April 8, 2025 • 39 mins
🎙️ Feeling Behind in Life? Trapped in Expectation Overdrive? This Episode Is Your Wake-Up Call.
Do you feel like you missed the universal memo on how to be a fully functioning adult? Like you should already have the dream job, the relationship, the confidence—but instead, you're stuck feeling behind and burnt out?
You're not failing. You're evolving. And in this episode of Embody This – The No B.S. Healing Podcast, host Lauren Michelle Jewel takes you on a raw, relatable journey through the pressure loops we get trapped in, why “feeling behind” is a nervous system response, and how to finally break free from the addiction to expectations, perfectionism, and overachieving.
Inside this powerful episode, we unpack:
🔥 Why you’re not behind—you’re in a survival loop
🧠 How your nervous system interprets unmet expectations as danger
🎯 The sneaky addiction to pressure and control (and how to spot it)
🥵 Why your body crashes even when you “do everything right”
💡 The difference between doing more vs. being more
🌀 How to move from expectation → expansion, and start living in flow
💥 Nutritional, somatic, and spiritual tools to regulate your nervous system, replenish stress-depleted nutrients, and reconnect with your body
This is your permission slip to stop gripping and start trusting. Whether you're healing from burnout, navigating a life pivot, or tired of living in anxiety mode, this episode will remind you: you're not stuck—you’re being redirected.
🔗 CONNECT WITH LAUREN MICHELLE JEWEL
✨ Instagram → @laurenmichellejewel & Lauren's Facebook
💌 Join the Embody This Collective → Join Here
🌐 Website + Work With Me → https://msha.ke/laurenjewel
🎁 Free Resources → Grab All My Freebies
🎙️ Podcast Hashtag → #EmbodyThisPodcast
💬 DM me on Instagram and tell me what resonated most with you from this episode.
📣 Share the show and tag me so more women can reclaim their body, identity, and f*cking life.
⚠️ Disclaimer:
This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, or replace professional medical advice or mental health care. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making any changes to your health practices.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Do you ever feel like you missedthe universal memo on how to be
a fully functioning adult?
Like by now, you should have thecareer, the relationship, the
confidence, the inner peace, butinstead you feel like you're
behind.
Welcome to the ExpectationStation, the place where we sit
around waiting for our lives tomatch the timelines in our head.
(00:25):
But what if I told you feelingbehind isn't proof?
You failed.
It's proof you are evolving.
Welcome to Embody this, the NOBS Healing podcast for women who
are done playing small.
I'm Lauren Michelle Jewel, asingle sober business owning
badass who has been humbled ashell by healing.
But I'm not just someone who'slived it.
(00:46):
I've studied it, coached it, andhelped women walk through it for
over seven years in mind, bodyhealth, gut brain science, and
nervous system healing.
I've worked with women who havetried everything, therapy,
diets, supplements, self-helpwork, but still feel
disconnected from their bodies,their health, and their truth.
(01:07):
Because here's the thing,healing isn't a trend.
It's not aesthetic.
It's not an identity.
Healing is embodied, and let mebe real with you, it's hard as
fuck and it's also rewarding asfuck.
I know because I've lived it.
I've been through the gut issuesthat made me feel like a
stranger in my own body.
(01:28):
Nervous system crashes that leftme wired and exhausted identity
breakups that shatteredeverything I thought I knew
about myself.
And along the way I realizedsomething.
Modern healing methods arefailing us.
Everything is compartmentalized.
Go to therapy.
They say, take the supplements,do the inner work, but no one
(01:51):
teaches you how to actuallyintegrate it.
All this show is for you ifyou're ready to rethink healing.
It's not about being perfect,being a wellness influencer or
having a PhD in biohacking.
It's about undoing, unlearning,and finally coming home to
yourself.
Quick disclaimer, this podcastis for educational purposes
(02:13):
only.
It's here to expand your mind,challenge old narratives, and
empower you with knowledge.
It's not a replacement formedical advice.
Always consult a professionalwhen making health decisions.
Alright, let's be real for asecond.
You ever feel like by now youshould already have it all
together?
Like you should be moresuccessful, more in love, more
(02:34):
secure, more at peace.
Like you should have the body,the relationship, the dream job,
the financial security, theconfidence, all of it.
And yet here you are feelinglike you miss some universal
adulting handbook.
Welcome to the ExpectationStation, the place where we sit
around waiting for our lives tomatch timelines in our head.
(02:57):
But what if I told you thatfeeling behind isn't proof that
you failed?
It's proof that you're evolving.
Today I'm sharing my story ofhow expectations kept me
trapped, how I was addicted topressure, and how I finally
broke free.
And I'll tell you now, thisepisode might piss you off a
little because I'm gonnachallenge everything you thought
(03:17):
you knew about success andhealing, but it's also gonna
liberate the fuck outta you.
When I got sober, I felt sobehind.
I had spent years numbing out,avoiding and self-sabotaging,
and when I finally cleaned up mylife, I felt like I had to make
up for lost time.
(03:40):
So I did what I thought I wassupposed to do.
Lose weight, fix my mindset,heal my emotions, make more
money, get an A plus in healing.
I was doing all the things, butno matter how much I
accomplished, I never actuallyfelt like I was succeeding.
There was always another level,always another goal, always
(04:00):
something else to check off thelist.
And that constant feeling of notenough.
It wasn't ambition, it wasn'tdiscipline, it wasn't addiction
to pressure, to proving, tocontrol.
I thought I was chasing success,but really I was running for
myself.
(04:20):
And that's the thing aboutexpectations.
They don't just create stress.
They create pressure.
They make us attach our worth toour outcome.
And when things don't go the waywe planned, Q disappointment,
the accidental spirals, andfeeling like we failed at life.
See, I thought I had brokenoutta this cycle.
(04:41):
I had done the work, I had theawareness, but then life gave me
a real time test.
I had just come back from ahealing retreat in Georgia.
It was powerful.
20 women coming together, breathwork, deep, emotional release,
good food, laughter, and momentsof real connection.
(05:01):
I went there to prepare myself,to regulate, to make space for
what I thought was going to bethe biggest moment in my career.
The launch of my group programembodied.
See, I had spent years buildingup this dream in my head.
I told myself, this is it.
This is the thing that's gonnachange everything.
This is the thing that's gonnaallow me to finally leave the
(05:22):
restaurant industry.
This is the thing that's gonnamake me the woman I've always
dreamed of being, and I preppedhard for it.
Building out the client portal,writing the sales pages,
creating content automations,emails, juggling my full-time
restaurant job while coaching myone-on-one clients on my days
off.
(05:43):
I poured hours, months, yearsinto this, and then the doors
opened for enrollment, and Iwaited.
I kept my mindset in check,reminded myself that launches
are about consistency, thatpeople usually sign up at the
end.
I even used the very practicesinside and body to keep my
(06:04):
energy clean and clear, keep mynervous system steady.
And still, before I left for myhealing retreat, still no one
had signed up.
See, I had already planned thisretreat, and in my mind it was
going to be the space where Icleared any stagnant energy so I
could show up and hold space formy group.
I told myself to take a few daysoff from worrying about the
(06:26):
launch and just be present rightsecretly, though, I was
definitely hoping that theshifts happening inside of me
would somehow create the shiftsneeded for people to walk
through the doors of theprogram.
So when I got home feeling likea changed woman and realized
there was only one week leftbefore the cards closed, my gut
(06:48):
fucking sank.
Girl, the thoughts startedcreeping in one by one.
Should I stop posting about it?
Is this annoying people?
What does this mean about me?
Do people even like my stuff?
What else could I possibly say?
But I told myself, Lauren, girl,just keep showing up.
(07:09):
You're in the long game.
Even though deep down I wasreally holding my breath.
Then the morning after I sentthe final email, the one that I
had pre-scheduled to save time,it hit me.
This isn't happening, not thistime.
And the truth is, is that Spirithad been telling me this all
(07:29):
along.
I had asked if I should keeppushing forward with embodied,
and I got a clear no, but Iwasn't ready to listen yet.
