podcast

Perfectionism doesn’t just push you — it pressures you. And that pressure fuels anxiety. When your brain believes your worth depends on your performance, mistakes feel like threats — not feedback. This week on the podcast: ✨ Why perfectionism drives anxiety ✨ How to shift into a growth mindset ✨ A simple practice to teach your brain that mistakes don’t define you Life isn’t a performance. It’s a classroom. 🎧

If anxiety feels like a loop you can’t escape, it’s not because you’re broken—it’s because habits take practice. In this episode, we examine a simple exercise: by reflecting on the “close calls” you’ve survived, you can exit the threat mindset and reconnect with a deeper sense of safety, perspective, and appreciation for being alive. Hear how this small daily practice can help loosen anxiety’s grip and remind your brain that you’ve already made it through far more than you realize.

Many people with anxiety unknowingly miss one of the most powerful, research-backed tools for lowering baseline anxiety. In this episode, we explore modern neuroscience showing how natural environments restore the brain’s attention system, reduce rumination, and improve executive function. You’ll learn why urban life quietly exhausts your brain, how nature helps shift you from threat to challenge mode, and why this simple habit can lower baseline anxiety all day long. Especially important during winter—when we’re most likely to stay inside.

Big projects can trigger anxiety when they feel too large to handle. In this episode, you’ll learn a simple, practical method to turn overwhelming stress into productive stress. Using a real coaching example, I walk you through how to break down big tasks, estimate time realistically, and fit demands into your actual resources — helping your brain shift from threat mode to challenge mode so you can approach what’s ahead feeling calm, clear and capable.

Big projects can trigger anxiety when they feel too large to handle. In this episode, you’ll learn a simple, practical method to turn overwhelming stress into productive stress. Using a real coaching example, I walk you through how to break down big tasks, estimate time realistically, and fit demands into your actual resources — helping your brain shift from threat mode to challenge mode so you can approach what’s ahead feeling calm, clear and capable.

You already have what it takes to meet what’s coming. In this episode, we explore why the desire for stability is natural, but also why humans are biologically and psychologically built to adapt. You’ll learn how your brain is designed to handle uncertainty, loss, and transformation — even when it doesn’t feel like it. You’ll also hear why emotions exist (and why they’re different from rigid reflexes), how the brain rewires itself after injury, and why resisting change often causes more suffering than the change itself. If the future feels intimidating or change makes you anxious, this episode offers a powerful reminder: you already have the equipment you need to adapt and grow.

Many people with anxiety get stuck in a victim mindset — a way of seeing life where outside forces determine how things are. In this episode, we explore why that mindset fuels anxiety and how a shift toward feeling powerful can help you move out of threat mode. Learn how small, intentional acts done from an approach mindset can raise your baseline happiness and help you exit anxiety-driven patterns. This episode invites you to rethink power — and to recognize that you are already shaping other people’s stories, whether you realize it or not.

Most of us assume we’d feel happier and more in control if life came with more certainty — predictable outcomes, fewer surprises, and fewer unknowns. But decades of psychology research say the opposite: uncertainty can actually increase joy, meaning, and wellbeing. If the unpredictable triggers anxiety for you, this episode will help you build a healthier, more empowered relationship with the unknown — one that supports resilience, happiness, and personal growth. We’ll explore: • Why your brain thinks certainty = safety, but psychology says otherwise • How uncertainty enhances positive emotions and pleasure • How to reframe uncertainty from a “threat” into a “resource”

Can you train your brain to handle stress better? Absolutely. In this episode, we break down the science of self-efficacy — your brain’s belief about your ability to succeed under stress. This belief is one of the biggest predictors of resilience, performance, and emotional wellbeing. You’ll learn how to s

Ever feel like your work is… just blah? In today’s episode, we explore three science-backed strategies to transform even the most mundane work into something meaningful, interesting, and motivating. Drawing on research from psychologist Todd Kashdan and the science of curiosity, you’ll learn easy, doable ways to change your emotional experience at work, increase wellbeing, boost focus, and make your daily tasks feel lighter instead of suffocating. #curiosity #motivation #meaningfulwork #wellbeing #anxietytools

Can long-term love really stay exciting, vibrant, and surprising — even decades in? The answer from global wellbeing research is a clear yes. In this episode we dig into the science behind what keeps long-term relationships emotionally alive, deeply connected, and resilient over time

Do your goals ever feel so big that you end up not taking any action at all? In this episode, we break down how to turn your values into action — with three simple questions that make your goals actually doable. Learn how to stop drifting, avoid overwhelm, and start moving in the direction that matters most to you — one small, realistic step at a time. You don’t have to reach the destination to feel fulfilled — the progress itself changes your brain, boosts resilience, and reduces anxiety.

