Why You Can’t Think Your Way Out of Overthinking with Adam Mastroianni

The One You Feed

iHeartPodcasts

Education, Self-improvement, Religion & Spirituality, Health & Fitness, Buddhism, Mental Health

4.6 • 2.5K Ratings

🗓️ 1 April 2025

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, Adam Mastroianni explains why you can’t think your way out of overthinking. He unpacks why the thoughts that feel the most important are often the ones that keep us stuck. We also explore what it means to have a “skull full of poison,” how anxiety disguises itself as insight, and why real change isn’t about breakthroughs—it’s about repetition, action, and feeding the right wolf.

Key Takeaways:

[00:06:07] Anxiety and its misconceptions
[00:08:21] Overcoming obsessive thinking patterns
[00:16:25] State of psychology as science
[00:25:04] Building blocks of psychology
[00:27:06] Emotions as control system signals
[00:30:43] Basic vs. constructed emotions
[00:40:44] Context matters in psychology
[00:44:31] Mental heater and air conditioner.
[00:47:01] Happiness set points and variance
[00:50:42] Control systems and mental states
[00:54:11] Changing set points in life

If you enjoyed this conversation with Adam Mastroianni, check out these other episodes:

The Purpose of Emotions and Why We’re Not Wired for Happiness with Anders Hansen

How to Find Peace and Balance in Managing Anxiety with Sarah Wilson

For full show notes, click here!

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Transcript

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0:00.0	I wasn't worried about things I shouldn't be worried about.
0:02.5	I was thinking very hard about important things.
0:05.1	And then I realized, like, oh, maybe that's why anxiety is anxiety.
0:08.9	Like, if you felt like you were worrying about something that you shouldn't worry about,
0:12.8	it would be much easier to stop doing it.
0:14.8	When instead, it feels like you are spending your time wisely considering all the things
0:20.0	that might be wrong or go wrong, that's why
0:22.2	it's difficult to escape.
0:31.2	Welcome to the one you feed. Throughout time, great thinkers have recognized the importance
0:36.4	of the thoughts we have.
0:38.1	Quotes like garbage in, garbage out, or you are what you think, ring true.
0:43.6	And yet, for many of us, our thoughts don't strengthen or empower us.
0:47.9	We tend toward negativity, self-pity, jealousy, or fear.
0:52.4	We see what we don't have instead of what we do. We think things that
0:56.3	hold us back and dampen our spirit. But it's not just about thinking. Our actions matter. It
1:02.6	takes conscious, consistent, and creative effort to make a life worth living. This podcast is about
1:08.4	how other people keep themselves moving in the right direction, how they feed their good wolf.
1:16.3	Do you ever feel like your brain is running some kind of cruel experiment on you?
1:21.4	Today's guest, psychologist Adam Mastriani, calls it having a skull full of poison.
1:27.1	And let's be honest, we've all been there.
1:29.7	The thoughts that won't quit. The anxiety that doesn't seem like anxiety because this time
1:35.4	it's really important. The endless loop of trying to think your way out of a problem caused
	...

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