Stress isn’t just something you feel mentally. It changes how your body allocates resources, shifts blood flow, and determines whether your nervous system prioritizes survival or recovery.
In this episode, neuroscientist Dr. Dave Rabin and I unpack what happens when fight or flight becomes your default state and why seemingly small everyday triggers can keep your body on high alert. Get Dr Dave Rabin’s new book, A Simple Guide to Being Alive.
Your Nervous System Can Learn Safety
The encouraging part is that your stress response isn’t necessarily set in stone.
Dr. Rabin explains how neuroplasticity allows the nervous system to develop new patterns and why simple signals of safety, including breathing, gratitude, soothing touch, and music, can help activate the vagus nerve.
The conversation also explores why the meaning we attach to difficult experiences can influence whether stress leaves us feeling powerless or becomes an opportunity to build resilience.
Can Technology Help Retrain Your Stress Response?
Dr. Rabin also takes listeners behind the science of Apollo Neuro, a wearable developed to deliver soothing vibrations to the body. He explains how the technology grew out of research into touch, safety, vagus nerve activity, and nervous system regulation, and why helping the body recognize when it is safe may make it easier to transition out of chronic fight or flight.
Build a More Resilient Response to Stress
The goal isn’t to eliminate stress. Stress can be an important part of learning, adaptation, and growth when it’s balanced with adequate recovery. This episode explores how you can change your relationship with stressful experiences, strengthen your ability to bounce back, and better understand the signals your brain and body need to move from survival toward recovery.
Listen to the full conversation with Dr. Dave Rabin to discover the practical tools and neuroscience behind a more adaptable nervous system.
- 00:00 Stress As Blood Flow
- 00:23 Meet Dr Dave Rabin
- 00:51 Apollo Neuro Overview
- 05:34 Book Inspiration
- 07:36 Psychedelic Therapy Shift
- 09:41 Safety And Vagus Nerve
- 13:20 How Stress Works
- 21:51 Gratitude And Regulation
- 25:28 Trauma Redefined
- 31:35 Meaning And Resilience
- 33:24 Stress As Growth
- 34:58 Reserve Judgment
- 37:16 Reframing Hardship
- 38:46 Faith Meets Science
- 43:03 Touch as Safety Signal
- 45:31 Apollo Neuro Explained
- 48:33 Vibes and Body Music
- 54:45 Oura Sleep Study Results
- 01:00:22 Why Sleep Heals
- 01:03:26 Learning Top Down Bottom Up
- 01:08:38 Final Thanks and Wrap
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Connect with Dr. Dave Rabin:
- Book: https://amzn.to/4yeB0cw
- Website: Touch Therapy Tech for Stress, Sleep & Performance | Apollo Neuro
Coupon Code: DRJOCKERS
Connect with Dr. Jockers:
- YouTube
- Website
- If you are interested in being a guest on the show, we would love to hear from you! Please contact us here!
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