I questioned if it was just myfear talking because how could I
let go after all the effort Iput in?
How could I just walk away fromsomething I'd been working on
for years?
But deep down, I knew I wasn'tthe same woman who had created
(07:54):
this program.
My motivations were different.
They just weren't the same, andI was holding onto it.
So tightly it was essentiallysuffocating me.
Later that night, I broke down.
I reached out to a few womenfrom the retreat, and I spilled
everything.
How sad, frustrated, anddisappointed I was.
How I just didn't understandwhy.
(08:15):
You know, those feelings, thosenights, those moments, and then
something unexpected happened.
That moment of raw honestycracked open something inside
the container with other women.
Suddenly we were all sharing theparts of ourselves.
We usually keep hidden.
It was messy, it was emotional,and it was really healing.
(08:36):
But that night I realizedsomething.
If I had kept it all inside likeI normally did, I probably
would've convinced myself that Iwas a failure, that I wasn't
good enough, and that I had donesomething wrong and I needed to
fix it.
But that's not the truth.
It just is what it is.
And this is business.
It's not personal, but damn.
(08:56):
Does it show you exactly wherehealing needs to happen?
And maybe you've felt this too.
Maybe you've poured your heartinto something, a launch, a
relationship, a career move, adiet.
And when it didn't pan out theway you envisioned, you
immediately turned inward.
You blamed yourself, youquestioned everything, and you
thought.
(09:16):
Maybe I'm just not cut out forthis.
Maybe you sent that risky text,the one where you finally spoke
your truth only to be met withsilence, and suddenly all your
confidence evaporated, and youwondered if you should have kept
it quiet.
Maybe you've been working onyourself, healing, growing,
(09:37):
doing all the damn things, andyet you still find yourself in
the same cycles, feeling likeyou miss the how to get my life
together.
Manuel.
Yeah, girl, I feel you.
And that's the mind fuck, right?
Because when something doesn'twork out the way we wanted it,
we don't just feel disappointed,we feel unworthy.
(09:57):
Like somehow the thing we wantedto find our value, like if it
had just gone differently, thenwe would be enough.
But here's what I know now, thatjob you didn't get, it's not
proof that you weren't goodenough, the relationship that
ended, it's not proof thatyou're unlovable, the thing that
you put out into the world thatdidn't land.
(10:19):
It's not proof that you'refailing.
It's just proof that life hasother plans for you.
And the more you resist thattruth, the more you fight, grip
and force, the more sufferingyou create for yourself.
Because what if it's notrejection?
What if it's redirection?
(10:40):
See, a few days later, my mentorcalled to check in on me.
She told me, Lauren, you need tohold a funeral for embodied.
Guys, I legit cackled.
Like I remember being like, oh,just another Monday holding a
funeral for my dreams and tuninginto the Akashic records.
But the truth is, she was right.
(11:02):
She told me to let it go,literally to honor the end of
this chapter and make space forsomething bigger.
And she was right again becauseI had outgrown this dream.
But I needed to live through itin order to see that.
So I did.
I made some zesty plant medicinetea.
I dropped into a meditation andI asked spirit, what's next?
(11:24):
And what I heard was palpable.
It's time to use your voice.
Now what's wild is that all weeklong at the retreat, women had
been telling me, you shouldstart a podcast, Lauren.
You have so much wisdom toshare.
Like legit, my nickname was thewise one.
(11:45):
You literally embody this work.
They would say.
And I had brushed it off, right?
I just played it off like, yeah,yeah, whatever.
But after the fifth time ofsomeone who told me to start a
podcast, something started toshift.
I stopped brushing it off and Iactually let myself hear it, and
then the final sign came.
One of the women from theretreat had messaged me after
(12:07):
listening to a podcast I'd beenfeatured on.
It was a conversation where Ishared my raw, cathartic,
emotional release experience inGeorgia, and she reminded me of
that moment, the breath work,the deep release, and the way
that my mentor and my spiritualhealer worked on me and cracked
something open.
And then she said, if you need asign about starting a podcast,
(12:28):
this is it.
Start one.
So I made the decision rightthen and there.
I'm starting a fucking podcast.
I had spent two years grippingonto the dream of embodied, like
my life depended on it.
But when I finally let go, whenI stopped forcing, stopped
(12:50):
pushing, I could actually hearwhat Spirit had been trying to
tell me all along.
It wasn't rejection, it wasredirection.
And this is exactly what I meanwhen I say expectations aren't
just about what we want.
They shape how we move, how westress, and how we react to
life.
They make us grips so tight thatwe block ourselves from
(13:11):
receiving what we actually need.
So where are you gripping?
What are you convincingyourself?
That you have to hit somespecific milestone to be
successful, to be happy, to beworthy.
Now if you know anything aboutme, you know I live for bringing
together the tangible with thetangible.
(13:33):
I love bridging the gap betweenthe scene and the unseen,
between the energetic and thebiological.
So all you heady gals canfinally understand exactly why
this happens, what's reallygoing on inside that beautiful,
brilliant brain and body ofyours, and most importantly, how
to break free from it.
So let's get into it.
(13:54):
Why does this happen?
Why do we hold ontoexpectations?
Why do we hold on so tight?
Even when something isn'tworking?
Why do we grip onto expectationsso hard that we literally make
ourselves suffer?
It's not a mindset thing.
It's not just old programming,it's biology.
(14:15):
It is your nervous system tryingto keep you safe.
Let me break it down for you.
Okay.
Your brain has one job above allelse survival.
It does not care if you arehappy.
It does not care if you arefulfilled.
It cares about keeping youalive.
And to do that, it relies onpatterns, familiarity, and
(14:37):
predictability.
So when you attach to anexpectation, whether it's the
dream job, the perfect body, theperfect relationship, or the
right timeline for your life.
Your nervous system registersthat expectation as your safety
zone.
Your brain doesn't see it as agoal.
It sees it as a requirement forsurvival.
(15:01):
So when things don't go the wayyou expected, your body reacts
the same way it would to a realthreat.
It goes into survival mode.
Cortisol spikes your body floodswith stress hormone preparing
you for danger.
Your breath shortens, yourmuscles tense, and you get wired
and restless, or you completelyshut down.
(15:22):
You spiral into fight, flight,freeze, or fawn.
You overwork, you overthink.
You completely avoid.
Your digestion, sleep andhormones get thrown off because
your body literally thinksyou're under attack.
This is why you feel that gutdrop panic when things don't go
as planned.
It's not just disappointment.
(15:43):
It is your body responding as ifyou're about to die, and this is
where the addiction loop starts.
Most people think addiction isjust about substances, but
addiction is really aboutrepetition.
So think of your brain like an88 key piano.
(16:03):
You have limitless potential,infinite possibilities, an
entire range of notes to play,and yet most of us are just
hitting the same five damn keysover and over again, expecting a
different result.
We think the same thoughts, feelthe same emotions, do the same
things every morning.
(16:24):
Wake up, scroll, drink coffee,stress about the day.
We take the same route to work,see the same people, have the
same small talk replay, the sameresentments in our head.
By lunchtime, we eat the samefoods, we react to the same
triggers, and we pick the sameTV shows scrolling through the
same accounts right before bed.
(16:45):
And guess what?
We wake up and we do it all overagain.
And then we wonder why nothinghas changed this is the
definition of insanity.
And addiction because beforeaddiction becomes physical, it
starts in the mind and yourmind.
Job isn't to expand and reachyour dreams.
(17:06):
Its job is to keep you safe, tokeep you alive, and that means
keep you the same, so your brainclings to what is familiar, even
if it's making you miserable,because it perceives it as safer
than the unknown.
So if you've spent your wholelife believing that success
looks a certain way, or thatyour worth is tied to your
productivity, or that love meansproving yourself over and over
(17:30):
again, then breaking free fromthat girl, that's gonna feel
like death.
This is why you keep repeatingthe same patterns.
Whether it's overworking peoplepleasing procrastinating,
avoiding numbing out, or chasingvalidation.
It's why you reach for yourphone.
