Overthinking It with Ioanna

In this episode, we’re tackling a question many of us wrestle with as adults: how do you make real, lasting friendships when life isn’t structured around school or shared routines anymore? We dive into why adult friendships feel so hard, how our old ideas of friendship can hold us back, and the psychology behind how meaningful connections actually form. From the importance of showing up and initia...

“Trust your gut” sounds like good advice — until your gut is driven by anxiety. In this episode, we unpack one of the most misunderstood ideas in self-help: the difference between anxiety and intuition. Because if you live with anxiety, OCD tendencies, or a history of trauma, what feels like a “gut feeling” is often a fear response in disguise. We talk about why anxiety feels so convincing, how it...

Your personality isn’t random. And it isn’t a life sentence either. In this episode, we break down what personality actually is — from Type A and Myers-Briggs to the Dark Triad and the Big Five. We’ll talk about where personality comes from, how genetics and attachment shape it, and why certain traits increase vulnerability to stress, anxiety, or burnout. Most importantly, we explore how self-awar...

Most of us don’t have a time problem with our phones. We have a relationship problem. In this episode of Overthinking It , we explore what it really means to build a healthier relationship with your phone — not through shame, detoxes, or unrealistic rules, but through awareness. We talk about emotional attachment to social media, why scrolling often becomes our default coping mechanism, and how co...

In this episode of Overthinking It , we explore why transitions can feel so emotionally overwhelming, even when we know we made the right choice. We unpack the psychology behind change, including how our beliefs intensify discomfort, why uncertainty often masquerades as failure, and how both Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and Stoic philosophy help us make sense of the emotional chaos that comes...

Discipline has a branding problem. Somewhere along the way, it became moralised — like some people are just born disciplined, organised, and motivated, while everyone else is lazy or lacking willpower. And in this episode, I’m calling that out for what it is: bullshit. Discipline isn’t a personality trait. It’s not something you either have or you don’t. It’s something you build — and more importa...

Self-doubt doesn’t mean you’re lost, behind, or failing at life — even though it can feel that way. In this episode, we talk about why self-doubt often shows up when you’re growing, making changes, or exposed to too many outside opinions (hello, social media). This is a gentle reminder that questioning yourself doesn’t cancel out your self-knowledge — it usually means you care. We unpack compariso...

Healthy love doesn’t always feel like fireworks, chaos, or obsession — and that can be confusing when we’ve been conditioned to equate intensity with connection. In this episode, we talk about why we’re often drawn to emotionally unavailable people, mixed signals, and situationships… and why calm, consistent love can feel boring, uncomfortable, or even wrong at first. This is a gentle conversation...

In the first episode of Overthinking It , we’re breaking down what overthinking actually is, why it makes so much sense, and why “just stop thinking” is the most useless advice you’ve ever heard. We dive into the brain science behind overthinking, why your nervous system gets stuck in survival mode, and how that spiral convinces you it’s being helpful when it’s really just keeping you stuck. Overt...