Looking for happiness in all the wrong places? This episode introduces three clear rules that expose where most of us get stuck when we try to find fulfillment. Through vivid coaching stories and examples, Adriana shows how to uncover what truly drives you and why aligning your actions with your values brings peace, meaning, and resilience — even when goals feel far away

You can’t out-think your emotions — but you can change your relationship with them. In this episode, I share a simple exercise that helps you stop fighting uncomfortable feelings and start making space for them instead. Pursuing a meaningful life doesn’t mean you’ll feel good all the time, it means learning to coexist with discomfort without letting it control you. This episode will show you how calm starts not by pushing feelings away, but by welcoming them home.

Are your emotions trying to help you — or just hijacking your day? In this episode, we break down a clear, science-backed way to know when to trust your emotions and when to let them pass like weather.

We all tell ourselves, “I’ll be happy when…” — when the job changes, when the move happens, when life finally clicks into place. But what if you didn’t have to wait? In this episode, I share a powerful exercise to build agency, reduce anxiety, and support both mental and physical health. You’ll learn how to find meaning in the middle of uncertainty, feel grounded before the outcome arrives, and start living the life you want — right now, not “someday.”

When the world feels divided, our anxiety often rises with it. Whether it’s political polarization, tense family discussions, or social media arguments, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and helpless. But division is, at its core, an emotional problem — and that means we can work with it emotionally. In this episode, we explore two powerful mindset shifts that can help you move from tension to constructive connection. You’ll learn how empathy and perspective-taking can calm anxiety and open doors for real understanding, even when others seem impossible to reach.

We’ve all had feelings we wish we could erase. The harder we try to push these emotions away, the stronger they often come back. In this episode, I share two powerful concepts that can shift the way you relate to unwanted emotions. Instead of resisting them, you’ll learn how to recognize the hidden ways your feelings are trying to protect you—and how to move forward in line with your values, even when those emotions linger.

Ever feel stuck in old patterns, wishing you could just change the way your brain reacts—but no matter what you try, it doesn’t stick? In this episode, we’ll explore how discomfort is actually the secret key that unlocks your brain’s ability to rewire itself. Instead of avoiding hard things, you’ll learn how to use them to lower anxiety and shift habits that have felt impossible to change.

Emotions are contagious, but that doesn’t mean you have to get swept up every time someone around you spirals. In this episode, we dig into the science of emotional contagion, why your nervous system syncs with others, and a practical mindset shift that lets you step back, see the bigger picture, and respond with intention.

Too many anxiety tools, not sure which to use? In this episode, I’ll teach you a simple 2-step rule to match the right tool to your stress level. You’ll learn why big anxiety doesn’t require big strategies—it requires easy, low-thinking tools—and how to build a personalized toolbox that grows more effective the more you practice.

Anxiety leaves us frozen. Anger makes us feel powerful. But when fear turns to fury, the long-term costs are high. Here’s how to spot the pattern and rewrite the story before it harms your health or your relationships.

When the world feels like it’s falling apart, your brain might need a new lens. Shift from threat mode to challenge mode—and watch your energy come back to life. Learn three ways to reframe your outlook, move out of threat mode, and tap into a more hopeful, energized version of yourself. Because when your future looks brighter, your present feels lighter.

Feeling stressed? What if the fastest way out was through your eyes? In this episode, I’ll teach you a quick 10-second exercise that uses your vision to flip bad stress into good stress. You’ll learn why when anxiety hits, your world shrinks -- your eyes go into tunnel vision and your mind locks into achieving awareness, obsessing over control and what you don’t have. But there’s another mode available. Awakened awareness—the mental counterpart to panoramic vision—that helps you regain perspective, spark insight, and stop anxiety from running the show. Discover how to toggle between these two modes so you can stay focused without getting stuck, and calm without losing your drive.

Anxiety tricks us into believing more thinking equals more control—but often, it just keeps us stuck. In this conversation, I talk with coach Jaime about how to reframe problems, why insights often show up when you stop overthinking, and how simple practices can help you access clarity.

When someone you love is drowning in negativity, it’s hard not to get pulled under too. In this episode, you’ll learn three practical, science-backed strategies to keep your emotional balance and be a positive influence—without burning out. Through a real-life coaching example, discover how to:

Terrified of messing up? In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on how a growth mindset helped me face the fear of failure. It’s a masterclass in quieting your inner critic, growing your resilience, and making imperfect things anyway.

Feeling irritated but don’t want to be? In this episode, I coach a client through two real-life situations and teach a simple but powerful framework: the 3 hidden questions your brain is answering that shape your emotions. Change your answers, change how you feel. A must-listen if you're tired of being hijacked by annoyance, especially with the people closest to you.

When anxiety won’t budge, it might be time to listen instead of fight. In this episode, we unpack a tool called anxiety curiosity—a method that works when nothing else does. Turns out, your anxiety might be running on outdated software.

Is people-pleasing running your life? In this episode, I walk you through a powerful coaching process I used with a client named Liz who was exhausted from trying to keep everyone happy. We unpack the roots of her people-pleasing instinct, personify it using the lens of Internal Family Systems, and tap into the Wise Self to reclaim autonomy and authentic decision-making