Brianna Approved

In episode 92 of the podcast, I sit down with author and educator Dr. Najwa Zebian to talk about emotional depth, letting go, and her newest book, The One Who Broke You Can’t Heal You.

We get into being a “hopium addict,” confusing someone’s potential with who they actually are, and what happens when being understanding turns into endlessly accommodating.

If you’ve ever thought, “I understand why you’re like this, but why am I the one paying for it?”....this conversation is for you.

In this episode:

• Recognizing someone’s emotional capacity before you’re attached.
• What to look for in a partner when you love deeply.
• Why their potential can be harder to release than the actual person.
• The different bonds that keep you stuck in a relationship.
• Moving forward without their apology, explanation, or closure.

Get Najwa’s book: The One Who Broke You Can’t Heal You

Listen to her podcast: ⁠Beyond Words with Najwa Zebian⁠

Follow her on IG

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Ready to make real changes, not just think about them?If you want support turning insight into action and breaking patterns that keep repeating, you can explore working together ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Coaching is designed to help you build systems, track evidence, and rewire patterns in a way that actually sticks.

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Be sure to follow my Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠@briannadiorio⁠⁠⁠⁠ for all the Brianna Approved educational content! Check out my ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon Storefront ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for all of my favorite Brianna Approved things!

You can visit my website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.briannadiorio.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.

Production Manager and Graphics ⁠⁠⁠⁠@kylediorio⁠

In Episode 91, we're diving into Why Maximizers Stay Stuck, Satisficers Move Forward, and the Freedom of Choosing.

In this episode, we cover:

• The psychology of maximizers vs. satisficers and why some people stay stuck while others move forward.
• Why more options don't always lead to better outcomes...and can actually increase anxiety.
• The difference between settling and making intentional trade-offs.
• How the Four Burners Theory can help you prioritize what truly matters.
• Why certainty is a myth and confidence comes from commitment, not perfect information.
• Practical tools and journal prompts to help you make decisions with greater clarity and less regret.

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Ready to make real changes, not just think about them?If you want support turning insight into action and breaking patterns that keep repeating, you can explore working together ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠! Coaching is designed to help you build systems, track evidence, and rewire patterns in a way that actually sticks.

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Be sure to follow my Instagram ⁠⁠⁠@briannadiorio⁠⁠⁠ for all the Brianna Approved educational content! Check out my ⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon Storefront ⁠⁠⁠⁠for all of my favorite Brianna Approved things!

You can visit my website ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.briannadiorio.com⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.

Production Manager and Graphics ⁠⁠⁠@kylediorio

If you’ve ever felt stuck, indecisive, or like you’re waiting for clarity before making a big life decision, this episode is for you!

In this episode, we will cover:

• Why you feel stuck: your brain prioritizes certainty over happiness
• Predictive processing: your brain runs mostly on internal predictions—not reality
• Why you choose what’s familiar (even when it’s wrong for you)
• How loss aversion + dopamine keep you looping and overthinking

Nerd Alert: Predictive Brain Mode

Practice What You Podcast:

• Manually close the loop: Replace catastrophic thoughts with grounded uncertainty
• Uncertainty Exposure Training: Small, controlled risks to retrain your brain
• Name the pattern: Identify where you’re choosing familiar over aligned

• The 70% Rule: If it’s 70% aligned, take action
• Track evidence: Build proof that uncertainty doesn’t equal danger
• Flip loss aversion: Ask “What is it costing me to stay the same?”
  

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Ready to make real changes, not just think about them?If you want support turning insight into action and breaking patterns that keep repeating, you can explore working together ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠! Coaching is designed to help you build systems, track evidence, and rewire patterns in a way that actually sticks.

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Be sure to follow my Instagram ⁠⁠@briannadiorio⁠⁠ for all the Brianna Approved educational content! Check out my ⁠⁠⁠Amazon Storefront ⁠⁠⁠for all of my favorite Brianna Approved things!

You can visit my website ⁠⁠⁠www.briannadiorio.com⁠⁠ to learn more.

