In Episode 23 of the B.Real Podcast, Brittany Bijan gets real about something nobody warned her: even a change you chose and dreamt about can dysregulate your nervous system. Fresh off her family's move to Spain, Brittany shares her personal experience of being simultaneously grateful and physically wrecked — missing her period for three months, waking at all hours, and crying on a loop. She dives into the science of the female stress response (thanks to Stacy Sims), Gabor Maté's concept of the "authentic vs. adapted self," and the very real signs your body is running on overdrive. Most importantly, she shares the tools that actually helped her calm her system down — from strength training and breathwork to nature walks and leaning on her closest friends.

Key Takeaways

• (3:47) - Your nervous system can't tell the difference between a good change and a bad one — it just knows something big is happening.

• (7:00) - Women have a unique stress response called "befriend" — you're biologically wired to seek connection and care for others under stress.

• (9:16) - After 40, declining estrogen raises your baseline cortisol, making stress recovery take up to three times longer.

• (13:20) - Nervous system dysregulation shows up as 2 AM wakeups, digestive issues, hair loss, repeated illness, and emotional numbness — not just panic attacks.

• (18:05) - Strength training, breathwork, daily nature walks, proper fueling, and real connection are the tools that actually calm your system.

Quote

— Brittany Bijan, quoting Gabor Maté

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