What if trying to manage your life more efficiently is actually the problem?

This week, Leela and Pri dive into optimization OCD, the subtype that hides in plain sight because it looks, from the outside, like just being very organized. The relentless need to do everything perfectly and efficiently, the hours lost researching the "best" way to complete an ordinary task, the paralysis when a system breaks down. If productivity has ever felt less like a tool and more like a trap, this one's for you.

Plus: a brief check-in on July resolutions. Because why should January get all the credit?

And we're completely obsessed with the Ghanaian spiritualist who publicly cursed Harry Kane before England's 2026 World Cup clash with Ghana. Did it work? Is Harry Kane going to be ok? Can England win another match? And what about the other Harrys — Styles, Prince, and more?

And to close: beneath the Royal Mile, there are tunnels. Centuries ago, a bagpiper was sent into the darkness playing his bagpipes so those above ground could follow where they led. Somewhere under the city, the music stopped.

Pour your tea, optimize nothing, and listen carefully for music in the walls. ☕

OCD

Optimization OCD (The Anxiety Resource Center)

Horror TV Recos

Widows Bay (Apple TV)

The Boroughs (Netflix)

I Will Find You (Netflix)

OCD Resources

IOCDF

Psychology Today

Looking for another cozy listen?

🎧 Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.

Contact Us

📱 IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

📧 EMAIL: drinkingteamwithmosters@gmail.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you know how to advocate for yourself as a patient? Most of us were never taught.

This week, Leela and Pri get into one of the most underrated skills in managing your mental and physical health: knowing how to advocate for yourself in a medical setting. How do you get doctors to actually listen? What do you say when you feel dismissed? How do you walk into an appointment knowing what you need and leave with more than a shrug? A practical, honest conversation with a mental health angle.

But first: libraries. Leela and Pri make the case for why libraries might be the most underrated, most quietly radical institutions we have, and why everyone should be using them more.

Then: Office Romance, the new Brett Goldstein and JLo film, gets the full review treatment. Does it deliver? (We have feelings.)

And to close: the haunting story of Windy Gates in Martha's Vineyard, a place where the wind apparently isn't the only thing that doesn't want to let you go.

So pour your tea, check out a book, and maybe call your doctor. ☕

OCD Resources

IOCDF

Psychology Today

Looking for another cozy listen?

🎧 Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.

Contact Us

📱 IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

📧 EMAIL: drinkingteamwithmosters@gmail.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is accepting OCD the answer? It might be the bravest thing you can do!

This week, Leela and Pri get into acceptance. What does it actually mean to accept living with OCD and other mental health conditions? Why is acceptance so often given a negative spin and classified as giving up or "just dealing with it,"? We deep dive into whether genuine acceptance can actually be one of the most powerful tools in the entire recovery toolkit.

But first: tarot! Is it spiritual practice, superstition, or something that edges too close to OCD territory? Leela and Pri pull back the curtain on what draws people to tarot, what it can offer, and where the line gets blurry.

And to close: a haunting trip to the Croatian coast and Draga di Lovrana, a clifftop hotel above the Bay of Kvarner with a curse baked into its foundation. Built in 1908, burned down in an alleged insurance scheme in 1923, and seemingly cursed ever since, owners who bought the ruins kept dying of sudden illness, one after another, as if the house itself were choosing who got to stay. Some locals say there's an even older, darker history beneath it. We'll let you decide.

So, pour your tea, pull your cards, and accept the fate of spending the next hour catching up with us, and of course the monsters!It’s not me, it’s the OCD

We're Totally Obsessed with

The Sheep Detectives

The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic

Dark whimsical tarot deck

Rider Waite tarot deck

Coraline

Devon and Blakely

Beware (Winnie the Pooh)

OCD

IOCDF

OCD Resources

IOCDF

Psychology Today

Looking for another cozy listen?

🎧 Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.

Contact Us

📱 IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

📧 EMAIL: drinkingteamwithmosters@gmail.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.