Production Manager and Graphics ⁠⁠@kylediorio

In episode 89 of the podcast, we discuss why grief isn’t just emotional….it’s neurological.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why grief can feel physically painful and what’s happening in the brain when we experience loss in any form (Nerd Alert Segment)

• Why grief tends to come in waves rather than a predictable timeline

• Why the traditional stages of grief are often misunderstood

• 4 types of unexpected grief that many people experience

• How grief can show up as anxiety, numbness, rumination, or emotional flooding

Practice What You Podcast

At the end of the episode, during the Practice What You Podcast section, we shift into practical application and explore how the nervous system processes grief and what actually helps when it hits hardest.

You’ll learn:

• What actually helps in the moment when grief suddenly intensifies

• Tools to regulate the nervous system during waves of sadness or overwhelm

• How to coexist with grief (and even befriend it) instead of trying to outrun it or letting it take over

• How to track progress in grief beyond simply “feeling better”

• Practical tools that help alongside time…not just “give it time” advice.

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  Ready to make real changes, not just think about them?If you want support turning insight into action and breaking patterns that keep repeating, you can explore working together ⁠⁠here⁠⁠! Coaching is designed to help you build systems, track evidence, and rewire patterns in a way that actually sticks.

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  Be sure to follow my Instagram ⁠@briannadiorio⁠ for all the Brianna Approved educational content! Check out my ⁠⁠Amazon Storefront ⁠⁠for all of my favorite Brianna Approved things!

  You can visit my website ⁠⁠www.briannadiorio.com⁠ to learn more.

  Production Manager and Graphics ⁠@kylediorio

In Episode 88, we’re talking about how to stop letting feelings hijack your choices, and how to start using evidence — not impulse — as your compass.

In this episode, we break down:

• Why emotional intensity is not the same thing as truth
• Nerd Alert: The brain systems behind emotions vs feelings
• The difference between emotions, feelings, and evidence (and why it matters)
• How two people can experience the same event and walk away with opposite conclusions
• Practice What You Podcast: A simple, evidence-based framework to stop repeating the same patterns

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Ready to make real changes, not just think about them?If you want support turning insight into action and breaking patterns that keep repeating, you can explore working together ⁠here⁠! Coaching is designed to help you build systems, track evidence, and rewire patterns in a way that actually sticks.

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Be sure to follow my Instagram @briannadiorio for all the Brianna Approved educational content! Check out my ⁠Amazon Storefront ⁠for all of my favorite Brianna Approved things!

You can visit my website ⁠www.briannadiorio.com to learn more.

Production Manager and Graphics @kylediorio

In episode 87, we are going over all things habits! Bad habits aren’t a willpower issue — they’re a brain wiring issue. In this episode, we break down why your brain automates patterns that don’t serve you, why trying harder doesn’t work, and how to actually rewire habits using neuroscience (not motivation).

In this episode, we cover:

• Why your brain runs so much of your day on autopilot

• Where habits actually live in the brain (and why logic can’t stop them)

• The 4-step habit loop: cue → craving → response → reward (via James Clears Atomic Habits)

• Why you don’t crave the habit — you crave the state change

• How stress makes bad habits stronger

• How to break habits by changing cues, friction, and rewards

• Why identity beats motivation when it comes to lasting change

If you’re stuck in a start-stop cycle, this episode will help you stop blaming yourself and start working with your brain instead of against it.

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Ready to make real changes, not just think about them?
If you want support turning insight into action and breaking patterns that keep repeating, you can explore working together here! Coaching is designed to help you build systems, track evidence, and rewire patterns in a way that actually sticks.

___

Check out my ⁠⁠Amazon Storefront ⁠⁠for all of my favorite Brianna Approved things!

You can visit my website ⁠⁠www.briannadiorio.com⁠ to learn more.

Production Manager and Graphics ⁠@kylediorio⁠

In this episode, we break down the real neuroscience behind anxiety, avoidance, procrastination, and the Sunday Scaries — and give you practical tools to interrupt the patterns your brain keeps running on autopilot. You’ll finally understand what your brain is doing, why it’s doing it, and how to retrain it.

