Ep. 238 – Why Feeling Safe Is the First Step to Healing Chronic Stress

Psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr. Dave Rabin returns to the podcast to discuss his new book, A Simple Guide to Being Alive, and why he believes healing from chronic stress and illness is simpler than most people are taught. Dr. Rabin explains that the autonomic nervous system, specifically the balance between the fight or flight sympathetic response and the rest and digest vagus nerve system, sits at the core of how the body handles stress, illness, and recovery, and that most patients are never taught the basics of how these systems work.

Dr. Rabin and Dr. Mitchell talk through why techniques like deep breathing, meditation, and mindfulness work, tracing the idea back to teachings from Jon Kabat-Zinn. Dr. Rabin describes how breathing at five to seven breaths per minute helps the body access a calm, present state, and how his company Apollo Neuroscience developed a wearable device that uses touch based vibration, rather than sound, to raise heart rate variability and vagal tone within two to three minutes, based on research conducted at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

The conversation turns to why Gen Z is showing declines on standardized cognitive testing, and how chronic nervous system stress, screen time, and a lack of in person mentorship may be contributing factors. Dr. Rabin also shares his approach to helping children work through tantrums and difficult emotions, why parents model stress responses for their kids whether they realize it or not, and why physical touch and safe human connection remain central to healing, even as modern medicine has grown more cautious about it.

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Websites:
Book: asimpleguidetobeingalive.com
Personal/Clinic: drdave.io
Apollo Neuroscience: apolloneuro.com
The Board of Medicine: boardofmedicine.org

Contact Dr. Mitchell:

Email: care@mitchellmedicalgroup.com
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