[0:00] Disclaimer VOICEOVER (Disclaimer): Welcome to Let’s Talk Wellness Now, where we bring expert insights to you. Please note that the views and information shared by our guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Let’s Talk Wellness Now, its management, or our partners. Each affiliate, sponsor, and partner is an independent entity with its own perspectives. Today’s content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered specific advice, whether financial, medical, or legal. While we strive to present accurate and useful information, we cannot guarantee its completeness or relevance to your unique circumstances. We encourage you to consult a qualified professional to address your individual needs. Your use of information from this broadcast is entirely at your own risk. By continuing to listen, you agree to indemnify and hold Let’s Talk Wellness Now and its associates harmless from any claims or damages arising from the use of this content. We may update this disclaimer at any time, and changes will take effect immediately upon posting or broadcast. Thank you for tuning in. We hope you find this episode both insightful and thought-provoking. Listener discretion is advised. [1:22] When my body stopped listening DEB: A few weeks ago, my body stopped listening to me. Just for a few hours, my legs wouldn’t move the way I told them to. After some rest, it passed, but it was a wake-up call, and it sent me straight back to the science I’ve taught for 25 years: what stress and trauma actually do to the human body — and, more importantly, what we can do about it. That’s today’s episode. Not a confession — a toolkit. I’m going to show you exactly what happens in your nervous system and your immune system when life piles on, and then I’m going to give you real, evidence-based ways to support yourself through it. [2:03] Serenity Health Care Center AD: Tired of being told your labs are normal, but you still feel terrible? At Serenity Health Care Center, we don’t chase symptoms. We find the root cause. Hormones, gut health, autoimmune conditions, chronic fatigue, brain fog. We use cutting-edge functional and regenerative medicine to get you real answers and a real path forward. This isn’t your average doctor’s office. This is medicine the way it was meant to be practiced. You deserve to feel like yourself again. Visit serenityhealthcarecenter.com to book your appointment today. [2:37] Welcome to Let’s Talk Wellness Now DEB: Welcome back to Let’s Talk Wellness Now, the show where we uncover the root causes of chronic illness, explore cutting-edge regenerative medicine, and empower you with the tools to heal. I’m Dr. Deb. If you’ve ever felt like your body was sending you a message you didn’t have time to answer, this episode is for you. We’re going to talk about the real physiology of stress and trauma, and I’m handing you a toolkit you can start using today. So grab your cup of coffee, tea, or whatever helps you unwind, settle in, and let’s get started. [3:15] Seen at Last DEB: Before we dive in: this episode touches on a theme I explore in my book, Seen at Last — what it feels like to keep showing up for everyone else while your own needs go unspoken. It’s available on Amazon, and I’m building a community around it. More on that soon, but for now, let’s dive into today’s episode. [3:37] What happened, in short DEB: I’m not going to spend this episode on the details of my month. Life has stacked up hard, all at once: business pressure, personal loss, family health crises. What matters is what happened next. My body flagged something that stress physiology has understood for decades, and I want to hand you that understanding. Here’s the short version: in the middle of an unusually hard stretch, my body — which has managed a quiet autoimmune condition for years — briefly stopped cooperating. A few hours later, I was fine, but it was loud enough to make me stop and ask, “What is actually happening inside my body, with something I thought I had healed?” When stress reaches that threshold, what can we do — ideally, before it gets that loud? That’s what this episode is going to share with you. Let’s get into the science, and then let’s talk about the tools. [4:41] The HPA axis: your body’s alarm system DEB: Stress and trauma affect the body in a variety of ways. Stress is not just a feeling. It’s a full-body, measurable physiological cascade, and understanding it is the first step to protecting yourself from it. We call this the HPA axis — your body’s alarm system. When your brain perceives a threat, your hypothalamus signals your pituitary gland, which signals your adrenal glands to release cortisol. This is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, or HPA axis for short, and it’s meant to work as a short-term burst followed by a return to baseline. [5:23] When the off