The second you feeluncomfortable.
(17:51):
It's why you stay in jobs,relationships, and habits that
drain you.
It is why even when you know youneed rest, you can't actually
let yourself rest because thetruth is your nervous system
isn't wired for freedom.
It is wired for familiarity.
It's wired for the old you, theone who believes you have to
(18:13):
prove yourself, the one who tiesher worth to expectations and
the one who only feels safe indoing.
But here's what I need you tohear.
You are not your patterns.
You are not your past and youare not your survival responses.
Your brain isn't a fixedblueprint.
(18:34):
It's a living adaptable system,and just like it learned to
repeat the same five keys overand over again, it can learn to
play an entirely new song.
This is neuroplasticity.
The brain's ability to rewireitself through intentional,
conscious repetition.
(18:55):
Every time you choose a newresponse, a new thought, a new
way of moving through the world,you are literally reshaping your
brain.
So when you stop over explainingyourself just to be liked,
you're rewiring self-trust.
When you pause before reactingout of fear, you're building a
new stress response.
And when you finally put downyour phone instead of numbing
(19:16):
out, well, you're breaking theaddiction to distraction.
And don't get it twisted atfirst.
It's uncomfortable.
It feels unnatural because yournervous system craves the old
loops.
But the more you repeat the newway of being, the stronger those
neural pathways become until oneday you wake up.
(19:37):
And the new way isn't somethingyou have to force.
It's just who you are.
This is why healing isn't aboutknowing better.
It's about being different.
It's about embodying the newpattern until it becomes second
nature.
Because if your brain can bewired for survival, well, it can
be wired for expansion andthat's what we're doing here.
(20:02):
So how do we break free?
How do we rewire a nervoussystem so that we stop reacting
to life?
Like we're constantly in danger?
Well, we have to shift fromexpectation to expansion.
See, expectation is rigid.
It says this has to happen, orI'll fail, and expansion is
open.
(20:22):
It says, I trust that whateverhappens is leading me somewhere
even better.
Expectation keeps you inanxiety.
Expansion lets you breatheagain.
Expectation keeps you gripping.
Expansion teaches you to flow.
Expectation creates resistance.
(20:43):
Expansion creates possibility.
And here's the thing, healingisn't just about what you do,
it's about who you become.
And your nervous system needsproof that it's safe to let go,
safe to trust, and safe to slowdown.
So here's how we start rewiringit, not just mentally, but
physically and biologically,because living in a state of
(21:06):
constant pressure andexpectation isn't just
exhausting.
It's disruptive.
It rewires your body for stress,keeping you stuck in survival
mode, inflamed and dysregulated.
And ironically, the more youfocus on healing as something to
fix, the more pressure youcreate, the more you reinforce
(21:27):
the belief that something iswrong with you.
But healing isn't about fixing.
It's about connecting.
Connecting with your body so itlearns to feel safe again,
connecting with your environmentso that you stop living in
hypervigilance.
Connecting with your mind so yourecognize the patterns before
they take over.
Connecting with the peoplearound you so you don't isolate
(21:49):
in your own suffering.
Remember, healing isn't thegoal.
It's actually a side effect ofconnection and this, this is how
we start rebuilding thatconnection one step at a time.
All right, let's talk aboutgetting your nervous system out
of survival mode.
(22:09):
Because if your body is stuck instress, your mind is gonna stay
strapped and not enoughness.
You know the feeling waking upalready anxious already behind
before the day even starts.
Your digestion feels off, yourhormones feel like a mess.
And no matter how much you tryto calm down, your body is on a
fucking edge.
And here's the thing, this isn'tjust mental.
(22:32):
Your body is biologically stuckin a stress loop.
So let's talk about how weactually pull you out of this
physically, nutritionally, andneurologically.
First, let's stabilize bloodsugar because it's more
controlling than you reallythink.
So most people don't realize howmuch blood sugar impacts
(22:52):
anxiety, mood, and overallnervous system regulation.
But when your blood sugar isspiking and crashing all day,
your body thinks it's in danger.
It responds with a flood ofcortisol, adrenaline, and stress
hormones.
Keeping you wired, anxious, andcompletely dysregulated.
So if you're waking up in themorning and immediately reaching
for a carb heavy breakfast, justcoffee, or nothing at all,
(23:16):
you're setting yourself up for acortisol rollercoaster instead.
Here's what actually helps startyour day with protein and
healthy fats.
Think eggs, avocado, chiapudding, or a protein smoothie
with fiber and fat.
Do not skip meals under eating,puts your body into scarcity
mode and makes it release evenmore stress hormone.
(23:38):
And if you're running oncaffeine on an empty stomach,
that's a straight shot ofcortisol to the brain.
So try eating first before thatmorning, coffee or caffeine,
whatever you like.
Your blood sugar sets the tonefor your entire day.
Balance that and your nervoussystem has one less reason to
panic next.
Let's talk about gut healthbecause your gut and brain are
(24:01):
always talking.
See, your gut and your brain arein a constant back and forth
conversation.
And if your gut is inflamed,overwhelmed, or depleted, your
nervous system feels it.
You know that gut feeling whensomething feels off that's real.
And when your gut is struggling,your mood focus and even anxiety
levels take a hit.
So how do we support it?
(24:23):
Well, you can start by addingfermented foods like sauerkraut,
kimchi, and coconut yogurt toyour feed.
Beneficial gut bacteria reduceinflammatory foods, especially
ultra processed foods and oilslike can oil, soybean, and
sunflower oil.
These rec gut integrity considergetting L-glutamine and amino
acid that helps repair the gutlining and supports mood
(24:45):
stability.
And just know that your gut isyour second brain and it's part
of your nervous system, so takecare of it, and your whole body
will feel the shift even deeper.
I highly recommend you reachingout to me to set up a call
because a lot of times we mayhave a fungus or parasites or a
gut imbalance, which is causinga lot of our mental health
(25:07):
issues, and it keeps our nervoussystem dysregulated.
Finally, let's talk aboutsupporting your stress responses
with nutrients that your body isburning through.
So stress is doing a lot to yourbody because if you've been
feeling exhausted, foggy,anxious, or just not yourself,
it's not just in your head.
(25:29):
Stress is not just an emotionalexperience.
It's actually a very physicalexperience that drains you.
It depletes key nutrients thatyour brain and your body need to
function, and if you don'treplenish them well, you stay
stuck in survival mode no matterhow much mindset work you do.
So if you've been running onpressure perfectionism, or
(25:51):
burnout for months or years,even decades, this is for you.
So let's get into what stresssteals from you and how to get
it back.
If you've been feeling anxiouswired, but tired or struggling
to sleep at night, you'reprobably low in magnesium.
Magnesium is your nervoussystem's brake pedal.
(26:13):
It literally tells your bodywhen to feel safe and to relax.
But when you're stressed, youburn through it like crazy.
And when your magnesium levelsdrop, your muscles tighten, your
brain speeds up and your sleepgoes out the window to replenish
it.
You want to eat more dark leafygreens, pumpkin seeds, almonds,
cow, cow, avocados, bananas, andwild caught salmon.
(26:37):
You can also supplement withmagnesium glycinate, which is
best for calming the nervoussystem and sleep and doesn't
clear you out like mostmagnesiums do.
The next one is B vitamins.
So B vitamins are like the fuelfor your brain and adrenals.
They help regulate energy, moodand stress, resilience.
But when you're constantlypushing yourself, working late,
(26:59):
skipping meals, running oncaffeine, your body burns
through them fast and low.
B vitamin can make you feelfoggy, fatigued, moody, and like
you're constantly running onempty.
So we can replenish them byeating more grass fed meats,
eggs, dairy, wild caught fish,lentils, leafy greens, and
(27:20):
nutritional yeast.
Take a B complex supplement,especially if you're plant-based
or feeling mentally drained.
Vitamin C.
So your adrenal glands actuallystore the highest concentration
of vitamin C in your body, andwhen you're under stress, they
burn through them like wildfire.
