Feeling small, scared, or checked-out lately? You're not imagining it . . . and you’re also not failing because of it. In this Season 5 premiere of feelgoodery, Kyle Buchanan breaks down why the brain defaults to passivity when bad news keeps piling up (AI anxiety, rising costs, the state of the world), and gives five practical, science-backed ways to climb out of it - from the gut-brain connection to a tough love talk, and a perspective shift that might make all the difference.

In this episode:

• Why feeling powerless right now isn't a personal failing - the psychology passivity
• The "control what you can control" method: small, immediate actions that retrain your brain out of shutdown mode
• How your gut microbiome influences anxiety and mood via the vagus nerve, and what a Stanford fermented-food study found
• The real cost of staying small and scared, and why empaths especially need to hear this one
• The reminder that might make all the difference
• Today’s feelgood thing, and why 5HTP might be something to consider

Studies mentioned:

• Learned Helplessness at Fifty: Insights From Neuroscience Maier & Seligman's reinterpretation of their own landmark theory, showing passivity is the brain's default response, not something learned
• Gut-microbiota-targeted diets modulate human immune status — the Stanford (Sonnenburg Lab) fermented-food trial, published in Cell
• Fermented Foods, Neuroticism, and Social Anxiety: An Interaction Model — the ~700-person survey on fermented food intake and social anxiety

New here? feelgoodery is your weekly space for feeling good without pretending everything's fine - nutrition, mindset, and real strategies for showing up for yourself, hosted by Kyle Buchanan (Broadcaster, Speaker, Certified Nutritional Practitioner, Resident Wellness contributor on Canada’s The Morning Show & host of The Exhale on SiriusXM) , and his live-studio dog Sam.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and isn't a substitute for professional medical advice. If you're in a state of despair or depression, please reach out to a qualified mental health professional.

Follow along: Instagram @itskyleb | New episodes weekly

We live in a time where we've never had more tools to improve our health.

Wearables. Supplements. Peptides. Longevity clinics. Clean eating. Sleep trackers. AI-powered health advice.

But what if the pursuit of "optimal health" is actually making some of us less healthy?

Today, we're exploring where the line is between building healthy habits... and becoming trapped by them.

We're covering:

• The hidden downside of tracking every health metric
• When "clean eating" quietly becomes an unhealthy obsession
• Why perfect sleep might not always be worth chasing
• The surprising pressure behind today's sobriety movement
• How wellness products can sometimes disconnect us from what our bodies are really trying to tell us
• Why feeling your best doesn't require optimizing every moment of your life

Plus... today's feelgood thing.

If you've ever felt overwhelmed by wellness advice, biohacking, longevity trends, or the pressure to constantly improve yourself... this episode is for you.

If you are feeling a sense of urgency all the time, and that you are constantly falling behind . . . you are not alone.

Modern life trains us to be urgent.

We are also doing things to our own biology that is exacerbating this urgency.

So today, I'm taking about key considerations to counteract that feeling, so we feel calmer and have greater agency over our lives.

Whether you're struggling with chronic stress, anxiety, burnout, or simply feeling overwhelmed, this episode offers simple shifts that can help you reclaim a greater sense of calm and control.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why your breathing pattern directly affects your nervous system and stress response
• How caffeine may be increasing feelings of urgency without you realizing it
• The surprising connection between posture, body language, and emotional state
• Why eating too quickly affects both digestion and your nervous system
• How magnesium influences stress resilience and emotional regulation
• Why even mild dehydration can increase cortisol levels
• The neuroscience behind boredom, and why your brain actually needs it
• Practical ways to feel less overwhelmed in everyday life
• Today's feelgood Thing ✨

This episode is for you if...

• You constantly feel overwhelmed or behind
• Your brain never seems to switch off
• You're looking for natural ways to reduce stress and anxiety
• You want practical nervous system regulation techniques backed by science
• You're trying to create a calmer, healthier life

Topics discussed

Stress management • Anxiety • Nervous system regulation • Chronic stress • Cortisol • Burnout • Mindfulness • Vagus nerve • Magnesium • Caffeine • Emotional regulation • Mental health • Productivity • Default Mode Network • Healthy habits • Feelgoodery