Nervous System Reset: Do THIS Every Day to Rewire Your Brain From Stress and Anxiety

The Mel Robbins Podcast

SiriusXM Podcasts

Health & Fitness, Society & Culture, Education, Self-improvement, Mental Health, Relationships

4.7 • 15.3K Ratings

🗓️ 27 April 2026

⏱️ 75 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What you learn today will make you forever calmer and more in control of your emotions. If you’ve ever had a moment where you thought: “Why does one email, one comment…ruin my day?” “Why do I always get overwhelmed by the littlest things?” “Why am I like this?” This conversation gives you the answer. In this episode, Dr. Burke Harris explains why so many of the patterns you hate, like being reactive, shutting down, people-pleasing, not being able to follow through, and feeling dread for no reason, are not your “personality flaws” – and give you the truth. Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, MD is one of the most important voices in trauma science and public health. She’s a pediatrician, who conducted pioneering research on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), the founder of the Center for Youth Wellness, and the former Surgeon General of the State of California. She is here to tell you that your body is running an overactive stress response that got wired in childhood, and never got turned off. Dr. Burke Harris gives you research-backed tools that help your body re-regulate, calm down, and feel safe, so stress stops driving your life. You will be able to start rewiring your nervous system today, with one powerful, 3-word sentence you can say to yourself. It takes less than a few minutes and reverses the feelings that make life harder than it should be. In this episode, you’ll learn: -Why you shut down sometimes, get emotional, “triggered”, or overwhelmed (and why it’s not your fault) -Why you procrastinate even when it feels bad-How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime-Why trauma is (Mel had it wrong for decades) and how childhood trauma is keeping you stuck-How to help your body return to balance after being upset-The 3 essential words that rewire your nervous system-The 7 evidence-based things you can do to regulate your nervous system-How to support someone you love who’s stuck, shut down, or overwhelmed in their life This episode is hopeful, practical, and empowering. You will get a playbook that helps you rewire your nervous system so you feel less stress and more in control of your emotions. When you finally understand what’s happening in your body, you can have a different life. For more resources related to today’s episode, click here for the podcast episode page. If you liked the episode, check out this one next: Why You Feel Lost in Life: Dr. Gabor Maté on Trauma & How to Heal Connect with Mel: Order Mel’s new product, Pure Genius Protein Get Pure Genius Protein at Target Get Mel’s newsletter, packed with tools, coaching, and inspiration. Get Mel’s #1 bestselling book, The Let Them Theory Watch the episodes on YouTube Follow Mel on Instagram The Mel Robbins Podcast Instagram Mel's TikTok Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes ad-free Disclaimer

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's your friend Mel, and welcome to the Mel Robbins podcast.
0:09.6	Have you ever had a moment where you think, why am I like this?
0:13.9	I mean, you're doing fine, you're functioning, you're successful, and yet somehow one email,
0:19.5	one comment, one conflict with somebody, and suddenly you are flooded
0:24.2	with emotions, you're reactive, you're triggered, or you completely shut down. Or maybe you're
0:29.3	wondering, why is my spouse like this? Why do they shut down? Why do they get triggered? Why are they so
0:34.9	strict or clingy or they're such a perfectionist? Well, today,
0:40.6	you're going to learn the surprising reason why. Our medical expert today is a world-renowned
0:47.5	expert on the long-term impact of childhood trauma and adverse experiences. And before you go, okay, no, no, no, I haven't had trauma.
0:56.7	I want you to listen to this because it is going to explain so much about who you are and who some of
1:04.1	the people that you love deeply are right now in your adult life. Dr. Nadine Burke Harris is going to teach you that this kind of
1:13.1	behavior where you're so emotionally reactive or you shut down or you get triggered by the easiest
1:18.9	thing, it is a neurological and biological pattern that started in childhood. See, there is a stress
1:26.8	response that your body learned a long time ago,
1:29.7	but now you're still trapped in it as an adult.
1:33.5	Now, instead of making yourself wrong,
1:35.9	Dr. Burke Harris is here
1:37.7	to teach you how to break free
1:40.2	from the patterns in your past
1:42.1	so you can finally heal yourself and feel in control of your
1:47.6	emotions, your thoughts, your actions, and your life.
2:08.6	Hey, it's your friend Mel and welcome to the Mel Robbins podcast. I am so excited for the conversation today. I'm so excited that you're here. It is such an honor to spend time with you
	...

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