Therapy for the Pour

Therapy for the Pour

by Felicia Howell

Personal Journals

Season 1

Episode 26: When Fear Sounds Like Anger & A Twisted Mule

🎉 Surprise! Two episodes this week! Thanks for sticking with me despite the microphone bumps in the last episode—I appreciate your patience while I continue improving the show. This week we're breaking down a story about fear, communication, and the way stress can completely change how we treat the people we love. Does anger always mean someone is angry... or is it sometimes just fear wearing a different face? Grab your favorite drink and let's unpack it together.

Episode 25: Love, Family Expectations, & a Jack n' Coke

**Apologize for the background audio noise** Can love survive when family expectations say otherwise? This week, Rico is back on Therapy for the Pour as we unpack a story about culture, tradition, single parenthood, and what happens when the person you love promises that their family's opinion won't matter... until it suddenly does. Together, we discuss why being a parent isn't just another detail in a relationship—it's a huge part of who you are. We also share our own experience navigating a relationship that began with two children already in the picture and what it was like introducing each other to family members with their own hopes, concerns, and expectations.

Episode 24: Loyalty, Honesty & A Mock Marg

Your best friend is cheating on her fiancé. She asks you to lie. Then asks you to lie again. And before long, you're carrying secrets that were never yours to keep. This week, we're unpacking a story about friendship, loyalty, accountability, and the messy gray area between "girl code" and doing what you believe is right. When a woman discovers her best friend is secretly reconnecting with an ex behind her fiancé's back, she's forced to decide whether protecting a friendship matters more than protecting the truth. But was exposing everything the right move? Or did she go too far by bringing screenshots, videos, and receipts into the conversation? We'll talk about why accountability is necessary for growth, how secrets can trap innocent people in situations they never asked to be part of, and why honesty—even when painful—is often the foundation of trust. We'll also explore the psychology behind emotional affairs, why people sometimes run toward old relationships when something is missing in their current one, and whether loyalty should ever outweigh integrity. So grab a drink and lets pour into this story

Episode 23: Entitlement Vs Gratitude, & A Piña Colada

This week on Therapy for the Pour, we're diving into a story about friendship, gratitude, entitlement, and what happens when resentment starts clouding your perspective. After falling on hard times, a woman and her family move into a friend's home. The arrangement seems generous on the surface—no rent, no formal obligations, just helping out when needed. But things quickly become complicated when tensions rise between the guest and the friend's husband. The husband is rude. Lazy. Frustrating. But does that justify making life harder for the one person carrying the entire household?

Episode 22: Paying Rent, Losing Respect & The Guest Room

This week, we're unpacking the story of an 18-year-old who spent years being the designated sacrifice whenever family came to visit. While his younger siblings kept their rooms, he was repeatedly pushed to the couch, expected to give up his space without question. When he started paying rent, his parents promised things would be different. They weren't. When that promise was broken yet again, he made a decision no one saw coming—he packed his things and moved out immediately. Was he being dramatic? Or was this years of frustration finally reaching a breaking point? Pour yourself a drink and join us as we unpack the chaos... one pour at a time.

Episode 21: Deception Vs Transparency, with a Smoke & Mirrors

Episode 21 dives into one of the fastest ways to destroy trust in a relationship: tiny lies, half truths, and intentional omission. A woman starts feeling uneasy when her boyfriend casually mentions hanging out with someone named “Sam” — only for her to later discover Sam is actually a woman… something he never corrected even after she repeatedly referred to Sam as a man. From vague communication to deleted messages and disappearing social media, this story quickly spirals into a masterclass on secrecy, emotional manipulation, and disrespect disguised as innocence. So pour something up… and let’s unpack this chaos together.

Episode 20: College, Addiction, & A Second Chance Spritz

“Tonight’s episode is another heavy one. A mother is being pressured to use her late husband’s daughter’s college fund to pay for her adult stepson’s rehab after years of addiction, theft, failed treatment attempts, and emotional devastation. But when her husband goes directly to her teenage daughter and calls her selfish for staying silent about giving up $30,000… things cross a line that may never be repairable. This episode dives deep into addiction, enabling, parental desperation, emotional guilt, broken trust, and the devastating psychological damage that happens when a child is forced into adult responsibility. We talk about the difference between compassion and accountability, the trauma caused by repeated betrayal, and why protecting your child’s future does NOT make you selfish. Because sometimes the hardest part of love… is realizing helping someone should never come at the expense of destroying everyone else around them. Grab your drink — or mocktail — and let’s unpack this chaos together.

Episode 19: Paranoia, Partnership & A Dark N' Stormy

After a long break, Therapy for the Pour is finally back — and this episode dives into one of the heaviest stories we’ve talked about yet. A woman writes in devastated because the man she’s loved for over a decade has slowly become convinced that the world is conspiring against him. Coworkers, strangers, even his own wife — everyone feels suspicious to him now, and their marriage is beginning to crack under the weight of paranoia, fear, and emotional exhaustion. This episode unpacks: -paranoia and distorted reality -the psychology of hypervigilance -what happens when mental health starts impacting relationships Grab a drink, as we are back to unpacking other people's chaos one story at a time

Episode 18: A Baby Name & A Glass of Wine

This week on Therapy for the Pour, we’re getting into a conversation that seems simple on the surface… but carries a lot more weight than you’d expect. A couple expecting their first child together finds themselves in a disagreement over the baby’s last name. She wants all of her children to share the same last name for unity. He’s not comfortable with this. And just like that, a conversation about names turns into something much deeper. Because sometimes… it’s not about the name. It’s about what the name means. Short, honest, and a little uncomfortable—just how we like it. Pour something light for this one… and let’s get into it.

Episode 17: Destroyed Boundaries, Betrayal, & A Long Island Iced Tea

This episode is all about boundaries—what happens when they’re ignored, crossed, or completely shattered. In the first story, a man spends years restoring his dream car… only to walk outside and find his brother-in-law casually giving it away like it’s his to offer. Yes. Actually. Then we shift into a story that’s way more uncomfortable in a completely different way—when a lifelong sibling relationship takes a turn that crosses a line you can’t come back from. Plus… with Rico in the mix, you’re getting both sides of the conversation—real reactions, real opinions, and no sugarcoating. So pour something strong (trust us, you’ll need it)… and let’s get into it.

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