Podcast Summary

Building Resilience with Leah Davidson

Episode: Common Habits That are Making You Sick
Date: September 17, 2025
Host: Leah Davidson

Overview:

In this episode, Leah Davidson, a nervous system resilience coach, delves into the subtle, everyday habits many people fall into that can inadvertently worsen chronic symptoms like pain, anxiety, or digestive issues. Drawing from both personal experience and her coaching practice, Leah explains how these habits reinforce nervous system dysregulation—keeping you stuck in cycles of discomfort or illness—and offers gentle, practical microhabits to help listeners flip the script and start fostering greater safety and healing within their bodies.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

"Dashboard Lights" as Body Signals

• Concept: Just like a car’s dashboard lights, symptoms in the body (like vertigo, IBS, migraines) are signals warning you that you may need to slow down and pay attention.
• Personal Story: Leah shares a recent experience with vertigo, showing how her body “whispers” when stress levels get too high and then “shouts” when she ignores these signs.
  • Quote: "My body went from whispering with a slight dizziness feeling to yelling. So I had no choice but to listen." (06:48)
• Main Point: Chronic symptoms aren't random; they're messages from your nervous system often misread as enemies instead of useful signals.

The Loop of Neuroplastic Pain

• Definition: Chronic pain/symptoms persisting over 2-3 months are often neuroplastic, meaning the brain and nervous system have learned to stay in protection mode, even in the absence of real danger.
• Analogy: Your nervous system is like a smoke alarm—sometimes alerting to real fire, sometimes just "burnt toast." Chronic symptoms are often false alarms.
• Insight: Everyday habits can “wire in” these false alarms, keeping the pain or symptom loop alive.

The 10 Common Habits that Make You Sick

Leah identifies and describes common habits that reinforce illness and pain cycles:

1. Talking About Symptoms Nonstop (15:45)

• Keeping symptoms front-and-center by discussing them constantly signals to the brain that they're important, keeping them “on stage.”
• Quote: "Talking about symptoms too much is like giving your pain this standing ovation... the spotlight, the microphone, and then the standing ovation."

2. Compulsive Googling & Reassurance Seeking (18:09)

• Seeking constant validation (through online searches, question-asking) can feel good short-term but escalates anxiety long-term.
• Quote: "It's kind of like scratching an itch. But you know how scratching a mosquito bite makes it itch even more later?"

3. Avoiding Activities “Just in Case” (20:55)

• Avoiding exercise or social engagements shrinks one’s world and prevents the nervous system from learning that these “roads” are safe.
• Quote: "Every time you avoid, you reinforce the belief that the world is unsafe and my body is fragile."

4. Hyper-Monitoring & Symptom Checking (24:15)

• Constantly scanning the body for issues wires in hypervigilance—like compulsively refreshing your inbox, making symptoms feel urgent.

5. Future-Tripping (Rehearsing Fear Stories) (27:09)

• Catastrophizing and mentally rehearsing worst-case scenarios makes the brain more skilled at being anxious.
• Quote: "You are practicing and getting good at being fearful."

6. Checking for Pain First Thing in the Morning (29:22)

• Beginning the day by searching for symptoms is akin to reading disaster headlines upon waking, setting a negative tone.

7. Symptom-Focused Journaling (32:03)

• Only tracking pain in journals without noting safety or joy turns symptoms into your life’s “headline news.”

8. Bracing and Tensing Automatically (35:15)

• Unconsciously tensing muscles puts the nervous system in a perpetual state of "waiting for impact." Cultivating interoception (body awareness) is key.
• Quote: "It's like driving with your foot on the brake and the gas at the same time, which is exhausting."

9. Delaying Joy Until You Feel Better (37:45)

• Postponing fun, pleasure, or hobbies until symptoms resolve keeps the system stuck in deprivation.
• Quote: "It's like telling yourself you'll only water the garden after it rains. Well, the flowers will never get what they need on a consistent basis."

10. Letting Pain/Symptoms Become Your Identity (39:28)

• Internalizing symptoms as one’s primary identity ("I'm migraines, I'm IBS") makes patterns more entrenched and harder to unwind.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Not Blaming Yourself:
  "If you do any of these habits, I don't want you to beat yourself up... Awareness is really powerful, but it's not meant to be used against yourself." (14:04)

• On Habit Loops:
  "Each time you repeat them, you are rehearsing the pain and symptoms. But just like you can practice pain and hyper vigilance and fear, you can also start rehearsing safety." (40:30)

Microhabits for Rewiring the Nervous System (41:26)

Leah offers practical steps ("microhabits") for flipping unhelpful habits:

• Talk Less About Pain—Talk More About Safety:
  Give "equal air time" to positive or neutral body sensations, not just symptoms.
• Check for Neutral/Good Sensations:
  Train your brain to notice balance, not just alarms.
• Catch and Swap Fear Stories:
  Move from “what if” thinking to “what now?” and focus on agency in your response.
• Practice Releasing Tension:
  Use tools like the Safety Sequence to rehearse feeling safe in your body.
• Don't Delay Joy:
  Engage in pleasurable activities now, even in small doses, to help rewire your brain for resilience.

Resources Mentioned

• IBS Nervous System Reset Workbook:
  A resource created by Leah for managing IBS or chronic symptoms (available via newsletter or the Nervous System Journaling Club).
• Safety Sequence Practice:
  A technique for teaching the body what “safety” feels like (further explored in Leah’s journal, Resilience).

Important Timestamps

• [00:00] – Introduction; “dashboard lights” metaphor & Leah’s vertigo story.
• [10:37] – Definition of chronic pain, neuroplastic pain, and the smoke alarm analogy.
• [15:45] – Common habits list begins: talking about symptoms nonstop.
• [18:09] – Reassurance seeking and compulsive Googling.
• [20:55] – Avoidance and shrinking your life.
• [24:15] – Hyper-monitoring/symptom checking.
• [27:09] – Future-tripping/catastrophizing.
• [29:22] – Checking for pain first thing in the morning.
• [32:03] – Journaling as symptom tracking (and its drawbacks).
• [35:15] – Bracing and tensing automatically.
• [37:45] – Delaying joy.
• [39:28] – Symptoms becoming your identity.
• [41:26] – Microhabits for breaking the cycle; how to start rewiring your nervous system.

Episode Tone

• Empathetic, validating, and practical. Leah reassures listeners that these habits are common, and change is possible through gentle, consistent awareness and practice.

For Listeners:

Whether you struggle with chronic symptoms or want to build resilience for a fuller, more vibrant life, this episode offers clear, actionable insights. Pick one habit you recognize, try one microhabit, and start befriending your nervous system—one small step at a time.