If you've been getting sickooften feeling run down, or just
(27:41):
noticing that you don't bounceback like you used to, your body
might be running low on vitaminC.
So we can replenish this byeating more citrus, fruits, bell
peppers, kiwi strawberries,broccoli, or cameo camo, and you
can supplement with vitamin C,especially during high stress
periods.
I highly recommend just takingextra.
(28:03):
Now zinc is another nutrientthat gets depleted by chronic
stress, and when that happens,your immune system weakens, your
skin breaks out, and your moodcan tank.
It's like your body's protectiveshield, but stress punches holes
in it leaving you morevulnerable to everything from
colds to anxiety.
You can replenish this by eatingmore oysters, grass fed beef,
(28:24):
pumpkin seeds, lentils,chickpeas, and nuts.
I would highly recommendsupplementing with zinc if you
are dealing with chronic stress,frequent sickness, or skin
issues.
If you feel like your brain isfoggy, unfocused, or stuck in
overdrive, you might be low inomega threes.
(28:46):
Omega threes areanti-inflammatory powerhouses
that support brain health, moodstability, and stress
resilience.
But when you're under chronicstress, your body burns through
them.
So we want to eat more wildcaught salmon, sardines,
walnuts, flax seeds and chiaseeds.
And you can also take an Omega-3supplements, but look for one
high-end DHA and EPA for brainsupport.
(29:10):
If you've ever felt totallydrained, dizzy, or lightheaded
when you're under stress, that'sbecause your body dumps out
potassium and sodium whencortisol is high.
These two minerals help regulatehydration, nerve signaling, and
adrenal function.
When they're depleted, you feelweak, fatigued, and like your
energy is crashing constantly.
So we wanna replenish them byeating more potassium rich foods
(29:32):
like bananas, avocado, coconutwater, and white beans.
And don't be afraid of salt.
So Celtic sea salt or Himalayanpink salt can help replenish
sodium levels.
And you can also try drinkingbone broth for natural source of
electrolytes, or just getting areally nice form of electrolyte,
uh, powder.
I always drink some in themorning.
(29:53):
Um, and halfway through the day,minerals changed the game for me
once I started upping them.
Iron is another nutrient thatstress can mess with because
when cortisol is high, your bodydoesn't absorb iron well.
And when iron is low, you feelexhausted, weak, and mentally
drained.
No matter how much you sleep,you get right.
So you want to eat more grassfed meat, liver, spinach,
(30:15):
lentils, dark chocolate.
Yes.
Really?
Um, but if you need tosupplement one iron, I would
check your levels first becausetoo much iron isn't good either.
And sometimes there can be otherthings going on.
Underneath all of this now, ifyou feel like stress is running
your life.
One of my number onerecommendations would be
(30:36):
adaptogens because they can be agame changer.
They literally help regulatecortisol, balance, adrenal
function, and make your bodymore resilient.
They are true medicine, soadaptogens adapt to your body.
So for example.
Different adaptogens work withyour body with whatever it
needs.
It's like a type of mushroomimplant medicine that can go
(30:56):
into your body and it's sointelligent, it will give you
what you need.
So some of the best ones wouldbe like ashwagandha, which I'm
sure you've heard of before.
This lowers cortisol and reducesanxiety.
Rhodiola, which increases energyand mental clarity.
Holy basil or tulsi.
This supports mood and stressrecovery.
I highly, highly recommend it.
(31:18):
Rishi Mushroom, which is myfavorite for gut support and
immune system and reducinginflammation.
So you wanna take them either inteas, tinctures, or there's a
couple of companies that Ihighly recommend you get'em
from.
I will put this in the shownotes and.
If you've been feeling drained,overwhelmed, or stuck in fight
(31:39):
or flight, your body isn'tbroken.
I really want you to realizethis.
It's just depleted and no amountof mindset work is going to
shift this if your nervoussystem doesn't feel safe.
So if you have nutrientdeficiencies, if your gut is
imbalanced and you areconstantly in a state of
pressure and control, what'smost likely happened is that.
(31:59):
State of control.
That state of judgment, thatstate of perfectionism, that
state of stress has led tophysical imbalances within your
body, which then bidirectionallycreates more stress in your
mind.
So the nervous system worksbidirectionally along with the
gut.
So we must work on thebiological and the physical
(32:19):
aspect first, while also workingwith the physical body.
So before you try to pushthrough and force motivation or
wonder why you still feel stuck,ask yourself, have I actually
replenished what stress hasburned through?
So start with eating in a waythat stabilizes your nervous
system.
(32:39):
Remember, balance your bloodsugar, nourish your gut, get
your minerals in, replenish whatstress is stealing from you
magnesium, B vitamins, zinc, andomegas.
Support your body withadaptogens if needed, especially
if you feel wired and tired allthe time.
Because the truth is your bodywants to heal, but it needs the
(32:59):
right tools to do it.
And of course the next one up isbreath work.
So try this right now, the fourby eight breath work method.
You wanna inhale through yournose for four seconds.
And hold for seven, and thenexhale through your mouth for
(33:25):
eight seconds.
Now do it again.
Breathe in for four.
Hold for seven.
(33:50):
And breathe out for eight.
Let your shoulders drop and letyour belly soften.
You can do that as many times asyou want.
I usually do it for at leastfour or five rounds, and that's
where I get the real shift.
We have the ability to shift ourstate at any time through our
(34:13):
nervous system, through ourbreath.
So your nervous system needs toexperience safety in the present
moment before it can stopobsessing over the future.
So if you're overthinking, ifyou're feeling really down on
yourself, practice the four byseven by eight breath work.
And then once you've changedyour state, you can make a new
decision on what you wanna do.
(34:34):
So the next time you feel thatpanic, when you feel behind,
when you feel pressure, kick inpause.
Ask yourself, what expectationam I gripping onto right now?
Where did it come from?
Is it even mine?
So what I want you to do iswrite down all the things you
think you quote unquote shouldbe doing, because those are all
(34:57):
expectations.
They're illusions that you'vebeen carrying.
And most of the time they werenever even yours to begin with.
They come from society, family,outdated paradigms, conditioning
that taught you that your worthis tied to doing, proving and
achieving.
And if you wanna break thecycle, you have to make space
(35:18):
for something new.
So breathe, meditate, but not toescape, but to witness yourself.
Sit in silence even when it'suncomfortable.
Notice when your mind tries topull you back into old patterns
and choose differently becausethis is how you stop repeating
the past and actually createyour future.
(35:39):
It's why your best ideas don'tcome when you're forcing them.
They come when you're in theshower on a walk, or when you
finally exhale, think about it.
'cause your brain isn't amachine.
It's an adaptive, creativesystem that needs space to form
new connections to a wire, torewire, to integrate.
(36:00):
And if you're constantly fillingevery gap with noise,
distractions, and tasks.
You're keeping yourself stuck inthe very loop you're trying to
break free from.
Step three, we're gonna beshifting from doing to being,
this is the spiritual andenergetic shift that we'll be
making.
Now, most people don't strugglewith change because they don't
(36:22):
know what to do.
They struggle because they'redoing too much.
When you've been living insurvival mode, pushing, proving,
forcing your brain and bodydon't trust illness, you've been
conditioned to believe that moreeffort equals better results.
More books, more therapy, moretrying to figure it all the fuck
out, right?
(36:43):
But real transformation, itdoesn't happen when you're
gripping.
It happens in the pause.
So the real question is are yougonna keep running in circles,
gripping onto control overefforting your way through
healing?
Or are you ready to spiralupwards to expand into the
unknown, to trust that healingisn't about doing more, but
(37:05):
about unbecoming the conditionedversion of you and reconnecting
with your authentic self?
Because here's what I'velearned, the version of me who
actually receives everything shedesires.
She's not fucking gripping,she's not proving, she's not
exhausting herself, trying toforce things into place.
(37:25):
She moves from a place of trust.
She moves from her body, notjust her mind.
She moves from knowing thateverything meant for her will
find her without force.
And this is exactly whathappened when I let go of
embodied.
(37:46):
See, the second you startthinking in terms of success or
failure, you've already lost thegame.
