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...

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. Nikki is a family law expert, TEDx speaker, divorce...

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...

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...

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. We know that 80% of the messages travelling between the brain and body via the vagus nerve are coming from the...

Validating the survivor’s experience: • “Think positive”• “Stop dwelling on the past”• “Forgiveness is an essential part of healing”•“Family is everything”  For people recovering from complex trauma, these ideas can cause more harm than good.  Today’s guest, Nate Postlethwait, is here to share a fresh perspective on healing from the shame and pain of childhood trauma, which validates the experience of the survivor. Nate is a trauma healing advocate who has built a community of hundreds of...

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...

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...

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 Nervous System School’s Jessica Maguire and Madeleine Eliza to explore the neuroscience behind these concepts. Central to our conversation today is understanding the body’s 8th sensory system, Interoception. We discuss what exactly interoception is, the key role it plays in emotional regulation, and why emotional granularity is so...

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,...

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. Today’s conversation focuses on...

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.