Season 1: Understanding Emotions – Where It All Begins

Welcome to Headstraight, a teen mental health podcast where we cut through the noise and give young adults and teens the real talk mental health they actually need about emotions, choices, and teen mental health. If you’ve ever been hit by self doubt, stuck in cycles of overcome self sabotage, or drained by endless guilt trips and overcoming people pleasing, this season is for you.

Season 1 is called Understanding Emotions because that’s where everything starts. You’ll hear a clear approach and real-life answers for dealing with moments when emotions feel too big to handle, when you’ve completely lost motivation, or when teen troubles and pressure from other people wreck your emotional well-being. We’ll dig into the reasons behind your feelings, why your brain makes it hard to hit pause, and how you can start building self control and self reliance without shame.

Across these episodes, we’ll tackle the real stuff:

• Why self doubt makes you feel “not good enough” and how to rebuild your teen self esteem.
• Why emotions hit harder during adolescence and how understanding feelings, fear management, and self-awareness help you regain control.
• How to build a support network that makes you feel safe, instead of leaving you stuck in isolation.
• Why unsafe situations create cycles of people pleasing, guilt trip, and shame—and how to take steps that protect your mental well-being.
• And finally, how to make better choices when you’re tired of faking it, tired of being manipulated, and ready to trust yourself again.

This season isn’t about quick fixes or pretending life is easy. It’s about taking a clear approach with the mental challenges that get in your way, breaking free from shame spiral moments, and learning practical ways to move forward. Each episode is designed to give you tools you can actually use—not just theory, not just advice, but honest guidance, compassionate responses, and real steps that make life feel a little more manageable.

If you’ve ever wondered why you keep slipping into the same patterns, why shame always shows up, or why teen self esteem feels so fragile, Season 1 will help you understand what’s really going on underneath it all. Step by step, you’ll learn how to strengthen your self reliance, stop people pleasing, rebuild confidence, and make better choices for yourself.

This is your starting point. Let’s get into it.

Got something to say? - come send me a message at www.headstraight.co.uk/contact/
or send me a voice note at www.headstraight.co.uk/voicemail/
 
Click here if you want more info about the host

If you need more information about helplines, services or what do to if you're in a crisis, take a look at our resource page: https://www.headstraight.co.uk/resources

Headstraight: Real Teen Mental Health Support is built on honest conversations — proper Mental Health real talks that make sense in real life. Each episode brings real talk mental health guidance designed to offer steady support for teens navigating the messy, complicated parts of growing up. If you’re looking for a teen mental health podcast that gives grounded support, you’re in the right place.

 

Creators and Guests

Host

Mark Taylor

Mark Taylor Creator, Author & Host I’m a A Qualified/Certified Mental Health Nurse with over 35 years’ experience supporting young people and their families. I’ve worked in secure hospitals, eating disorder units, and CAMHS crisis teams—walking alongside adolescents during some of their toughest moments. My focus has always been on helping young people in emotional distress—especially those dealing with eating struggles or finding it hard to stay safe. I also teach at universities and train professionals across health, education and social care to better understand what young people really need from us. Headstraight brings all of that together. It’s where I take the things that mess with your head and talk about them in a way that actually makes sense—no jargon, no fluff. Just real conversations, grounded advice, and ideas that might actually help. That’s the goal: make it easier to understand, easier to talk about, and more useful in real life.

What is Headstraight: Teen Mental Health Support Without Labels?

Headstraight: Teen Mental Health Support Without Labels with Mark Taylor brings you real answers to the real issues young people face — overwhelming feelings, self-doubt, people pleasing, guilt trips, and motivation that comes and goes.

You’ll get honest guidance, practical tools, and straightforward support to help you feel safe, think clearly, and take charge of your mental health.

If you’re curious about what’s really going on inside your head, this teen mental health podcast offers relatable guidance and honest support for teens who want to understand their teen mental health on a deeper level.

Mark: 00:00

My name's Mark, and you're listening to Head Straight. Hi, and welcome to this, the first season of the HeadStraight podcast. I just thought I would come on and just tell you what it is that we're looking to cover in the 1st season. Now the 1st season is all about understanding your emotions. We're starting with the basics.

Mark: 00:32

We're looking at those moments when you feel like you're not measuring up. Maybe it's voices from the past, things that people have said, or the way that social media seems to magnify everything you think you're missing. In this season, we're gonna help you to figure out where those feelings come from and how to take charge of the story that you're telling yourself. We're also gonna take a look at why emotions can feel so intense, like they're running your life instead of you being in control. Now, there's a lot happening in your brain that makes emotions hit harder than you'd expect.

Mark: 01:00

And understanding this can help you to manage them better, whether it's frustration, sadness, or that anxiety that sneaks upon you out of nowhere. Now, relationships are another big focus, because the people that you surround yourself with can make or break how you feel. We'll talk about how to build a real support system, spot when things aren't working, and decide who's actually worth your time and energy. And then there's safety, both physical and emotional. Now, feeling safe where you are and with the people that are around you is critical.

Mark: 01:32

And when that's missing, it can throw everything else out of balance. We're gonna explore ways to create distance from unsafe situations, and how to get help when you need it. From there, we'll get into decision making. Because let's be honest, it's not always easy to choose what's best for you, especially when the pressure's on. You'll learn how to pause, pause, think things through, and make decisions that move you forward instead of keeping you stuck.

Mark: 01:57

We'll also tackle the harder stuff like understanding why we sometimes hurt the people that we care about and how to take responsibility without getting stuck in the guilt trap. Now, this is about breaking unhelpful cycles and moving on in a better way. And let's not skip the guilt that comes with needing attention. Everyone wants to feel seen and cared for. It's human.

Mark: 02:17

But we'll talk about why asking for it feels so uncomfortable and how to do it without shame. Finally, we'll wrap up with real practical steps to take control of your mental health. Not in a fix everything now kind of way, but by making small manageable changes that help you to feel more in charge of your life. Now if you've ever felt like your emotions are running the show, or you're not sure where to start when things feel really difficult, this season is here to help you sort through it. We're not here to tell you how to live your life, just to help you figure out what works for you.

Mark: 02:49

So if this sounds like something that you wanna do, then start listening.