Because your mind is shapingyour entire experience.
If you expect the worst, you'llfind evidence of it.
If you expect perfection, you'llalways be disappointed.
But if you expect growth, if youexpect expansion, if you expect
(38:07):
that every ending is actually abeginning in disguise, then
suddenly you stop living inresistance.
You stop gripping and you startliving in flow.
So here's my question for you.
What expectations are youfinally ready to let go of?
(38:28):
What's one thing you've beengripping on to so hard that you
haven't even noticed?
It's suffocating.
You DM me right now and tell me,let's have a conversation.
Because healing isn't aboutdoing it alone.
It's about evolving together.
Community truly is the medicine.
And if this episode crackssomething open in you, share it.
Tag me on Instagram at LaurenMichelle Jewel, and let's get
(38:54):
this message to the women whoneed it.
'cause you're not behind.
You are exactly where you'remeant to be.
This is embody this the no BSHealing podcast.
Until next time, trust theprocess girl.
Do you ever feel like you missedthe universal memo on how to be
a fully functioning adult?
Like by now, you should have thecareer, the relationship, the
confidence, the inner peace, butinstead you feel like you're
behind.
Welcome to the ExpectationStation, the place where we sit
around waiting for our lives tomatch the timelines in our head.
(00:25):
But what if I told you feelingbehind isn't proof?
You failed.
It's proof you are evolving.
Welcome to Embody this, the NOBS Healing podcast for women who
are done playing small.
I'm Lauren Michelle Jewel, asingle sober business owning
badass who has been humbled ashell by healing.
But I'm not just someone who'slived it.
(00:46):
I've studied it, coached it, andhelped women walk through it for
over seven years in mind, bodyhealth, gut brain science, and
nervous system healing.
I've worked with women who havetried everything, therapy,
diets, supplements, self-helpwork, but still feel
disconnected from their bodies,their health, and their truth.
(01:07):
Because here's the thing,healing isn't a trend.
It's not aesthetic.
It's not an identity.
Healing is embodied, and let mebe real with you, it's hard as
fuck and it's also rewarding asfuck.
I know because I've lived it.
I've been through the gut issuesthat made me feel like a
stranger in my own body.
(01:28):
Nervous system crashes that leftme wired and exhausted identity
breakups that shatteredeverything I thought I knew
about myself.
And along the way I realizedsomething.
Modern healing methods arefailing us.
Everything is compartmentalized.
Go to therapy.
They say, take the supplements,do the inner work, but no one
(01:51):
teaches you how to actuallyintegrate it.
All this show is for you ifyou're ready to rethink healing.
It's not about being perfect,being a wellness influencer or
having a PhD in biohacking.
It's about undoing, unlearning,and finally coming home to
yourself.
Quick disclaimer, this podcastis for educational purposes
(02:13):
only.
It's here to expand your mind,challenge old narratives, and
empower you with knowledge.
It's not a replacement formedical advice.
Always consult a professionalwhen making health decisions.
Alright, let's be real for asecond.
You ever feel like by now youshould already have it all
together?
Like you should be moresuccessful, more in love, more
(02:34):
secure, more at peace.
Like you should have the body,the relationship, the dream job,
the financial security, theconfidence, all of it.
And yet here you are feelinglike you miss some universal
adulting handbook.
Welcome to the ExpectationStation, the place where we sit
around waiting for our lives tomatch timelines in our head.
(02:57):
But what if I told you thatfeeling behind isn't proof that
you failed?
It's proof that you're evolving.
Today I'm sharing my story ofhow expectations kept me
trapped, how I was addicted topressure, and how I finally
broke free.
And I'll tell you now, thisepisode might piss you off a
little because I'm gonnachallenge everything you thought
(03:17):
you knew about success andhealing, but it's also gonna
liberate the fuck outta you.
When I got sober, I felt sobehind.
I had spent years numbing out,avoiding and self-sabotaging,
and when I finally cleaned up mylife, I felt like I had to make
up for lost time.
(03:40):
So I did what I thought I wassupposed to do.
Lose weight, fix my mindset,heal my emotions, make more
money, get an A plus in healing.
I was doing all the things, butno matter how much I
accomplished, I never actuallyfelt like I was succeeding.
There was always another level,always another goal, always
(04:00):
something else to check off thelist.
And that constant feeling of notenough.
It wasn't ambition, it wasn'tdiscipline, it wasn't addiction
to pressure, to proving, tocontrol.
I thought I was chasing success,but really I was running for
myself.
(04:20):
And that's the thing aboutexpectations.
They don't just create stress.
They create pressure.
They make us attach our worth toour outcome.
And when things don't go the waywe planned, Q disappointment,
the accidental spirals, andfeeling like we failed at life.
See, I thought I had brokenoutta this cycle.
(04:41):
I had done the work, I had theawareness, but then life gave me
a real time test.
I had just come back from ahealing retreat in Georgia.
It was powerful.
20 women coming together, breathwork, deep, emotional release,
good food, laughter, and momentsof real connection.
(05:01):
I went there to prepare myself,to regulate, to make space for
what I thought was going to bethe biggest moment in my career.
The launch of my group programembodied.
See, I had spent years buildingup this dream in my head.
I told myself, this is it.
This is the thing that's gonnachange everything.
This is the thing that's gonnaallow me to finally leave the
(05:22):
restaurant industry.
This is the thing that's gonnamake me the woman I've always
dreamed of being, and I preppedhard for it.
Building out the client portal,writing the sales pages,
creating content automations,emails, juggling my full-time
restaurant job while coaching myone-on-one clients on my days
off.
(05:43):
I poured hours, months, yearsinto this, and then the doors
opened for enrollment, and Iwaited.
I kept my mindset in check,reminded myself that launches
are about consistency, thatpeople usually sign up at the
end.
I even used the very practicesinside and body to keep my
(06:04):
energy clean and clear, keep mynervous system steady.
And still, before I left for myhealing retreat, still no one
had signed up.
See, I had already planned thisretreat, and in my mind it was
going to be the space where Icleared any stagnant energy so I
could show up and hold space formy group.
I told myself to take a few daysoff from worrying about the
(06:26):
launch and just be present rightsecretly, though, I was
definitely hoping that theshifts happening inside of me
would somehow create the shiftsneeded for people to walk
through the doors of theprogram.
So when I got home feeling likea changed woman and realized
there was only one week leftbefore the cards closed, my gut
(06:48):
fucking sank.
Girl, the thoughts startedcreeping in one by one.
Should I stop posting about it?
Is this annoying people?
What does this mean about me?
Do people even like my stuff?
What else could I possibly say?
But I told myself, Lauren, girl,just keep showing up.
(07:09):
You're in the long game.
Even though deep down I wasreally holding my breath.
Then the morning after I sentthe final email, the one that I
had pre-scheduled to save time,it hit me.
This isn't happening, not thistime.
And the truth is, is that Spirithad been telling me this all
(07:29):
along.
I had asked if I should keeppushing forward with embodied,
and I got a clear no, but Iwasn't ready to listen yet.
I questioned if it was just myfear talking because how could I
let go after all the effort Iput in?
How could I just walk away fromsomething I'd been working on
for years?
But deep down, I knew I wasn'tthe same woman who had created
(07:54):
this program.
My motivations were different.
They just weren't the same, andI was holding onto it.
So tightly it was essentiallysuffocating me.
Later that night, I broke down.
I reached out to a few womenfrom the retreat, and I spilled
everything.
How sad, frustrated, anddisappointed I was.
How I just didn't understandwhy.
(08:15):
You know, those feelings, thosenights, those moments, and then
something unexpected happened.
That moment of raw honestycracked open something inside
the container with other women.
Suddenly we were all sharing theparts of ourselves.
We usually keep hidden.
It was messy, it was emotional,and it was really healing.
(08:36):
But that night I realizedsomething.
If I had kept it all inside likeI normally did, I probably
would've convinced myself that Iwas a failure, that I wasn't
good enough, and that I had donesomething wrong and I needed to
fix it.
