“You can remind yourself of how strong you already were.” Stress expert Elke Van Hoof on helplessness, the predictive brain, and the healing timeline.
How is it that you feel powerless, even though you’ve already survived so much? What if your brain has simply forgotten how many times you’ve already pulled through?
In this episode of “Stress as a BFF,” stress expert Elke Van Hoof explains exactly what happens when stress turns into a sense of helplessness. You’re certainly not incompetent, but your brain starts predicting disaster. Stress then feels like a foregone conclusion.
Elke describes it as a vicious cycle that causes your brain to stop registering your past successes. She also shares her own lowest point: the moment she sat at the kitchen table and thought, “I’m no good as a person.”
