Therapy Gecko Podcast – “I’M HOOKING UP WITH MY CO-WORKER”

Date: September 7, 2025
Host: Lyle (Therapy Gecko)
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts

Episode Overview

This episode of Therapy Gecko centers on candid caller interactions about relationships, loneliness, struggle, and the meaning of life. The host, Lyle, continues his distinctive blend of humorous, offbeat, and empathetic advice as a “lizard psychologist,” inviting callers to share deeply personal stories and existential musings. The main theme oscillates between practical relationship questions, the search for community, and exploring acceptance of life’s mundane and profound moments.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Caller Jimmy: Workplace Romance and Newfound Confidence

• Background: Jimmy, 32, originally from West Philly, recently moved to Colorado and is enjoying a “more gooder” life, appreciating nature and starting therapy and medication.
• Conflict: He’s engaging in a secret relationship with a co-worker at his kitchen job, which makes work both exciting and complicated.
• Main Issues Discussed:
  • The risks and complications of workplace romance when planning to leave a job soon (07:07)
  • Elevated confidence stemming from mental health improvements (“That’s like… reached, it’s culminating in this, like, hyper confidence.” [04:43])
  • Navigating boundaries and expectations; concern about what his co-worker wants from the relationship
• Advice from Lyle:
  • If you’re already planning your exit and don’t see a long-term future at the job, the stakes are lower for pursuing a workplace romance.
  • Consider the emotional dynamics, but don’t overcomplicate if both parties are enjoying themselves and expectations are clear.
• Memorable Moment:

  “Then have sex with your co worker. Who gives a shit?” — Lyle (07:07)

2. Caller Buford: Loneliness, Abandonment, and Building a New Life

• Background: Buford, 25, dealing with loss of friends and a recent breakup; prepping for a pivotal test which will impact his career.
• Main Issues:
  • Struggling with loneliness after sequential losses of friends and a significant relationship (14:42)
  • Finding it hard to focus on future goals due to emotional weight; questioning why relationships keep ending (16:30)
  • Negative self-image feeds social withdrawal, fear of abandonment, and difficulties initiating new connections (36:17)
• Lyle’s Response & Strategy:
  • On Being Alone: Lyle pushes back against the “just be comfortable being alone” trope, calling it “ridiculous” because “we are biologically wired to not be okay with being alone.” (19:34)
  • Practical Community-Building: Advocates for regularly attending group activities—smash tournaments, writing groups—as a low-pressure way to build community.
  • Self-Image: The way you see yourself may not match how others see you, but building a positive self-view is crucial for putting yourself out there.
• Memorable Quote:

  “You want to find this community, and then you don’t want to just be like a background character in it. You want to find a way to add value to it.” — Lyle (45:14)

3. Caller Jess: Finding Meaning in Mundanity and Longing for Marriage

• Background: Jess, 26, a self-described “stay-at-home girlfriend” in Southern California, in a relationship of 8 years.
• Themes Discussed:
  • The tension between existential searching and finding meaning in small, everyday beauties of life (49:19)
  • Acceptance that “maybe all of this means nothing,” but choosing to find beauty in that notion (53:40)
  • Desire to move from long-term relationship to marriage for emotional/intangible reasons—yearns for “a big wedding” (58:09)
• Lyle’s Philosophical Reflection:
  • Sometimes there’s power in the mundane: “Sometimes it’s okay to just go to the bank if you gotta go to the bank.” (53:58)
  • Epiphanies are personal; nobody else’s take can replace your own realization.
• Memorable Exchange:

  Jess: “Isn’t there power in the mundane? Isn’t there something nice?”
  Lyle: “Yeah, you can find beauty in everything… Sometimes it’s just the day.” (53:58)

4. Caller Stanley: Recovery from Quadriplegia, Loss, and Perspective

• Background: Stanley suffered a neck injury a year and a half ago, became a quadriplegic, and experienced abandonment by friends and family.
• Main Topics:
  • The challenge of sudden disability, loss of social contacts, and the intense loneliness of recovery (65:39)
  • Gratitude for rehabilitation professionals (“PTs and OTs... are true, true angels” [70:36])
  • Progress in recovery and cultivating a positive mindset (“Just try to move without thinking that I’m injured” [71:56])
  • Realism about future relationships but open to possibility; acknowledges the double-edged sword of being single or coupled when facing trauma (78:14)
• Message to Listeners:
  • Encourages others facing hardship to “just take a day at a time and, you know, it will get better. It really will get better.” (87:59)
• Community and Coping Mechanisms:
  • Suggestions from Lyle: explore online communities, such as Discord or Reddit, as an accessible source of social interaction and support.
• Memorable Quote:

  “The optimism and frustration that I feel is like a little ball that drives the car of my existence forward.” — Lyle (80:00)

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

| Quote | Speaker | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------|-----------| | “Then have sex with your co worker. Who gives a shit?” | Lyle | 07:07 | | “We are biologically wired to not be okay with being alone. It sucks to pretend that it doesn’t.” | Lyle | 19:34 | | “You want to find this community, and then you... want to find a way to add value to it.” | Lyle | 45:14 | | “Isn’t there power in the mundane?... Can you find beauty in the little things in life?” | Jess | 53:40 | | “Epiphanies are personal; nobody else’s take can replace your own realization.” | Lyle | 61:02 | | “PTs and OTs… are true angels... for them to have so much patience and also to just have such a great attitude.”| Stanley | 70:36 | | “It will get better. It really will get better.” | Stanley | 87:59 | | “The optimism and frustration that I feel is like a little ball that drives the car of my existence forward.” | Lyle | 80:00 |

Important Segments (Timestamps)

• Jimmy: Workplace Relationships & Therapy – 02:43–11:51
• Buford: Loneliness, Self-Image, & Community – 12:01–45:59
• Jess: Mundanity, Purpose, and Marital Longing – 47:40–65:01
• Stanley: Disability, Recovery, and Hope – 65:02–88:24

Episode Tone

Maintaining Therapy Gecko’s signature style, the episode effortlessly blends irreverent humor, existential musings, and disarmingly sincere advice. Lyle encourages vulnerability, blends stoic philosophy with real-world practicality, and is unafraid to point out the absurdity of common wisdom—while validating the struggles and hopes of his callers.

Summary

This episode of Therapy Gecko is a heartfelt mosaic of contemporary young adulthood: new starts, workplace drama, the ache of loneliness, the winding path to self-acceptance, and the search for meaning and community in a fragmented world. Lyle’s advice, colored by his own experiences and uncertainties, guides callers toward self-empowerment, honest reflection, and incremental steps forward—even when their questions have no clear answers.

For listeners, whether you seek laughs, real talk, or solidarity with fellow searchers, this episode delivers.