But that's not the truth.
It just is what it is.
And this is business.
It's not personal, but damn.
(08:56):
Does it show you exactly wherehealing needs to happen?
And maybe you've felt this too.
Maybe you've poured your heartinto something, a launch, a
relationship, a career move, adiet.
And when it didn't pan out theway you envisioned, you
immediately turned inward.
You blamed yourself, youquestioned everything, and you
thought.
(09:16):
Maybe I'm just not cut out forthis.
Maybe you sent that risky text,the one where you finally spoke
your truth only to be met withsilence, and suddenly all your
confidence evaporated, and youwondered if you should have kept
it quiet.
Maybe you've been working onyourself, healing, growing,
(09:37):
doing all the damn things, andyet you still find yourself in
the same cycles, feeling likeyou miss the how to get my life
together.
Manuel.
Yeah, girl, I feel you.
And that's the mind fuck, right?
Because when something doesn'twork out the way we wanted it,
we don't just feel disappointed,we feel unworthy.
(09:57):
Like somehow the thing we wantedto find our value, like if it
had just gone differently, thenwe would be enough.
But here's what I know now, thatjob you didn't get, it's not
proof that you weren't goodenough, the relationship that
ended, it's not proof thatyou're unlovable, the thing that
you put out into the world thatdidn't land.
(10:19):
It's not proof that you'refailing.
It's just proof that life hasother plans for you.
And the more you resist thattruth, the more you fight, grip
and force, the more sufferingyou create for yourself.
Because what if it's notrejection?
What if it's redirection?
(10:40):
See, a few days later, my mentorcalled to check in on me.
She told me, Lauren, you need tohold a funeral for embodied.
Guys, I legit cackled.
Like I remember being like, oh,just another Monday holding a
funeral for my dreams and tuninginto the Akashic records.
But the truth is, she was right.
(11:02):
She told me to let it go,literally to honor the end of
this chapter and make space forsomething bigger.
And she was right again becauseI had outgrown this dream.
But I needed to live through itin order to see that.
So I did.
I made some zesty plant medicinetea.
I dropped into a meditation andI asked spirit, what's next?
(11:24):
And what I heard was palpable.
It's time to use your voice.
Now what's wild is that all weeklong at the retreat, women had
been telling me, you shouldstart a podcast, Lauren.
You have so much wisdom toshare.
Like legit, my nickname was thewise one.
(11:45):
You literally embody this work.
They would say.
And I had brushed it off, right?
I just played it off like, yeah,yeah, whatever.
But after the fifth time ofsomeone who told me to start a
podcast, something started toshift.
I stopped brushing it off and Iactually let myself hear it, and
then the final sign came.
One of the women from theretreat had messaged me after
(12:07):
listening to a podcast I'd beenfeatured on.
It was a conversation where Ishared my raw, cathartic,
emotional release experience inGeorgia, and she reminded me of
that moment, the breath work,the deep release, and the way
that my mentor and my spiritualhealer worked on me and cracked
something open.
And then she said, if you need asign about starting a podcast,
(12:28):
this is it.
Start one.
So I made the decision rightthen and there.
I'm starting a fucking podcast.
I had spent two years grippingonto the dream of embodied, like
my life depended on it.
But when I finally let go, whenI stopped forcing, stopped
(12:50):
pushing, I could actually hearwhat Spirit had been trying to
tell me all along.
It wasn't rejection, it wasredirection.
And this is exactly what I meanwhen I say expectations aren't
just about what we want.
They shape how we move, how westress, and how we react to
life.
They make us grips so tight thatwe block ourselves from
(13:11):
receiving what we actually need.
So where are you gripping?
What are you convincingyourself?
That you have to hit somespecific milestone to be
successful, to be happy, to beworthy.
Now if you know anything aboutme, you know I live for bringing
together the tangible with thetangible.
(13:33):
I love bridging the gap betweenthe scene and the unseen,
between the energetic and thebiological.
So all you heady gals canfinally understand exactly why
this happens, what's reallygoing on inside that beautiful,
brilliant brain and body ofyours, and most importantly, how
to break free from it.
So let's get into it.
(13:54):
Why does this happen?
Why do we hold ontoexpectations?
Why do we hold on so tight?
Even when something isn'tworking?
Why do we grip onto expectationsso hard that we literally make
ourselves suffer?
It's not a mindset thing.
It's not just old programming,it's biology.
(14:15):
It is your nervous system tryingto keep you safe.
Let me break it down for you.
Okay.
Your brain has one job above allelse survival.
It does not care if you arehappy.
It does not care if you arefulfilled.
It cares about keeping youalive.
And to do that, it relies onpatterns, familiarity, and
(14:37):
predictability.
So when you attach to anexpectation, whether it's the
dream job, the perfect body, theperfect relationship, or the
right timeline for your life.
Your nervous system registersthat expectation as your safety
zone.
Your brain doesn't see it as agoal.
It sees it as a requirement forsurvival.
(15:01):
So when things don't go the wayyou expected, your body reacts
the same way it would to a realthreat.
It goes into survival mode.
Cortisol spikes your body floodswith stress hormone preparing
you for danger.
Your breath shortens, yourmuscles tense, and you get wired
and restless, or you completelyshut down.
(15:22):
You spiral into fight, flight,freeze, or fawn.
You overwork, you overthink.
You completely avoid.
Your digestion, sleep andhormones get thrown off because
your body literally thinksyou're under attack.
This is why you feel that gutdrop panic when things don't go
as planned.
It's not just disappointment.
(15:43):
It is your body responding as ifyou're about to die, and this is
where the addiction loop starts.
Most people think addiction isjust about substances, but
addiction is really aboutrepetition.
So think of your brain like an88 key piano.
(16:03):
You have limitless potential,infinite possibilities, an
entire range of notes to play,and yet most of us are just
hitting the same five damn keysover and over again, expecting a
different result.
We think the same thoughts, feelthe same emotions, do the same
things every morning.
(16:24):
Wake up, scroll, drink coffee,stress about the day.
We take the same route to work,see the same people, have the
same small talk replay, the sameresentments in our head.
By lunchtime, we eat the samefoods, we react to the same
triggers, and we pick the sameTV shows scrolling through the
same accounts right before bed.
(16:45):
And guess what?
We wake up and we do it all overagain.
And then we wonder why nothinghas changed this is the
definition of insanity.
And addiction because beforeaddiction becomes physical, it
starts in the mind and yourmind.
Job isn't to expand and reachyour dreams.
(17:06):
Its job is to keep you safe, tokeep you alive, and that means
keep you the same, so your brainclings to what is familiar, even
if it's making you miserable,because it perceives it as safer
than the unknown.
So if you've spent your wholelife believing that success
looks a certain way, or thatyour worth is tied to your
productivity, or that love meansproving yourself over and over
(17:30):
again, then breaking free fromthat girl, that's gonna feel
like death.
This is why you keep repeatingthe same patterns.
Whether it's overworking peoplepleasing procrastinating,
avoiding numbing out, or chasingvalidation.
It's why you reach for yourphone.
The second you feeluncomfortable.
(17:51):
It's why you stay in jobs,relationships, and habits that
drain you.
It is why even when you know youneed rest, you can't actually
let yourself rest because thetruth is your nervous system
isn't wired for freedom.
It is wired for familiarity.
It's wired for the old you, theone who believes you have to
(18:13):
prove yourself, the one who tiesher worth to expectations and
the one who only feels safe indoing.
But here's what I need you tohear.
You are not your patterns.
You are not your past and youare not your survival responses.
Your brain isn't a fixedblueprint.
(18:34):
It's a living adaptable system,and just like it learned to
repeat the same five keys overand over again, it can learn to
play an entirely new song.
This is neuroplasticity.
The brain's ability to rewireitself through intentional,
conscious repetition.
(18:55):
Every time you choose a newresponse, a new thought, a new
way of moving through the world,you are literally reshaping your
brain.
So when you stop over explainingyourself just to be liked,
you're rewiring self-trust.
