“You aren’t born a perfectionist.” Stress expert Elke Van Hoof on coping with stress, setting boundaries, and the brain’s neuroplasticity.
Who’s in the driver’s seat when you say “yes” again even though everything in your body is screaming “no”? Is this really who you are, or is it behavior you once learned in order to fit in?
In this episode of “Stress as a BFF,” stress expert Elke Van Hoof explains what’s really going on in those moments: it all comes down to three ingrained patterns. Patterns that were once necessary for fitting in, but that today fuel stress that makes you sick without you even realizing it.
Elke introduces the metaphor of the bus, with its different versions of “I,” one of which always rushes to the wheel when under stress. She explains how socialization and coping behaviors stemming from your upbringing have programmed that autopilot, and why, thanks to neuroplasticity, what you once learned can also be relearned differently.
