Therapy Gecko – “I PISS PEOPLE OFF”
Hosted by Dick (Lyle Forever) | Date: November 23, 2025
Episode Overview
In this episode, Therapy Gecko (Dick/Lyle Forever) travels through a series of complex, vulnerable, and sometimes meandering conversations with three callers: Jaden, Tyler, and Deja. The central theme explores the struggles of expressing oneself authentically—sometimes to the point of “pissing people off”—and the ongoing search for self-awareness, personal fulfillment, and kindness in relationships with oneself and others. The episode dives into neurodivergence, boundaries, career sacrifice, and resilience amidst abrupt life changes.
[02:12] Caller 1: Jaden – "Understanding Myself (and Pissing People Off)"
Key Topics & Discussion Points
-
Introduction to Jaden
- Jaden calls in, sharing a sense of excitement and nervousness about finally getting through. He admits he's been thinking a lot lately—more than usual.
- “I tried to call you the other day...I'm getting what I want right now. It's kind of weird.” (03:02)
-
Language, Neurodivergence & Realization
- Jaden self-reflects on learning about autism and realizing “I'm just a lot more autistic than I thought I Was. And that's only because I'm actually learning English.” (05:03)
- Dick explores whether English is Jaden’s native language; Jaden affirms it is but feels like “learning” it anew is teaching him about his own thinking.
-
The “Now” Experiment
- Jaden requests a thought experiment: spell “now”…then add a “K” at the front (08:00).
- Dick: “I put it on the right side of the word, but now I'm putting it in front of the word.” (08:02)
- Jaden points out how perception and language structure are unique to each mind; this is his way of illustrating subjective experience.
-
Struggle With Social Friction
- Jaden admits his communication style and directness have started “pissing people off,” especially as he’s grown more comfortable with saying what he wants (16:36).
- “Like I'm not trying to get anyone mad. I just want what I want.”
-
Seeking to Be Understood vs. Needing to Be Right
- Jaden describes his journey as one of figuring out his own thoughts and wanting others to be conscious of theirs, not necessarily for them to agree but to share understanding.
- “I want to explain how I feel like I am God. But it's really weird because I don't. Because I know I'm not God, but I feel pretty close to what I think the 12 people who made English at the start felt...” (16:13)
-
Navigating Self-Awareness, Language, and Asking for Things
- Dick offers an outside perspective: maybe Jaden’s way of fitting the universe together (his personal “puzzle”) leads him to overlook that everyone else has their own puzzle—their own context.
- “You're operating as if there is one single puzzle to be solved...and you can't really interact with the world. And maybe that is autism.” (Dick, 23:39)
-
Desire to Be Kind
- Jaden earnestly wishes to be kind, not just correct. He shares about wanting to help people, most especially his girlfriend, to get what they want out of life (34:11).
- “I've been trying to figure out how to actually talk nice for like my whole life...I actually can help most people be kind people.” (33:10)
-
Striving for Trust and Letting Go of Control
- Jaden admits he can’t know what others (even those closest to him) truly want; all he can do is trust what they tell him (35:00).
- Dick encapsulates: “All you can really do is trust the information she's giving you, but you can't actually know because you are not God and cannot exist in her brain.” (36:03)
- Jaden: “Yeah, you figured it out. You figured out exactly how you feel right now.”
-
Parting Wisdom & Notable Quotes
- “What is a computer if not what you are computing? Which means complying and playing, I think.” (Jaden, 40:09)
- Dick closes the conversation: “I can't understand everything you're saying because I'm not God. But I can attempt, and I feel like I did attempt, and I feel like you attempted.”
Notable Quotes
- Jaden: "The word now is spelled N-O-W...Put a K in front of it." (07:49)
- Dick: “You're operating as if there is one single puzzle to be solved...but you have a major, major problem: you don’t understand there’s more than one puzzle.” (23:39)
- Jaden: “I want to help most people explain what they want out of life if I teach them how to write it down. But...I just want to help talk to people.” (38:02)
[44:40] Caller 2: Tyler – "Artistic Sacrifice, The ‘Normie’ Job & Chasing a Dream"
Key Topics & Discussion Points
-
Tyler’s Dilemma: Money or Art?
- Tyler moves to LA for art and music, but after months of searching, only lands a “normie” job with demanding swing shifts (“Cum Corp”).
- “I'd be working swing shift...which essentially would kill any hopes of me going out and doing the art stuff. So I'd have to normie the fuck up, which is killing my soul.” (47:00)
-
Financial Pressures & Opportunity Cost
- The job would fix Tyler’s financial problems, but at risk of sacrificing creative pursuits.
- “My bills are paid...for the next two to three months, but there’s no income, you know.” (52:15)
-
Reflections on Place & Success
- Dick strongly questions the necessity of being in LA (or any major city) for artistic success, citing his own experience starting out in Baltimore.
