Just two best friends who just turned 40 talking about their struggles--everything from relationships, to not feeling good enough, to dealing with depression and anxiety--in hopes of normalizing things and making people feel less alone.
Welcome to Bay Area Brats Struggling (BABS)! If you find yourself saying, “This is not what I thought my life would look like at this point,” you might be able to relate to this podcast.
Raised as Asian Americans who were promised successful lives if they just studied hard and focused on school, Amanda and Sam found themselves on the cusp of checking all the boxes. Careers. Marriage. Homeowners. Kids.
Amanda got married to her college sweetheart, had twin girls after dealing with infertility, and lived a seemingly perfect life. Sam graduated law school, achieved her aspirations of working at a big law firm, and got engaged to her longtime boyfriend.
But then Amanda asked for a divorce and blew up her life. Sam called off her engagement and got a cat. They had career identity crises. They had to start using dating apps in their 30s. They suffer from anxiety and depression. And while they can recognize their complaints can seem bratty at times, they’re also realizing the common precedent leading up to their meltdowns is that they were struggling in silence for too long.
In trying to live life defined by other people’s standards, they lost themselves—or rather, they realized they never took the time to figure out who they were and what they wanted in the first place. So join them as they struggle through life, and hopefully you’ll realize you don’t have to struggle in silence… even if people call you a brat.
Disclaimer: We are NOT mental or physical health specialists. If you believe you or someone you know is struggling with anxiety, depression, or suicidal ideation, or any other mental health challenges we encourage you to contact your doctor or a medical professional. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, call 911, or go to your local emergency room.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Just two best friends who just turned 40 talking about their struggles--everything from relationships, to not feeling good enough, to dealing with depression and anxiety--in hopes of normalizing things and making people feel less alone.
Welcome to Bay Area Brats Struggling (BABS)! If you find yourself saying, “This is not what I thought my life would look like at this point,” you might be able to relate to this podcast.
Raised as Asian Americans who were promised successful lives if they just studied hard and focused on school, Amanda and Sam found themselves on the cusp of checking all the boxes. Careers. Marriage. Homeowners. Kids.
Amanda got married to her college sweetheart, had twin girls after dealing with infertility, and lived a seemingly perfect life. Sam graduated law school, achieved her aspirations of working at a big law firm, and got engaged to her longtime boyfriend.
But then Amanda asked for a divorce and blew up her life. Sam called off her engagement and got a cat. They had career identity crises. They had to start using dating apps in their 30s. They suffer from anxiety and depression. And while they can recognize their complaints can seem bratty at times, they’re also realizing the common precedent leading up to their meltdowns is that they were struggling in silence for too long.
In trying to live life defined by other people’s standards, they lost themselves—or rather, they realized they never took the time to figure out who they were and what they wanted in the first place. So join them as they struggle through life, and hopefully you’ll realize you don’t have to struggle in silence… even if people call you a brat.
Disclaimer: We are NOT mental or physical health specialists. If you believe you or someone you know is struggling with anxiety, depression, or suicidal ideation, or any other mental health challenges we encourage you to contact your doctor or a medical professional. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, call 911, or go to your local emergency room.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Are we going through something?" Even though the basis of our podcast is that we're always struggling with something, it feels like Sam and Amanda are going through something a little extra lately. They're searching for dopamine hits from Costco, Jazzercise, softball, and pole dancing (ok, maybe just Amanda), and they're struggling with FOMO and the loneliness epidemic. However, while Amanda allowed FOMO to coerce her into seeing the Backstreet Boys in Vegas during New Year's, she will not allow FOMO to be the reason she buys her girls Labubus.
Sam also shares an update on both the physical and mental recovery from her breast reduction surgery (shark bites are referenced). Then they get into some co-parenting challenges Amanda's been struggling with over books and markers, and the double standards and expectations for "good" dads and moms (if this episode sounds a little Frankensteined, it's because the original episode got a little too angry and off the rails, so they had to rerecord and stitch the episodes together).
(We recorded this a month ago, so spoiler alert: Amanda did allow FOMO to sucker her into buying Labubus for her daughters LOL).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.