

I'm breaking down why high achievers can't rest, the neuroscience behind why stillness feels threatening, how productivity becomes a nervous system regulation strategy, and why your brain has literally learned that doing equals safety. Plus, four practical steps to start building your capacity to rest even when the guilt and restlessness show up anyway.

If you've ever wished you could get sick just to have a legitimate reason to stop, this one's for you.

Check out the show notes and other resources at https://thetempestagroup.com/how-to-rest-without-guilt/

Send me a message!

Let's stay connected

Find me on Instagram at @tempestatalk

Check out resources at: https://thetempestagroup.com/resources/

This podcast is brought to you in partnership with Leah Bryant Co.

You hit the goal. Got the win. And your brain immediately asked, "What's next?" If success keeps feeling like a moving target, no matter how much you accomplish, there's a name for that, and it's not a character flaw.

I'm breaking down the arrival fallacy: why high achievers can't stop chasing the next milestone, why your nervous system is literally wired to move the goalpost the moment you reach it, and what it takes to stop outsourcing your sense of worth to outcomes. Plus, a simple neuroscience-backed practice that starts rewiring your brain toward I'm already okay, instead of more proof needed.

If you've ever Googled "why doesn't success make me happy," this one's for you.

Check out the show notes and other resources at https://thetempestagroup.com/the-arrival-fallacy-high-achievers/

New York Times Article - Baking Cookies In My Mother’s Kitchen

Send me a message!

Let's stay connected

Find me on Instagram at @tempestatalk

Check out resources at: https://thetempestagroup.com/resources/

This podcast is brought to you in partnership with Leah Bryant Co.

You built the life you were supposed to want, and somehow it still doesn't feel like enough. If you're a high-achieving millennial who's accomplished everything on the list and still can't shake the quiet sense that something's off, this episode is for you.

I'm Daniela Tempesta, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist, and in this first episode, I'm naming what so many successful people feel but rarely say out loud: the checklist was always incomplete. I break down why achievement becomes a nervous system strategy, how performance-based self-worth keeps the anxiety loop running no matter how much you accomplish, and what it looks like to start building a life around what matters to you, not what looks good on paper.

This isn't about burning it all down or starting over. It's about questioning the measuring stick and realizing the problem was never you.

Check out the show notes and other resources at https://thetempestagroup.com/millennial-burnout-life-skills-nobody-taught-us/

Send me a message!

Let's stay connected

Find me on Instagram at @tempestatalk

Check out resources at: https://thetempestagroup.com/resources/

This podcast is brought to you in partnership with Leah Bryant Co.

You checked every box, and your life still feels exhausting and oddly unfulfilling on the inside. If you're a high-achieving millennial living with high-functioning anxiety and waiting for all that effort to finally feel good, this show is for you.

I'm Daniela Tempesta, a licensed psychotherapist and recovering overachiever, and in this trailer I talk about why I started Manual Not Included after two decades of working with high-achieving adults. I get into why nobody handed us a handbook for adulthood, how overthinking and anxiety can pass for competence from the outside, and what's behind the millennial identity crisis and the state of millennial mental health. Each week we dig into burnout recovery, people-pleasing, perfectionism and imposter syndrome, setting healthy boundaries, anxious attachment, and reinventing yourself, using psychology and real-life stories with just enough humor to keep it honest.

If you've ever quietly wondered why your life looks fine and feels like this, this one's for you.

Let's stay connected

Find me on Instagram at @tempestatalk

Check out resources at: https://thetempestagroup.com/resources/

This podcast is brought to you in partnership with Leah Bryant Co.