By the end of this episode, you’ll walk away knowing:

• Why your brain predicts the worst
• How dopamine actually drives avoidance
• Why Sundays hit so hard
• How the threat circuit, DMN, and executive network shape procrastination
• Why your brain is doing this and how to use these tools to retrain it.

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Work With Me

If you want to go deeper into this work — the patterns, the tools, the rewiring — and you want support and accountability tailored to your brain, you can work with me 1:1. This is where we take the science and apply it directly to your life so you can create real, lasting change.

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Be sure to follow my Instagram @briannadiorio for all the Brianna Approved educational content! Check out my ⁠Amazon Storefront ⁠for all of my favorite Brianna Approved things!

You can visit my website ⁠www.briannadiorio.com to learn more.

Production Manager and Graphics @kylediorio

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We talk about dating breakups all the time — but almost no one talks about the heartbreak of losing a friend. In this episode, we unpacks the hidden grief of friendship endings, the roles we unconsciously play, and how to know when a friendship has simply expired.

You’ll learn:
• Why friendship breakups can feel more painful than romantic ones
• The hidden “roles” we play — fixer, caretaker, hype-friend, etc.
• How to move from legacy friendships to aligned connections
• How to heal without becoming guarded or cold
• Practical ways to make new, aligned friendships as an adult

Join the live workshop — “From Self-Doubt to Self-Trust” on Oct 29:Learn how to rebuild self-trust, set clean boundaries, and make aligned decisions.
→ Register here!

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Be sure to follow my Instagram ⁠@briannadiorio⁠ for all the Brianna Approved educational content!

You can visit my website ⁠⁠www.briannadiorio.com⁠ to learn more.

Production Manager and Graphics ⁠@kylediorio⁠

Have you ever known something was bad for you—a relationship, a job, a habit—but kept going back anyway? In this episode, we unpack the hidden psychology and brain science that keep you stuck in cycles you know aren’t serving you. By the end, you’ll not only understand why you cling to what hurts—you’ll leave with practical tools to start loosening that grip.

In this episode, we explore:

• The Psychology of Holding On

  • Sunk Cost Fallacy — why leaving feels like failure instead of freedom

  • Cognitive Dissonance — the mind’s tricks to justify staying stuck

  • Region Beta Paradox — why “not bad enough” situations keep you trapped

  • Intermittent Reinforcement — the most addictive reward schedule in the brain

• Nerd Alert- The Neuroscience of Addiction to Pain

  • Dopamine, prediction error, and why unpredictability feels so intoxicating

  • Brain regions like the ACC, VTA, and nucleus accumbens that wire you to chase what hurts

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The Inner Work Room Intensive – Enrollment Open
You don’t need more information—you need implementation. This 5-week container takes the neuroscience, psychology, and mindset tools from the podcast and puts them into practice with guided exercises and accountability.

We start October 6th, and spots are limited. If you’re ready for momentum, structure, and real tools to rewire your patterns—this is for you.

Join HERE - your future self will thank you for the work you're doing!

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Be sure to follow my Instagram @briannadiorio for all the Brianna Approved educational content!

You can visit my website ⁠www.briannadiorio.com to learn more.

Production Manager and Graphics @kylediorio

Your brain is running the show… but it’s using outdated software.

In this episode, I break down 10 cognitive biases — the mental shortcuts that once kept us safe but now quietly sabotage your choices in relationships, careers, and everyday life.

In this episode:

• 10 mental biases quietly sabotaging your choices
• The traps that keep you stuck in jobs, relationships & indecision
• Nerd Alert: How your salience network bends reality
• Tools to catch each bias in real time & rewire your thinking

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

• My Monthly Membership, ⁠⁠⁠The Inner Work Room⁠⁠⁠, is officially live! Join now to level up your mindset, life, and relationships with weekly tools, tough-love coaching, and science-backed strategies designed to help you become the best version of yourself.

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Be sure to follow my Instagram @briannadiorio for all the Brianna Approved educational content! Check out my ⁠Amazon Storefront ⁠for all of my favorite Brianna Approved things!

You can visit my website ⁠www.briannadiorio.com to learn more.

Production Manager and Graphics @kylediorio