In this episode of The Clarity Lens, Laura slows everything down — on purpose.

Because overwhelm isn’t a mindset problem. It’s a biological one.

If you’ve ever felt anxious, frozen, numb, irritable, avoidant, or completely shut down and wondered “What is wrong with me?” — this episode offers a different answer:

Nothing is wrong with you. Your body is protecting you.

Drawing from neuroscience, nervous system regulation, and lived experience, Laura walks you through the biology beneath overwhelm — how your nervous system scans for safety, why survival responses show up as behaviors we shame, and what’s actually happening in your brain and body under chronic stress, trauma, grief, caregiving, and uncertainty.

This episode is not about fixing yourself. It’s about understanding yourself — with compassion.

Sponsor

This episode is sponsored by Savorista Coffee.

Savorista specializes in premium craft decaf and half-caf coffee made from high-altitude Arabica beans, ethically sourced and roasted in small batches. Their coffee is naturally decaffeinated using water or sugarcane-based processes — no harsh chemicals — making it a thoughtful option for anyone who loves the ritual of coffee but wants more balance.

Listeners of The Clarity Lens can receive 20% off their order using the code CLARITY.

Learn more at: www.savoristacoffee.com

Sources & Further Learning

Nervous System, Trauma & Polyvagal Science

• The Body Keeps the Score — Bessel van der Kolk, MD Foundational work on how trauma is stored in the body, brain, and nervous system.
• In an Unspoken Voice — Peter A. Levine, PhD Explains how survival responses like freeze and shutdown are biological, not psychological weakness.
• Polyvagal Theory in Therapy — Deb Dana, LCSW A practical, accessible guide to understanding nervous system states and regulation.

Stress, Hormones & the Brain Under Load

• Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers — Robert Sapolsky, PhD A classic explanation of how chronic stress hormones impact the body and brain.
• Burnout — Emily Nagoski, PhD & Amelia Nagoski, DMA Explores how stress gets “stuck” in the body and why completing the stress cycle matters.

Trauma Memory, Implicit Learning & Safety

• Waking the Tiger — Peter A. Levine, PhD Introduces how the nervous system remembers danger and how healing happens through the body.
• Trauma and Recovery — Judith Herman, MD Groundbreaking work on trauma, safety, and recovery — especially relational trauma.

Gentle Regulation & Embodied Healing

• Anchored — Deb Dana, LCSW A beautifully grounded guide to befriending your nervous system and finding stability.
• The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook — Kristin Neff, PhD & Christopher Germer, PhD Supports the shift from self-judgment to nervous-system-safe compassion.

Support

If this episode resonated and you would like to support The Clarity Lens, you can do so through Buy Me a Coffee. Sharing the podcast and leaving a review also helps more than you might realize. Thank you for being here.

Content Note: This episode includes discussion of psychological abuse, coercive control, and fear-based environments. Listener discretion is advised.

In this deeply personal episode of The Clarity Lens, Laura shares one of the most pivotal chapters of her life — the moment she moved from simply surviving to intentionally seeking clarity. She reflects on what it felt like to live in a fear-based relationship, how those dynamics slowly shaped her sense of self, and the internal turning point that finally pushed her to leave.

Amid this emotional reckoning, Laura also begins a new journey as a mother navigating her daughter Ariana’s autism diagnosis — a reality that brought both heartbreak and profound perspective. She explores how crisis, grief, and responsibility can collide, and how clarity often arrives not in calm moments, but in the storm.

This episode is about courage, self-trust, and the quiet power of choosing yourself — even when it’s the hardest choice you’ll ever make. Whether you’ve experienced something similar or are simply searching for understanding, Laura’s story offers compassion, insight, and hope that clarity is always possible on the other side of survival.

Sponsor

This episode is sponsored by Savorista Coffee.

Savorista specializes in premium craft decaf and half-caf coffee made from high-altitude Arabica beans, ethically sourced and roasted in small batches. Their coffee is naturally decaffeinated using water or sugarcane-based processes — no harsh chemicals — making it a thoughtful option for anyone who loves the ritual of coffee but wants more balance.

Listeners of The Clarity Lens can receive 20% off their order using the code CLARITY.

Learn more at: www.savoristacoffee.com

In Episode 3 of The Clarity Lens, Laura steps back and looks at the bigger picture.

This episode explores how systems of risk, responsibility, insurance, and taxation evolved — from ancient societies to modern, technology-driven life — and how responsibility gradually shifted from institutions to individuals.

Rather than focusing on personal behavior, this conversation centers on structure: how complexity accumulated, how technology changed who carries the burden of understanding, and why overwhelm and avoidance are often logical responses to systems that ask more than they explain.

This episode is more historical and contextual than previous ones, offering a deeper understanding of how we got here — and why clarity today can feel harder than it should.

If you’ve ever felt capable yet overwhelmed, responsible yet unsure, this episode offers context without judgment and perspective without pressure.

Sponsor

This episode is sponsored by Savorista Coffee.

Savorista specializes in premium craft decaf and half-caf coffee made from high-altitude Arabica beans, ethically sourced and roasted in small batches. Their coffee is naturally decaffeinated using water or sugarcane-based processes — no harsh chemicals — making it a thoughtful option for anyone who loves the ritual of coffee but wants more balance.

Listeners of The Clarity Lens can receive 20% off their order using the code CLARITY.

Learn more at: www.savoristacoffee.com

Sources & Further Reading

For listeners who want to explore the ideas discussed in this episode more deeply:

• Bernstein, Peter. Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk — the historical development of risk, probability, and early insurance systems
• Polanyi, Karl. The Great Transformation — how economic systems became detached from social and communal life
• Hacker, Jacob. The Great Risk Shift — how responsibility for economic risk moved from institutions to individuals in modern policy
• Herd, Pamela & Moynihan, Donald. Administrative Burden — how complexity, paperwork, and compliance shape behavior and access
• Scott, James C. Seeing Like a State — how large systems prioritize legibility and efficiency, often at the cost of human experience
• CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology). Universal Design for Learning — how systems can better account for cognitive diversity and human variability

Support

If this episode resonated and you would like to support The Clarity Lens, you can do so through Buy Me a Coffee. Sharing the podcast and leaving a review also helps more than you might realize. Thank you for being here.