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Transcript

How to manage stress & improve your mental health: a conversation with best selling author and physician Dr. Aditi Nerurkar

Dr. Nerurkar shares how to manage stress and vulnerability in times of uncertainty

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Episode Summary

Dr. Lucy McBride speaks with physician and bestselling author Dr. Aditi Nerurkar about managing stress and vulnerability in times of uncertainty. Dr. Nerurkar shares her personal journey with stress-related health issues and discusses practical strategies from her book "The Five Resets" to help people rewire their brains for resilience. Both physicians emphasize that mental health is universal, not optional, and offer actionable advice for managing stress amidst life's challenges.

Understanding Mental Health as Universal

  • Dr. Nerurkar emphasizes that mental health is a universal phenomenon that everyone has, just like cardiovascular health

  • Many physical symptoms (migraines, jaw tension, back pain, stomach issues) can be manifestations of stress

  • 60-80% of all primary care visits have a stress-related component, yet only 3% of doctors counsel for stress

  • Both doctors share personal experiences of physical symptoms caused by stress during their medical training

  • Mental and physical health are inseparable; there's no partition between the brain and the rest of the body

The Five Resets Framework

  • Reset 1: Get clear on what matters most using the MOST goal-setting framework (Motivating, Objective, Small enough to virtually guarantee success, Timely)

  • Reset 2: Get quiet and find calm in a noisy world

  • Reset 3: Sync your brain to your body

  • Reset 4: Bring your best self forward

  • Reset 5: Come up for air

  • Creating a "backwards plan" to visualize steps from current state to desired goal

  • Each reset includes 3-4 science-backed strategies for implementation

Practical Stress Management Techniques

  • "Stop, Breathe, Be" - a 3-second brain reset to get out of "what if" thinking and back to the present moment

  • 4-7-8 breathing technique (inhale for 4, hold for 7, exhale for 8) to activate the parasympathetic nervous system

  • Digital boundaries: keeping phones off nightstands, switching to grayscale mode, using alarm clocks instead of phones

  • Combating "revenge bedtime procrastination" - the tendency to delay sleep despite knowing better

  • Using accountability partners for both digital boundaries and exercise commitments

The Science of Stress

  • Understanding amygdala activation (fight-or-flight) versus prefrontal cortex functioning (planning, organization)

  • The delayed stress response: keeping it together until you feel psychologically safe, then experiencing symptoms

  • How scrolling impacts brain chemistry and primes the brain for stress

  • The relationship between anxiety and insomnia creates a self-reinforcing cycle

  • Stress from the pandemic and current events creates a collective delayed stress response

The Importance of Social Connection

  • Research shows both deep relationships and casual interactions ("weak ties") benefit mental health

  • Weak ties (brief interactions with strangers or acquaintances) build community without requiring emotional depth

  • Finding community through shared activities like exercise classes

  • Digital life has made isolation easier and social connection more challenging

  • An accountability partner can help bridge the gap between intention and execution

The Gap Between Knowledge and Action

  • Most people know what they should do for better mental health, but struggle with implementation

  • Self-compassion is essential during the process of forming new habits

  • It's normal to fall off track and get back up during habit formation

  • Asking for help is a strength, not a weakness

  • Recognizing we're living through a "perfect storm" of stressors that the human brain wasn't designed to handle

Upshot

Both Dr. McBride and Dr. Nerurkar underscore that improving mental health isn't about a knowledge deficit but about closing the gap between intention and action. Through practical strategies like the MOST framework, breathing techniques, and intentional social connections, everyone can build resilience even amid ongoing challenges. As Dr. Nerurkar quotes Pema Chödrön: "You are the sky, everything else is just the weather" – a powerful reminder that while we can't control external circumstances, we can develop tools to navigate them more effectively.