- “The dream of like, I went with my guitar to Los Angeles…it's just not there anymore because everything's on the Internet, right?” (56:35)
-
Networking, Performance, and Personal Value
- Tyler feels most successful through live performance—"I kind of win people over"—and worries about losing momentum if forced into a demanding job schedule.
- Dick counters that creative relationships, even business ones, are often built online or in unexpected places—no city is a guarantee.
-
Balancing Survival and the Dream
- Dick suggests Tyler give the job a chance for a short term, then re-evaluate; stacking money to enable future flexibility.
- “So, like, go to a…you can go to any major city in the US or abroad and they’ll have a music scene of some kind. Like, it didn’t have to be Los Angeles...stack your cum, but then open your options up.” (56:35)
Notable Moments & Quotes
- “You work for a cum company.” (Dick, 55:00)
- “My music...has a really big performance artist aspect to it. And strangely I’ve gotten a lot of opportunities just from people liking me on stage...I win people over.” (Tyler, 61:59)
- “At the end of the day, it’s about the stuff you’re making.” (Dick, 59:50)
[68:30] Caller 3: Deja – "Learning Lessons Again: Boundaries, Breakups & Life on Shifting Ground"
Key Topics & Discussion Points
-
Crisis of Stability
- Deja calls while walking, sharing that she recently lost both her longtime job and may be ending a three-and-half-year relationship.
- “Suddenly it all kind of feels like I’m on the cusp of like things changing completely for me and I don’t know what direction or how it’s gonna go.” (68:40)
-
Career & Partnership Upheaval
- Restaurant closed suddenly; business as an interior designer is just starting. Relationship feels like it’s “growing apart."
- “We live together, so…it’s not like I’m in a shitty, abusive relationship…but I think we’re just, you know, the classic growing apart.” (71:23)
-
Recurring Life Lessons
- Deja identifies a recurring need to set boundaries, especially coming from a tumultuous childhood.
- “A lesson I had to learn when I was...18, 19 was, I guess, what unconditional love means to me...Learning how to like, love someone from afar if they’re not...beneficial or even neutral.” (73:11)
-
Learning Lessons—Over and Over
- “The first time you learn a lesson, it’s very in your face…and then when you learn the lesson again, it’s like a frog in boiling water and it’s a little bit trickier.” (Dick, 75:11)
- Deja speaks to having worked hard for stability, only now to feel that it's not as comfortable as she’d hoped.
-
Maintaining Optimism & Confidence
- Despite upheaval, Deja expresses faith in her resilience: “I try to view [the people in my life] more as, like, the foundations of my life rather than…where I live or what job I have.” (81:00)
- Dick affirms: “You earned that shit, you know?...Whatever confidence you have for the future…Don’t trick yourself into believing it’s foolish. It’s something you earned or else you wouldn’t have it.” (82:01)
-
Light-Hearted Close & Seinfeld Impression Request
- Deja: “I just want you to know that I think you would do a really good Jerry Seinfeld impression.” (84:03)
- The host demurs but thanks her for the confidence.
Notable Quotes
- Deja: “It boils down to boundaries...I had a difficult childhood...learning how to like, love someone from afar.” (73:03)
- Dick: “I thought when I learned a lesson…my brain and body naturally chart waters in a different way. I didn’t realize it meant I have to actually do different…I have to actively make different decisions. That fucking sucks.” (75:11)
- “Whatever confidence you have for the future…it’s something you earned or else you wouldn’t have it.” (Dick, 82:01)
Memorable Moments and Episode Tone
The episode often feels philosophical, surreal, and driven by raw honesty. Dick’s genuine, sometimes flustered attempts to deeply understand the worldview of Jaden show both struggle and compassion. Tyler’s segment becomes a riff on artistic sacrifice and economic reality—filled with humor and pathos (“stack your cum, but then open your options up”). Deja’s call grounds the final segment in practical experience, warmth, and the importance of roots and foundations. Throughout, the host maintains a nonjudgmental, curious, and playfully existential tone.
Timestamps – Important Segments
- Jaden’s word exercise and “K in front of now”: [07:45–08:11]
- Jaden’s realization about communication, autism, and kindness: [16:36, 33:10]
- Dick’s analysis of “personal puzzle vs. collective puzzle”: [23:39]
- Tyler’s LA creative struggle & job dilemma: [44:40–57:46]
- Dick’s reflections on location, success, and online opportunity: [59:50–64:15]
- Deja’s recurring boundary lesson: [73:03–75:11]
- Dick on learning life lessons the hard way: [75:11–76:07]
- Seinfeld impression request: [84:03]
Summary
This Therapy Gecko episode is a meditative journey through what it means to be misunderstood, to seek understanding, to balance ambition and survival, and to rebuild when foundations are shaken. Dick’s engagement with each caller demonstrates earnest effort to translate inner worlds into shared language—whether or not every word lands. The conversations wander, overlap, and go meta, but remain rooted in the Geckonian ethos: curiosity, acceptance, and a touch of cosmic absurdity.
