The Science of Using Imagination to Change How You Think and Feel | Cassandra VietenThe Science of Using Imagination to Change How You Think and Feel | Cassandra Vieten
The One You Feed
Eric Zimmer and Cassandra Vieten talk about how imagination shapes thoughts, feelings, and behaviour, especially around addiction and recovery. They share practical ways to use inner storytelling and visualisation to build more helpful patterns and a hopeful future.
1:01:30•11 Aug 2026
How Imagination Can Rewrite Your Recovery Story
Episode Overview
- Imagination is active all day long and can either support or undermine recovery, depending on whether it’s used adaptively or maladaptively.
- Changing the story you tell about your past and future can alter your emotions, behaviour, and even brain activity.
- “Playing the tape all the way through” is an imaginative exercise that helps highlight the true consequences of taking a drink.
- Visualising a future self with the qualities you want can guide current decisions and provide a supportive inner ally.
- Simple daily practices—like imagining how you want to show up in your day—can make sobriety feel more possible and grounded.
“You can change the story you're telling yourself about your past, and it really changes a lot about how you think, how you feel, how you show up in the world.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? In this conversation on The One You Feed, psychologist and researcher Cassandra Vieten sits down with host Eric Zimmer to talk about how imagination can reshape thoughts, feelings, and recovery. Cassandra explains that imagination isn’t just about dragons and daydreams; it’s running in the background all day long. From replaying arguments to worrying about the future, she shows how these inner stories can either support sobriety and wellbeing or sabotage them.
As she puts it, "You can change the story you're telling yourself about your past, and it really changes a lot about how you think, how you feel, how you show up in the world." Both Eric and Cassandra share that they’re in recovery, using that lens to talk about “adaptive” versus “maladaptive” imagination. Cassandra gives a powerful example: for years she imagined that admitting her drinking problem would ruin her career.
In reality, when she finally asked for help, her colleagues backed her fully and cleared time for her to get treatment. Her earlier fears were pure imagination, but they kept her stuck.
You’ll hear practical tools that are easy to tie into a recovery routine: briefly imagining your day ahead and focusing on how you want to show up; “playing the tape all the way through” when tempted to drink; visualising a future self who has the qualities you’re aiming for; and even asking, “If today was a weather pattern, what would it be?” as a way to open up honest conversations with teens and loved ones.
For anyone dealing with addiction, anxiety, or self-sabotaging thought loops, this episode offers a fresh angle: instead of fighting your imagination, learn to train it. If your brain is telling stories anyway, why not start feeding the wolf that helps you stay sober and hopeful?
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