What if your great-grandparents held the key to calming your anxiety? In this episode, we explore a surprising, research-backed strategy for influencing your unconscious brain: knowing your family's intergenerational stories. Discover how ancestral narratives can help shift your brain's default stress response from threat to challenge, enhancing resilience, emotional health, and self-efficacy. Through deeply personal family stories, you'll learn how to train your brain—like a beloved pet—to respond more supportively in the face of uncertainty. If you've ever wondered how to influence your emotional responses at the subconscious level, this episode is a must-listen.
00:00 – Why it's hard to "just decide" to feel better
04:30 – Training the brain like a dog: Influence, not control
06:00 – Why intergenerational stories reduce anxiety and boost resilience
09:00 – 🎻 Story #1: Great-grandpa Rue Tyler’s banjo band in the Great Depression
12:00 – Starting a podcast at 48: Drawing strength from a grandfather’s legacy
15:00 – 🛏️ Story #2: Great-great-grandmother Charlotte’s years of mercury poisoning
16:30 – Enduring chronic illness with ancestral inspiration
18:00 – Modeling and inherited resilience: From “Why me?” to “How do I do this?”:
For full show notes, including resources mentioned, go to https://www.calmyourcaveman.com/episodes/grandma-knew-best:-the-anxiety-antidote-you-inherited-
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