Do THIS Every Day to Rewire Your Brain From Stress and Anxiety
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In this powerful episode of The Mel Robbins Podcast, host Mel Robbins welcomes Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, a pioneering pediatrician and former Surgeon General of California, to explore how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) shape adult behavior, emotions, and health through biological and neurological mechanisms. Dr. Burke Harris explains that trauma is not the event itself, but the body's lasting response to overwhelming stress, which can become a chronic, overactive stress response that persists into adulthood. She reveals how childhood adversity—such as abuse, neglect, or household dysfunction—can alter brain development, immune function, and even gene expression through epigenetics, leading to long-term health issues like heart disease, autoimmune disorders, and mental health challenges. The episode emphasizes that healing is possible through 'buffering'—intentional practices that regulate the nervous system, including mindfulness, exercise, therapy (like EMDR), and supportive relationships. Robbins shares her own journey of recognizing childhood trauma and using daily self-regulation practices to reclaim control over her emotions and relationships. The episode concludes with a hopeful call to action: by creating personal systems of care and connection, individuals can rewire their biology, heal from the past, and build a more resilient, compassionate life.
Trauma is the body's biological response to stress, not the event itself, and can become a lifelong overactive stress response.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are strongly linked to adult health problems like heart disease, autoimmune disorders, and mental health challenges—even without unhealthy behaviors.
Buffering—safe, stable relationships and self-regulation practices like mindfulness, exercise, and therapy—can rewire the nervous system and reduce the impact of past trauma.
Epigenetics shows that nurturing care can change how genes are expressed, meaning healing is possible even after early adversity.
Corrective experiences (like being present for your younger self) help rewire the brain and nervous system, creating new, healthier patterns.
…and 3 more takeaways available in PodZeus
The Hidden Roots of Adult Reactivity
“Our medical expert today is a world-renowned expert on the long-term impact of childhood trauma and adverse experiences. And before you go, okay, no, no, no, I haven't had trauma. I want you to listen to this. Because it is going to explain so much about who you are and who some of the people that you love deeply are right now in your adult life.”
What Is Trauma? The Body’s Response, Not the Event
“Trauma is the biological response to overwhelming stress. So a lot of us think of it as the stressor, the thing that happened to us, but it's actually the body's reaction to that stress.”
The ACE Study: How Childhood Adversity Shapes Adult Health
“The good news is that if you've experienced these ACEs and you don't engage in any health-damaging behavior, you're not sedentary, you eat really healthy, you exercise regularly, that removes about 50% of the risk. But the other half of the risk... was just the adverse childhood experience?”
The Teeter-Totter Model: Balancing Stress and Buffering
“The younger you are when you experience a stressor or trauma or adversity, you need way more buffering on the other side to be able to balance that out.”
Epigenetics and the Power of Corrective Experiences
“Even if you have had a lot of adverse experiences... the research shows that if you recognize that and you provide that to yourself now, that changes you. And it changes your DNA almost in terms of what's firing.”
“Trauma is the biological response to overwhelming stress. So a lot of us think of it as the stressor, the thing that happened to us, but it's actually the body's reaction to that stress.”
“Even if you have had a lot of adverse experiences... the research shows that if you recognize that and you provide that to yourself now, that changes you. And it changes your DNA almost in terms of what's firing.”
“Infrastructures are love in action. What we build, the systems that we build in our personal lives for ourselves, whether it is connecting to a strong group of friends who we feel safe with. Right? But building it ahead of time and not waiting for the wheels to fall off the cart.”
Host
Guest
Dr. Nadine Burke Harris
person
Mel Robbins
person
ACEs
other
Adverse Childhood Experiences Study
other
epigenetics
other
EMDR
other
trauma-informed care
other
teeter-totter model
other
The Deepest Well
book
Center for Youth Wellness
organization
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