Internal chaos is not just emotional—it’s neurological.

This episode of tHE ARTichoke Podcast bridges neuroscience and lived experience to explore how dysregulation begins in the body and can be rewired through breath, movement, interoception, and practice. Grounded in recent research, this is a transformative guide to understanding and regulating your nervous system at the root.

Reference

Czekierda, K., & Banik, A. (2022). The impact of mental rehearsal on emotional regulation and cognitive control: A systematic review. Current Psychology, 41, 7324–7338. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01008-2

Saoji, A. A., & Raghavendra, B. R. (2023). Understanding mechanisms of slow breathing practices: A comprehensive review. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 17, 1183456. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2023.1183456

Ever wonder why your sibling drives you insane—or why you lead, love, or lose yourself the way you do?
In this powerful kickoff to tHE ARTichoke Podcast mini-series, we peel back the layers of birth order psychology, blending raw truth, neuroscience, trauma, and humor.

This isn’t pop psych. It’s brain science in real life. Discover how family roles, societal norms, ACEs, and survival patterns silently sculpt your adult identity.

You’ll never see your position—or your people—the same again.

References

Brant, J. M., Perry, M. L., & Dunlap, K. E. (2022). Neural correlates of hyperresponsibility in firstborn adults: A cognitive-emotional analysis. Journal of Applied Neuropsychology, 29(1), 45–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/09084282.2022.1983047

CDC. (2020). Preventing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs): Leveraging the best available evidence. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/preventingACES.pdf

Chen, S. Y., Wang, T. R., & Li, Y. (2021). Sibling position and reward-related brain activity in adolescence. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 657302. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.657302

Keller, E. A., Smith, L. A., & Nguyen, T. (2023). Reconstructing family roles through neuroplastic intervention: A sibling-order identity study. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 145, 104724. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.104724

Moreno, H. K., Abrahams, T. S., & Liao, M. (2020). Emotion regulation and birth order: Neurodevelopmental insights into middle-child social cognition. Developmental Psychology, 56(4), 711–723. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000904

Silva, R. C., & Yoon, J. H. (2021). Longitudinal changes in executive functioning linked to perceived sibling roles. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 33(11), 2222–2235. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01733

We are not emotionally empty—we are emotionally overloaded and under-equipped.

This episode holds a mirror to the quiet chaos many have normalized ~ high emotional reactivity with low emotional fluency. It’s not a conversation about managing emotions, it’s a call to understand them with precision, presence, and depth.

I explore what happens when people know how to express however, not regulate. When they feel deeply, but cannot name what’s there.

This is where most of us live, in the gap between emotional performance and emotional maturity.

You’ll leave this episode with three non-negotiable tools for emotional clarity, and one hard truth—if you cannot sit with your emotions, they will sit inside everything you do.

This is not for your highlight reel.

This is for the you that’s ready to live clear.

Reference

Brackett, M. A., Bailey, C. S., Hoffmann, J. D., & Simmons, D. N. (2020). Emotions matter: How emotional intelligence education improves learning, relationships, and mental health. Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.