The field has produced some genuinely excellent books. Here’s what’s actually worth reading and why. The nervous system literature has expanded considerably over the past two decades. There are now genuinely excellent books on polyvagal theory, somatic healing, trauma recovery, and the intersection of nervous system health with relationships. There’s also a fair amount of…
What happened to you as a child didn’t just affect your memories. It shaped the biology you’re living in now. When people talk about childhood trauma and adult relationships, the conversation usually stays at the psychological level. Patterns of thinking. Beliefs about yourself and others. The stories you tell about why relationships go the way…
Avoidant attachment isn’t about not needing people. It’s about a nervous system that learned needing people was risky. Of the insecure attachment styles, avoidant is the one most likely to be mistaken for health. Avoidantly attached people tend to present as independent, capable, and emotionally stable. They don’t appear to need much from others. They…
Not all meditation apps are doing the same thing. Here’s how to find one that actually works for your nervous system. Meditation apps have become one of the most crowded spaces in wellness. There are dozens of them, the marketing is largely identical, and the difference between a useful tool and an expensive white noise…
Attachment theory started as psychology. The neuroscience has caught up, and what it shows is worth knowing. Attachment theory has been around since the 1960s. For most of that time it was primarily a psychological framework, based on observational research with infants and caregivers. The neuroscience tools to look inside the living brain simply didn’t…
Your heart doesn’t beat like a metronome. The variation between beats is one of the most useful health metrics most people have never heard of. If you’ve spent any time in the wellness or biohacking space, you’ve probably come across HRV. It shows up on fitness trackers, in recovery apps, in conversations about stress and…
The argument might be over. Your nervous system hasn’t gotten the memo yet. The argument ends. Maybe you reached some kind of resolution, maybe you didn’t. Either way, the conversation is over. And yet something in you is still running. Your heart is still elevated. Your chest is tight. Your mind keeps replaying what was…
Anxiety lives in the body. So does the way out. Most advice for anxiety is cognitive. Identify the thought, challenge the thought, replace the thought with a more accurate one. This isn’t useless, cognitive approaches have real value, but for a lot of people they don’t go far enough, because anxiety isn’t primarily a thinking…
Fearful avoidant attachment means wanting connection and fearing it simultaneously. Here’s what’s happening in the nervous system and why it’s so hard to resolve.
From breathwork to cold water to humming, here are 12 ways to stimulate your vagus nerve at home that are actually supported by research.