In my private practice, I often encountered patients like "Sally" and "Mark", who came in with seemingly unrelated symptoms but were actually dealing with deeper issues. For example, "Sally" might have presented with lower back pain, anxiety, and digestive issues, only to reveal that she was going through a relationship breakdown and looking for a new home. "Mark", on the other hand, might have been struggling with chronic fatigue and headaches after months of grief following the death of his father, leading to isolation and work-related issues.

These symptoms are like the tip of an iceberg, visible on the surface but with much more going on below. While we might initially address the back pain or headaches, it's essential to recognise that these symptoms are often manifestations of underlying nervous system dysregulation.

When we view these behaviours through the lens of the nervous system, they start to make sense. The side effects of nervous system dysregulation can manifest as seemingly isolated conditions with no clear root cause, leading to years of discomfort and unhappiness. If we only treat the symptoms without addressing the root causes, we're just putting band-aids over bullet holes. That's why it's crucial to dive beneath the surface and tackle the underlying issues.

Globally, 50% of all marriages end in divorce. And yet despite being so common, divorce is still stigmatised and largely viewed as a failure. There is no established roadmap for divorce, as there is for marriage. It’s a confusing, challenging, and often turbulent path that most people sadly find themselves walking alone.

Here to change this, and to paint a brighter vision of how we could do divorce better, is divorce doula Nikki Parkinson.

In this episode, we explore the shift from being a rescuer to becoming regulated, focusing on the science of stress and emotion contagion.

Key Points:

•The Nervous System Is Relational: Understanding that your nervous system impacts and is impacted by those around you is crucial for teachers, clinicians, managers, and coaches.

•Stress Contagion: Research indicates that leaders and managers can act as 'nerve centers' for their teams, transmitting stress which can lead to a domino effect among employees.

•Impact on Students: Studies have shown that teachers' occupational stress is linked to students' physiological stress regulation, highlighting the potential for stress contagion in the classroom.

•Mother-Infant Interaction: Infants can catch their mothers’ physiological stress reactivity through interactions, showcasing the importance of relational processes in early development.

A deep dive into women’s health

Menstruation, pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, motherhood, menopause… let’s do this.

In today’s episode Jessica and Madeleine demystify the neuroendocrine system, and explain the interconnectedness of a woman’s hormones and her nervous system throughout the various stages of her life.

Weaving neuroscience research together with our own personal experiences, the conversation delves into the female menstrual cycle and its influence on the brain and nervous system. We also discuss the hormonal changes that take place during pregnancy and breastfeeding, as well as the social factors that can make the early months of parenthood so challenging, especially when returning to work.

The gut-brain axis is a two-way feedback loop, with gut health impacting the brain and nervous system, from the bottom up; and the brain and nervous system impacting on gut health, from the top down.

Join Nervous System School’s Jessica Maguire and Madeleine Eliza to unpack this connection, and the important role of the vagus nerve in the communication between the gut and the brain.

For so long we’ve thought of the body and the brain as separate entities; where the brain is a command centre in charge of what’s happening in our body. The story then follows that if we can just think differently, then we will feel better. This can trigger a lot of shame for people who find that top-down strategies such as mindset work or affirmations are not effective in managing their anxiety.

In this episode, Jessica unpacks the latest neuroscience which shows that the brain and body are inseparable, and in fact 80% of the vagus nerve fibers are running from the body up to the brain. This is why bottom-up techniques, which use the sensory systems of the body, are so often the ‘missing piece of the puzzle’ for recovery from chronic stress and trauma.

We are in the midst of an epidemic, with recent studies showing up to 3 in 4 people are experiencing burnout at work.

Burnout is not caused by laziness or a lack of willpower. It’s the physiological response of a nervous system exposed to prolonged stress without adequate time to recover.

In today’s conversation with Nervous System School’s Jessica Maguire and Madeleine Eliza, we take a deep dive into what exactly burnout is, and how to recover from it.

We start by defining neurobiological limits, and explore how constantly living beyond your limits makes you more susceptible to burnout. Conversely, if you tend to stay well within your limits, avoiding risk and challenge, you are denying yourself the chance to discover your true potential.

We are in a period of rapidly escalating change - social, technological, ecological; and for many people, on a personal level as well. However, the dominant model for understanding change is outdated. We mostly view change as the exception, rather than the norm. We talk about "getting back to normal" rather than understanding that "normal" is constantly evolving. We fear change, and we resist it - to our own detriment.

Here to share an empowering new model of change is bestselling author, sustainable excellence expert, and human performance coach, Brad Stulberg.

Diagnoses of depression, anxiety and attention disorders are skyrocketing around the world. The dominant story is that these issues are primarily biological in nature: caused by a person’s genetic makeup or brain chemistry.

Here to reframe this perspective and shed light on the social causes of mental health issues, is 3-time New York Times bestselling author Johann Hari, whose TED talks on depression and addiction have been viewed more than 93 million times.

We hear a lot about “gut instinct” and the importance of listening to your body. But what does this actually mean, from a scientific perspective?

Join the Nervous System School’s Jessica Maguire and Madeleine Eliza to explore the neuroscience behind these concepts.

The leading nervous system podcast

Join hosts Jessica Maguire and Madeleine Eliza for expansive, thought-provoking conversations with some of the world’s brightest thinkers. We explore the latest research into neuroscience, nervous system regulation, the brain-body connection, self-mastery, growth and change.

When you change your nervous system, you change your life.