When you pause before reactingout of fear, you're building a
new stress response.
And when you finally put downyour phone instead of numbing
(19:16):
out, well, you're breaking theaddiction to distraction.
And don't get it twisted atfirst.
It's uncomfortable.
It feels unnatural because yournervous system craves the old
loops.
But the more you repeat the newway of being, the stronger those
neural pathways become until oneday you wake up.
(19:37):
And the new way isn't somethingyou have to force.
It's just who you are.
This is why healing isn't aboutknowing better.
It's about being different.
It's about embodying the newpattern until it becomes second
nature.
Because if your brain can bewired for survival, well, it can
be wired for expansion andthat's what we're doing here.
(20:02):
So how do we break free?
How do we rewire a nervoussystem so that we stop reacting
to life?
Like we're constantly in danger?
Well, we have to shift fromexpectation to expansion.
See, expectation is rigid.
It says this has to happen, orI'll fail, and expansion is
open.
(20:22):
It says, I trust that whateverhappens is leading me somewhere
even better.
Expectation keeps you inanxiety.
Expansion lets you breatheagain.
Expectation keeps you gripping.
Expansion teaches you to flow.
Expectation creates resistance.
(20:43):
Expansion creates possibility.
And here's the thing, healingisn't just about what you do,
it's about who you become.
And your nervous system needsproof that it's safe to let go,
safe to trust, and safe to slowdown.
So here's how we start rewiringit, not just mentally, but
physically and biologically,because living in a state of
(21:06):
constant pressure andexpectation isn't just
exhausting.
It's disruptive.
It rewires your body for stress,keeping you stuck in survival
mode, inflamed and dysregulated.
And ironically, the more youfocus on healing as something to
fix, the more pressure youcreate, the more you reinforce
(21:27):
the belief that something iswrong with you.
But healing isn't about fixing.
It's about connecting.
Connecting with your body so itlearns to feel safe again,
connecting with your environmentso that you stop living in
hypervigilance.
Connecting with your mind so yourecognize the patterns before
they take over.
Connecting with the peoplearound you so you don't isolate
(21:49):
in your own suffering.
Remember, healing isn't thegoal.
It's actually a side effect ofconnection and this, this is how
we start rebuilding thatconnection one step at a time.
All right, let's talk aboutgetting your nervous system out
of survival mode.
(22:09):
Because if your body is stuck instress, your mind is gonna stay
strapped and not enoughness.
You know the feeling waking upalready anxious already behind
before the day even starts.
Your digestion feels off, yourhormones feel like a mess.
And no matter how much you tryto calm down, your body is on a
fucking edge.
And here's the thing, this isn'tjust mental.
(22:32):
Your body is biologically stuckin a stress loop.
So let's talk about how weactually pull you out of this
physically, nutritionally, andneurologically.
First, let's stabilize bloodsugar because it's more
controlling than you reallythink.
So most people don't realize howmuch blood sugar impacts
(22:52):
anxiety, mood, and overallnervous system regulation.
But when your blood sugar isspiking and crashing all day,
your body thinks it's in danger.
It responds with a flood ofcortisol, adrenaline, and stress
hormones.
Keeping you wired, anxious, andcompletely dysregulated.
So if you're waking up in themorning and immediately reaching
for a carb heavy breakfast, justcoffee, or nothing at all,
(23:16):
you're setting yourself up for acortisol rollercoaster instead.
Here's what actually helps startyour day with protein and
healthy fats.
Think eggs, avocado, chiapudding, or a protein smoothie
with fiber and fat.
Do not skip meals under eating,puts your body into scarcity
mode and makes it release evenmore stress hormone.
(23:38):
And if you're running oncaffeine on an empty stomach,
that's a straight shot ofcortisol to the brain.
So try eating first before thatmorning, coffee or caffeine,
whatever you like.
Your blood sugar sets the tonefor your entire day.
Balance that and your nervoussystem has one less reason to
panic next.
Let's talk about gut healthbecause your gut and brain are
(24:01):
always talking.
See, your gut and your brain arein a constant back and forth
conversation.
And if your gut is inflamed,overwhelmed, or depleted, your
nervous system feels it.
You know that gut feeling whensomething feels off that's real.
And when your gut is struggling,your mood focus and even anxiety
levels take a hit.
So how do we support it?
(24:23):
Well, you can start by addingfermented foods like sauerkraut,
kimchi, and coconut yogurt toyour feed.
Beneficial gut bacteria reduceinflammatory foods, especially
ultra processed foods and oilslike can oil, soybean, and
sunflower oil.
These rec gut integrity considergetting L-glutamine and amino
acid that helps repair the gutlining and supports mood
(24:45):
stability.
And just know that your gut isyour second brain and it's part
of your nervous system, so takecare of it, and your whole body
will feel the shift even deeper.
I highly recommend you reachingout to me to set up a call
because a lot of times we mayhave a fungus or parasites or a
gut imbalance, which is causinga lot of our mental health
(25:07):
issues, and it keeps our nervoussystem dysregulated.
Finally, let's talk aboutsupporting your stress responses
with nutrients that your body isburning through.
So stress is doing a lot to yourbody because if you've been
feeling exhausted, foggy,anxious, or just not yourself,
it's not just in your head.
(25:29):
Stress is not just an emotionalexperience.
It's actually a very physicalexperience that drains you.
It depletes key nutrients thatyour brain and your body need to
function, and if you don'treplenish them well, you stay
stuck in survival mode no matterhow much mindset work you do.
So if you've been running onpressure perfectionism, or
(25:51):
burnout for months or years,even decades, this is for you.
So let's get into what stresssteals from you and how to get
it back.
If you've been feeling anxiouswired, but tired or struggling
to sleep at night, you'reprobably low in magnesium.
Magnesium is your nervoussystem's brake pedal.
(26:13):
It literally tells your bodywhen to feel safe and to relax.
But when you're stressed, youburn through it like crazy.
And when your magnesium levelsdrop, your muscles tighten, your
brain speeds up and your sleepgoes out the window to replenish
it.
You want to eat more dark leafygreens, pumpkin seeds, almonds,
cow, cow, avocados, bananas, andwild caught salmon.
(26:37):
You can also supplement withmagnesium glycinate, which is
best for calming the nervoussystem and sleep and doesn't
clear you out like mostmagnesiums do.
The next one is B vitamins.
So B vitamins are like the fuelfor your brain and adrenals.
They help regulate energy, moodand stress, resilience.
But when you're constantlypushing yourself, working late,
(26:59):
skipping meals, running oncaffeine, your body burns
through them fast and low.
B vitamin can make you feelfoggy, fatigued, moody, and like
you're constantly running onempty.
So we can replenish them byeating more grass fed meats,
eggs, dairy, wild caught fish,lentils, leafy greens, and
(27:20):
nutritional yeast.
Take a B complex supplement,especially if you're plant-based
or feeling mentally drained.
Vitamin C.
So your adrenal glands actuallystore the highest concentration
of vitamin C in your body, andwhen you're under stress, they
burn through them like wildfire.
If you've been getting sickooften feeling run down, or just
(27:41):
noticing that you don't bounceback like you used to, your body
might be running low on vitaminC.
So we can replenish this byeating more citrus, fruits, bell
peppers, kiwi strawberries,broccoli, or cameo camo, and you
can supplement with vitamin C,especially during high stress
periods.
I highly recommend just takingextra.
(28:03):
Now zinc is another nutrientthat gets depleted by chronic
stress, and when that happens,your immune system weakens, your
skin breaks out, and your moodcan tank.
It's like your body's protectiveshield, but stress punches holes
in it leaving you morevulnerable to everything from
colds to anxiety.
You can replenish this by eatingmore oysters, grass fed beef,
(28:24):
pumpkin seeds, lentils,chickpeas, and nuts.
I would highly recommendsupplementing with zinc if you
are dealing with chronic stress,frequent sickness, or skin
issues.
If you feel like your brain isfoggy, unfocused, or stuck in
overdrive, you might be low inomega threes.