switch breaks: cortisol resistance and inflammation DEB: A 2025 review in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences lays out exactly what happens when that all-clear signal doesn’t come. With prolonged activation, the feedback loop that’s supposed to shut the axis off starts to break down. Cells can become resistant to cortisol’s regulating effects, and the whole system shifts toward a pro-inflammatory state. Newer research in Molecular Psychiatry describes the same pattern from the immune side: chronic stress hormones weakening cortisol’s normal anti-inflammatory effect while raising inflammatory messengers like IL-6 and TNF-alpha. [6:09] Chronic stress and autoimmune disease DEB: So what does this mean for autoimmune conditions specifically? That 2025 review ties persistent HPA dysregulation to lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis (MS). I want to be precise here: this is well established as an association and a mechanistic pathway, documented in both human and animal research. Its exact reversibility and the full clinical picture are still active areas of study. Animal models of MS have shown measurable HPA axis and oxidative stress changes that track with disease activity. This isn’t speculation — but it’s also not a settled, one-to-one clinical prediction for any individual person. [7:03] The gut, the brain and the blood-brain barrier DEB: Now, why your gut and your brain are part of this conversation too. You’ve heard us talk for years about the gut-brain axis. Chronic HPA activation doesn’t stay contained to the adrenal glands. Functional neurology research — including work associated with Dr. [Datis] Kharrazian’s clinic — describes how sustained cortisol elevation and neuroinflammation can compromise blood-brain barrier integrity, allowing inflammatory activity to reach further into the nervous system than it otherwise would. This is an emerging, mechanism-level area of functional neurology rather than settled consensus science, and I want to be transparent about that distinction on air. [7:54] Why trauma is different from a bad week (polyvagal theory) DEB: Why is trauma different from a bad week? Acute stress is your body handling one threat and returning to baseline. Trauma — especially the kind involving betrayal, grief, or ongoing fear for someone you love — tends to keep the nervous system in a sustained state of vigilance. Here it’s worth naming polyvagal theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, which describes the autonomic nervous system moving through gradations: safety and social connection; fight-or-flight mobilization; and, at the extreme, a dorsal vagal shutdown response. And I want to be straightforward with you and our listeners: polyvagal theory is widely used in trauma-informed clinical practice, but it’s actively debated within mainstream academic neuroscience, and some of its specific claims are considered unproven or contested by critics. I find it a very useful framework for describing what patients experience, and I’ll present it that way — not as settled physiology. [9:02] The reframe: your symptoms are information DEB: So here’s the reframe I want to leave you with. Your symptoms after a hard season are not you personally failing. They’re your body’s honest report of what it’s been going through — and that report is useful information that points directly to what you need to do next. And this is where we get into the heart of today’s episode. These are specific, evidence-informed tools, not vague wellness advice. [9:29] Tool 1: Regulate your vagus nerve with paced breathing DEB: First, regulate your vagus nerve — on purpose, every day. The vagus nerve is the main highway of your parasympathetic, rest-and-digest nervous system. Research on heart rate variability and biofeedback shows that slow-paced breathing — roughly six breaths per minute — reliably increases vagal tone, and even a single five-minute session of paced abdominal breathing has been shown to significantly reduce state anxiety, particularly in older adults. So try this: inhale for a count of four, exhale for a count of eight, and do it for five minutes, twice a day. This is a legitimate, measurable physiological intervention. [10:19] Making time: breathing in the car DEB: When I first started this, I could never figure out where I’d find the time. But all of us drive, and all of us get stuck at stop signs and stoplights. So I started doing deep abdominal breathing while driving. When I was younger and busy running my practice, taking care of my kids, and everything else household life brings, I didn’t have time when I got home. Between work and home, I was very stressed — thinking about everything I needed to do when I got home, and everything I still needed to finish at the clinic. Breathing in the car let me relax a little before transitioning
