Stress doesn’t exist only in your head.
When your brain continually believes you need to be on guard, the effects can ripple throughout the body. Your sleep changes. Digestion can suffer. Pain can feel amplified. Your nervous and immune systems respond. Eventually, constantly living in survival mode may affect far more than how stressed you feel.
In Episode 141 of Everyday Epigenetics: Raw. Real. Relatable., Dr. Jackie Kilraine returns for Part 2 of our conversation about the brain, this time exploring the connection between brain dysregulation and the immune response.
When the Threat Never Seems to End
Jackie works extensively with neurofeedback and brain mapping. She explains that when she sees people dealing with chronic anxiety, pain, poor sleep, hypervigilance, or an inability to slow down, she often sees dysregulated brainwave patterns associated with a heightened state of alert.
The problem is that your brain is designed to help you survive. If it continues detecting danger, even after the original stressful or traumatic experience has passed, the rest of the body may continue responding as though the threat is still there.
Jackie discusses research exploring associations between anxiety and autoimmune disease and shares what she has observed in patients experiencing chronic pain, trauma, and autoimmune conditions.
The Body Is One Connected System
This conversation quickly expands beyond the brain.
We talk about the gut-brain connection, thyroid function, inflammation, immune pathways, traumatic brain injuries, PTSD, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and chronic pain. We also explore why treating one isolated symptom may not address everything contributing to how someone feels.
It’s a conversation that reinforces something I see constantly in my own work: lifestyle matters, but so does the state in which your body is living.
Retraining the Brain
Jackie also explains how she uses neurofeedback to identify and retrain dysregulated brainwave patterns. Rather than simply telling someone to relax, the goal is to help the brain develop different patterns so it no longer responds to everyday life as though survival is constantly at stake.
That doesn’t replace nutrition, movement, sleep, stress management, or appropriate medical care. It gives us another piece of an incredibly complex puzzle.
If you’ve ever wondered why your body still feels stressed even when you’re doing “everything right,” this conversation will give you a fascinating new perspective.
Listen to Episode 141 of Everyday Epigenetics: Raw. Real. Relatable. for Part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Jackie Kilraine.
RESOURCES:
Connect with Dr. Jackie Kilraine:
Website: https://www.mydivinelife.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackiekilraine/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@expressingoptima4750
Find all of Susan’s Resources and links in the show notes:
Shop the products: http://healthygut.com/healthyawakenings (this link will provide you a special discount!)
Find all of Susan’s Resources and links in the show notes:
https://healthyawakening.co/2026/09/21/episode141
Connect with Susan: https://linktr.ee/susanrobbins
Visit the website: healthyawakening.co/podcast
Find listening links here: https://healthyawakening.co/links
Learn More about Dr. Jackie Kilraine:
Dr Kilraine is highly skilled at solving complex problems using a very individualized approach. This approach is designed to restore energy, remove fear, regain clarity and help clients look and feel ten years younger. It is designed to rediscover your Unique You!
She is the CEO of Expressing Optima and Healthybox.me and the Director of Neuroenhancement Technologies at Apeiron Zoh. She is an examiner for the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners.
She is the author of the Expressing Optima Journal which is part of her highly effective Rediscovering You Program and co-author of The Codes of Longevity. Rediscovering You is designed for women to reclaim their joy and passion to live life to the fullest to enhance their own life as well as the lives of those they love and serve.
Dr Jackie is the proud mother of three amazing boys and shares her home with her dog Luna and 3 curious cats. She loves to do anything outdoors especially if it involves water.
Learn More about Susan Robbins:
Susan is a retired law enforcement officer and an accomplished Certified Epigenetic Human Performance Coach with a diverse and extensive background in wellness. She began her wellness career in 2015 as a holistic health and stress management coach. Her passion for helping others led her to expand her expertise into epigenetics in 2019, where she discovered the missing piece of the health optimization puzzle: Personalized health.
As a Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Certified Level 2 Apeiron Zoh Epigenetic Human Performance Coach (DNA), and Certified PH360 Coach through Precision Health Alliance, Susan has developed a unique approach to health and wellness through completely personalized health. She is the proud recipient of the 2023 Precision Health Alliance Coach of the Year award. Susan works with clients to elevate their health and overall quality of life by understanding their unique needs based on their genetic makeup, taking out the guesswork, and getting results.
