{"podcast":{"title":"Breaking Cycles with Maria","slug":"breaking-up-with-toxicity-6618238","podcast_index_feed_id":6618238,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/breaking-up-with-toxicity/","website_url":"https://breaking-up-with-toxicity.captivate.fm","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/3512fb13-808d-4756-9a00-8262d9c3f321/0F96017D-754B-41B8-A7DA-8CFAACE1CD0A-1-1-4.png","author":"Maria Shkreli","episode_count":32,"summary":"Breaking Cycles with Maria is an honest and relatable podcast about relationships, emotional patterns, self-awareness, anxiety, attachment, dysfunctional dynamics, and the things we normalize without even realizing it. Hosted by Maria Shkreli, LMHC, author of Breaking Cycles and Breaking Up with Toxicity, the podcast explores the messy, complicated, and very human side of life — from unhealthy relationship patterns and family dynamics to workplace stress, life transitions, emotional reactions, and the cycles that quietly shape us. Some episodes are educational. Some are conversational. Some may challenge the way you see yourself, your relationships, or the people around you. Because the truth is… we all have patterns. Some help us grow. Some quietly keep us stuck. Through real conversations, psychological insight, personal reflection, and a little bit of spice, Maria helps listeners better understand the patterns they repeat, the emotional experiences they normalize, and how to navigate life with greater awareness, clarity, and emotional health. No perfection. No pretending. Just real conversations about life, relationships, and breaking unhealthy cycles.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-20T12:21:00.254614+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/breaking-up-with-toxicity-6618238"},"episode":{"title":"EP 30: Maria & Madge: The Fixer’s Trap — When Control Becomes Comfort","slug":"ep-30-maria-madge-the-fixer-s-trap-when-control-becomes-comfort","published_at":"2026-06-11T13:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/breaking-up-with-toxicity-6618238/ep-30-maria-madge-the-fixer-s-trap-when-control-becomes-comfort","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/breaking-up-with-toxicity-6618238","url":"https://breaking-up-with-toxicity.captivate.fm","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/40b09780-9271-4c12-9bd3-e4c940756bdd.mp3","summary":"In this episode of Breaking Cycles with Maria, Maria and Madge explore a question many people quietly struggle with: Why do some of us feel responsible for fixing everything—and everyone? What begins as a conversation about problem-solving quickly reveals something deeper: the connection between anxiety, control, perfectionism, and the need to keep everything \"just right\" in order to feel okay. Maria challenges Madge to examine how fixing, organizing, cleaning, and managing situations can become ways of soothing internal discomfort. Together, they discuss anxiety, OCD tendencies, self-imposed rules, retirement, loneliness, and the difficulty of sitting with discomfort instead of immediately trying to make it disappear. The conversation also takes a personal turn as they explore friendship, aging, health challenges, independence, and what it means to stop fixing everyone else and start focusing on yourself. If you've ever thought: \"I'll feel better when this is done.\" \"I have to take care of everything.\" \"No one will do it right unless I do it.\" \"I can't relax until everything is in order.\" This episode is for you. Because sometimes the thing we're trying to control isn't our environment—it's our anxiety. And sometimes the hardest thing to fix is ourselves.","meta_description":"In this episode of Breaking Cycles with Maria, Maria and Madge explore a question many people quietly struggle with: Why do some of us feel responsible fo…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2663,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/breaking-up-with-toxicity-6618238/episodes/ep-30-maria-madge-the-fixer-s-trap-when-control-becomes-comfort/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/breaking-up-with-toxicity-6618238/ep-30-maria-madge-the-fixer-s-trap-when-control-becomes-comfort.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}