Episode 1: How Your Nervous System Shapes Relationships—and What to Do About It

Written By Sarah Berkeley

In this first episode of The Wired for Well-Being Podcast, Dr. Jeffrey Rutstein explores how our nervous system shapes relationships—and how it can also be a path to healing. Relationships can bring joy, love, and connection, but they can just as easily stir conflict, confusion, or even emotional pain.

Through two powerful listener questions, Jeffrey unpacks the nervous system’s role in both leaving a painful relationship and entering new ones. You’ll learn:


• How experiences like narcissistic abuse can linger in the nervous system—and how to begin restoring trust in yourself.


• Practical tools for regulation, grounding, and self-care that help you heal after relational trauma.


• What it means to listen to your body’s signals when navigating new friendships or intimacy.


• How to discern whether someone feels truly safe, using the nervous system’s built-in “neuroception.”

Whether you’re healing from a difficult past or seeking a deeper, more authentic connection, this episode offers a compassionate perspective and practical steps to help you move forward.

Do you have a question you'd like to ask?

If so, leave a voicemail at 866-357-5156. If you're unable to reach that number, you can record a voice memo and email it to hello@drjeffreyrutstein.com.

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Sarah Berkeley

I am a front-end web designer, photographer, and conceptual artist. I hold an MFA in Art & Design from the University of Michigan and a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I started my career as a UI/UX designer in New York City. Later, I moved to Berlin, Germany to pursue my art career and live a more bohemian lifestyle. After three years in Berlin, I returned to the United States for graduate school. Following my MFA, I began teaching web and graphic design, photography, and video the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Nebraska Wesleyan University and Metro Community College.

In 2018 I left my tenure track position at Nebraska Wesleyan University, to pursue The Unknown! That year I did my first triathlon, founded an artist residency program at a state park in Iowa, performed in Seattle and hiked the 273 mile Vermont Long Trail. In the subsequent years I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, Colorado Trail and half of the Continental Divide Trail. Following clues that appeared during the downtime led me to founding Expansive Media. I am super excited to be able to combine my tech and art skills through Expansive Media. I am also able to incorporate my passion for well-being and community by working with clients who make the world a better place.

https://www.expansivemedia.co
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Introducing the Wired for Well-Being Podcast