(28:46):
Omega threes areanti-inflammatory powerhouses
that support brain health, moodstability, and stress
resilience.
But when you're under chronicstress, your body burns through
them.
So we want to eat more wildcaught salmon, sardines,
walnuts, flax seeds and chiaseeds.
And you can also take an Omega-3supplements, but look for one
high-end DHA and EPA for brainsupport.
(29:10):
If you've ever felt totallydrained, dizzy, or lightheaded
when you're under stress, that'sbecause your body dumps out
potassium and sodium whencortisol is high.
These two minerals help regulatehydration, nerve signaling, and
adrenal function.
When they're depleted, you feelweak, fatigued, and like your
energy is crashing constantly.
So we wanna replenish them byeating more potassium rich foods
(29:32):
like bananas, avocado, coconutwater, and white beans.
And don't be afraid of salt.
So Celtic sea salt or Himalayanpink salt can help replenish
sodium levels.
And you can also try drinkingbone broth for natural source of
electrolytes, or just getting areally nice form of electrolyte,
uh, powder.
I always drink some in themorning.
(29:53):
Um, and halfway through the day,minerals changed the game for me
once I started upping them.
Iron is another nutrient thatstress can mess with because
when cortisol is high, your bodydoesn't absorb iron well.
And when iron is low, you feelexhausted, weak, and mentally
drained.
No matter how much you sleep,you get right.
So you want to eat more grassfed meat, liver, spinach,
(30:15):
lentils, dark chocolate.
Yes.
Really?
Um, but if you need tosupplement one iron, I would
check your levels first becausetoo much iron isn't good either.
And sometimes there can be otherthings going on.
Underneath all of this now, ifyou feel like stress is running
your life.
One of my number onerecommendations would be
(30:36):
adaptogens because they can be agame changer.
They literally help regulatecortisol, balance, adrenal
function, and make your bodymore resilient.
They are true medicine, soadaptogens adapt to your body.
So for example.
Different adaptogens work withyour body with whatever it
needs.
It's like a type of mushroomimplant medicine that can go
(30:56):
into your body and it's sointelligent, it will give you
what you need.
So some of the best ones wouldbe like ashwagandha, which I'm
sure you've heard of before.
This lowers cortisol and reducesanxiety.
Rhodiola, which increases energyand mental clarity.
Holy basil or tulsi.
This supports mood and stressrecovery.
I highly, highly recommend it.
(31:18):
Rishi Mushroom, which is myfavorite for gut support and
immune system and reducinginflammation.
So you wanna take them either inteas, tinctures, or there's a
couple of companies that Ihighly recommend you get'em
from.
I will put this in the shownotes and.
If you've been feeling drained,overwhelmed, or stuck in fight
(31:39):
or flight, your body isn'tbroken.
I really want you to realizethis.
It's just depleted and no amountof mindset work is going to
shift this if your nervoussystem doesn't feel safe.
So if you have nutrientdeficiencies, if your gut is
imbalanced and you areconstantly in a state of
pressure and control, what'smost likely happened is that.
(31:59):
State of control.
That state of judgment, thatstate of perfectionism, that
state of stress has led tophysical imbalances within your
body, which then bidirectionallycreates more stress in your
mind.
So the nervous system worksbidirectionally along with the
gut.
So we must work on thebiological and the physical
(32:19):
aspect first, while also workingwith the physical body.
So before you try to pushthrough and force motivation or
wonder why you still feel stuck,ask yourself, have I actually
replenished what stress hasburned through?
So start with eating in a waythat stabilizes your nervous
system.
(32:39):
Remember, balance your bloodsugar, nourish your gut, get
your minerals in, replenish whatstress is stealing from you
magnesium, B vitamins, zinc, andomegas.
Support your body withadaptogens if needed, especially
if you feel wired and tired allthe time.
Because the truth is your bodywants to heal, but it needs the
(32:59):
right tools to do it.
And of course the next one up isbreath work.
So try this right now, the fourby eight breath work method.
You wanna inhale through yournose for four seconds.
And hold for seven, and thenexhale through your mouth for
(33:25):
eight seconds.
Now do it again.
Breathe in for four.
Hold for seven.
(33:50):
And breathe out for eight.
Let your shoulders drop and letyour belly soften.
You can do that as many times asyou want.
I usually do it for at leastfour or five rounds, and that's
where I get the real shift.
We have the ability to shift ourstate at any time through our
(34:13):
nervous system, through ourbreath.
So your nervous system needs toexperience safety in the present
moment before it can stopobsessing over the future.
So if you're overthinking, ifyou're feeling really down on
yourself, practice the four byseven by eight breath work.
And then once you've changedyour state, you can make a new
decision on what you wanna do.
(34:34):
So the next time you feel thatpanic, when you feel behind,
when you feel pressure, kick inpause.
Ask yourself, what expectationam I gripping onto right now?
Where did it come from?
Is it even mine?
So what I want you to do iswrite down all the things you
think you quote unquote shouldbe doing, because those are all
(34:57):
expectations.
They're illusions that you'vebeen carrying.
And most of the time they werenever even yours to begin with.
They come from society, family,outdated paradigms, conditioning
that taught you that your worthis tied to doing, proving and
achieving.
And if you wanna break thecycle, you have to make space
(35:18):
for something new.
So breathe, meditate, but not toescape, but to witness yourself.
Sit in silence even when it'suncomfortable.
Notice when your mind tries topull you back into old patterns
and choose differently becausethis is how you stop repeating
the past and actually createyour future.
(35:39):
It's why your best ideas don'tcome when you're forcing them.
They come when you're in theshower on a walk, or when you
finally exhale, think about it.
'cause your brain isn't amachine.
It's an adaptive, creativesystem that needs space to form
new connections to a wire, torewire, to integrate.
(36:00):
And if you're constantly fillingevery gap with noise,
distractions, and tasks.
You're keeping yourself stuck inthe very loop you're trying to
break free from.
Step three, we're gonna beshifting from doing to being,
this is the spiritual andenergetic shift that we'll be
making.
Now, most people don't strugglewith change because they don't
(36:22):
know what to do.
They struggle because they'redoing too much.
When you've been living insurvival mode, pushing, proving,
forcing your brain and bodydon't trust illness, you've been
conditioned to believe that moreeffort equals better results.
More books, more therapy, moretrying to figure it all the fuck
out, right?
(36:43):
But real transformation, itdoesn't happen when you're
gripping.
It happens in the pause.
So the real question is are yougonna keep running in circles,
gripping onto control overefforting your way through
healing?
Or are you ready to spiralupwards to expand into the
unknown, to trust that healingisn't about doing more, but
(37:05):
about unbecoming the conditionedversion of you and reconnecting
with your authentic self?
Because here's what I'velearned, the version of me who
actually receives everything shedesires.
She's not fucking gripping,she's not proving, she's not
exhausting herself, trying toforce things into place.
(37:25):
She moves from a place of trust.
She moves from her body, notjust her mind.
She moves from knowing thateverything meant for her will
find her without force.
And this is exactly whathappened when I let go of
embodied.
(37:46):
See, the second you startthinking in terms of success or
failure, you've already lost thegame.
Because your mind is shapingyour entire experience.
If you expect the worst, you'llfind evidence of it.
If you expect perfection, you'llalways be disappointed.
But if you expect growth, if youexpect expansion, if you expect
(38:07):
that every ending is actually abeginning in disguise, then
suddenly you stop living inresistance.
You stop gripping and you startliving in flow.
So here's my question for you.
What expectations are youfinally ready to let go of?
(38:28):
What's one thing you've beengripping on to so hard that you
haven't even noticed?
It's suffocating.
You DM me right now and tell me,let's have a conversation.
Because healing isn't aboutdoing it alone.
It's about evolving together.
Community truly is the medicine.
And if this episode crackssomething open in you, share it.
Tag me on Instagram at LaurenMichelle Jewel, and let's get
(38:54):
this message to the women whoneed it.
'cause you're not behind.
You are exactly where you'remeant to be.
This is embody this the no BSHealing podcast.
Until next time, trust theprocess girl.
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