The Mel Robbins Podcast
Nervous System Reset: Do THIS Every Day to Rewire Your Brain From Stress and Anxiety
In this transformative episode, Mel Robbins sits down with Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California's first Surgeon General and a pioneering expert on childhood trauma and toxic stress. Dr. Burke Harris explains how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) create biological and neurological patterns that persist into adulthood, manifesting as emotional reactivity, relationship struggles, and even chronic health conditions. Through compelling patient stories, including a seven-year-old boy whose growth was arrested due to trauma, she demonstrates how stress responses become hardwired in childhood and continue to shape our adult lives.
The conversation reveals groundbreaking research from the CDC's ACE Study, showing that two-thirds of people have experienced at least one adverse childhood experience, and those with four or more ACEs face dramatically increased risks for depression, substance dependence, heart disease, and autoimmune disorders. Dr. Burke Harris emphasizes that trauma isn't the event itself, but rather the body's biological response to overwhelming stress. She introduces the concept of 'buffering'—interventions that help the body re-regulate its stress response—and offers hope that understanding these patterns can free people from reactive behaviors, improve relationships, and transform long-term health outcomes.
74 min•Childhood Trauma · Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
