Chronically stressed? Emotionally exhausted? Depleted to the point of physical suffering, dissociation, and paranoia that things will never improve?? No, this is not an antidepressant ad but rather an episode dedicated to a woefully relatable topic, burnout, which is not just fatigue or boredom but rather what happens when our bodies fail to complete the "stress response cycle." That's according to today's brilliant and sparklingly delightful guest, Amelia Nagoksi, co-author of the bestselling book Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. With wisdom and charisma, Amelia joins host Amanda (@amanda_montell) to soothe our thought spirals about how American capitalist society is fundamentally clashing with the human spirit... and what we can do to quell burnout's negative effects. 

- Come get tickets to see Amanda on book tour in Chicago and Minneapolis! amandamontell.com/events 

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.

- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.

- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

- Sources: 

Burnout: The secret to unlocking the stress cycle

The Cure for Burnout Is Not Self-Care

Stressed at work? Anxious about the wider world? You might be part of 'The Great Exhaustion'

It’s not a contest: Bragging about your work stress may make you seem less likable and incompetent, says new study

Short-Term Head-Out Whole-Body Cold-Water Immersion Facilitates Positive Affect and Increases Interaction between Large-Scale Brain Networks

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In 1978, psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes published the first study on imposter syndrome—originally termed “imposter phenomenon”—about high-achieving women feeling like frauds at work… and it struck a major nerve. The study kicked off decades of frenzied discourse, programs, and merch aimed at curing women of this irrational feminine disease. Among the proposed treatments included professional development conferences, self-help books like The Imposter Cure, and power poses. Use of the term imposter syndrome has only increased, but I have questions. Like… why are these conversations so gendered? Does anyone NOT experience imposter syndrome? What if you don’t even feel qualified to have imposter syndrome? Is it really a diagnosable “syndrome” in the first place? And either way, how can we stop feeling this way?? Psychiatrist and author of “Real Self Care” Dr. Pooja Lakshmin (@poojalakshmin) joins host Amanda (@amanda_montell) for this week’s brain-soothing discussion.

- Come get tickets to see Amanda on book tour in Chicago and Minneapolis!! amandamontell.com/events 

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.

- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.

- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

- Sources: 

Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome

Prevalence, Predictors, and Treatment of Impostor Syndrome: a Systematic Review

All Imposters Aren't Alike

‘Being delulu,’ or delusional is the new Gen Z trend for hacking career success

A Cultural Impostor? Native American Experiences of Impostor Phenomenon in STEM

Follow Amanda: @amanda_montell

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To watch the podcast on YouTube: https://bit.ly/MagicalOverthinkersYouTube 

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening, or by using this link: https://bit.ly/MagicalOverthinkers 

If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing! You can text, DM, email, or send this link to a friend: https://bit.ly/MagicalOverthinkers 

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If we can love our children and friends separately but equally, why not our romantic partners? Such is one of the many compelling thought exercises in favor of polyamory, a relationship structure that is by no means new, but has experienced an explosive recent surge in popular media, starring everywhere from New Yorker thinkpieces to Succession plotlines to reality shows like Couple to Throuple. Interrogations of monogamy as the default, morally superior approach to love have become more mainstream than ever, though the representation is not always the most inclusive or inviting... and in a society shaped by centuries of "amatonormative" family dynamics, poetry, and romcoms, dipping a toe into the waters of polyamory can feel scary, or at least taboo. It's easy to lose yourself in thought spirals on the subject (Is polyamory more "natural" than monogamy? Why do some people make being "poly" their whole personality? Who even has time for multiple partners? Is it prude to think this way?). To help us puzzle through the confusion, philosopher and host of the Overthink podcast Dr. Ellie Anderson (@ellieanderphd) joins host Amanda (@amanda_montell) for a sparkling discussion of romance, jealousy, history, and media from a philosophical perspective.

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.

- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.

- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

- Sources: 

Polyamory educator Leanne Yau

How Did Polyamory Become So Popular?

Knitting brings calmness and structure to the lives of people with mental illness

Follow Amanda: @amanda_montell

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To watch the podcast on YouTube: https://bit.ly/MagicalOverthinkersYouTube 

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening, or by using this link: https://bit.ly/MagicalOverthinkers 

If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing! You can text, DM, email, or send this link to a friend: https://bit.ly/MagicalOverthinkers 

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Is it just us, or does American culture have narcissism fever? Between 2004 and 2016, the volume of Google searches for the word “narcissist” grew exponentially. Thanks to factors like the rise of therapyspeak, TikTok mental health diagnoses, and badly behaving reality stars-turned-world leaders, discourse about this buzzy, yet poorly understood phenomenon has exploded. Are we as a society becoming more narcissistic? Or are we now over-using and misusing this term to the point of meaninglessness? Wait, is obsessing about other people's narcissism its own kind of narcissism?? In an effort to soothe these thought spirals, host Amanda (@amanda_montell) settled in for an illuminating chat with her debut guest, psychologist Dr. Ramani Durvasula (@doctorramani), author of the New York Times bestseller "It's Not You" and one of the world's foremost narcissism experts. Tune in for a relatable, brain-tingling, and clarifying discussion about this confounding topic, complete with questions submitted by the "Magical Overthinkers Club" and bits of wisdom to help us overthinkers get out of our own heads. 

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.

- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.

- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

Sources: 

What Is Narcissism? Science Confronts a Widely Misunderstood Phenomenon

Time grows on trees: The effect of nature settings on time perception

Therapist Aisha's Instagram

Follow Amanda: @amanda_montell

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To watch the podcast on YouTube: https://bit.ly/MagicalOverthinkersYouTube 

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening, or by using this link: https://bit.ly/MagicalOverthinkers 

If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing! You can text, DM, email, or send this link to a friend: https://bit.ly/MagicalOverthinkers 

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Are you an overthinker? Prone to thought spirals? Do you wonder why, despite living in the "Information Age," life only seems to be making less sense? From extreme celebrity worshippers to people with master’s degrees basing their real-life choices on Mercury’s whereabouts, there seems to be a lot of delulu out there these days. More than ever, in fact. Enter: This relatable, thought-provoking podcast for curious overthinkers. Every other week, tune in as host Amanda Montell, author of the New York Times bestselling book The Age of Magical Overthinking and host of the Sounds Like A Cult podcast, interviews a brilliant expert guest about a buzzy, confounding, anxiety-provoking topic. Think: narcissism, nostalgia, polyamory, social media comparison, "millennial cringe." Complete with heart-on-their-sleeve personal stories, thought-provoking conversations, and actionable takeaways for how chronically online listeners can get out of their own heads, this podcast is here to make some sense of the senseless. To help quiet the cacophony in our brains for a while. Or even hear a melody in it.

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