More and more parents are quietly noticing a growing distance with their adult children, and many Gen Z kids are just as quickly setting boundaries or even stepping away completely. If you’ve wondered why this is happening, you’re not alone.

In this episode of Building Resilience, I explore the generational nervous system gap and why relationships between Gen X parents and Gen Z children can feel so strained. This isn’t about blame, it’s about understanding how cultural shifts, nervous system regulation, and different approaches to mental health have shaped how each generation sees family, boundaries, and connection.

We’ll unpack research on rising family estrangement, why Gen Z is more likely to see boundaries as survival rather than betrayal, and how Gen X parents, who often poured decades of effort, time, and sacrifice into raising their kids, are making sense of this new reality. I’ll also talk about the risks on both sides: what Gen Z might lose when they disconnect too quickly, and what Gen X could face as they age without the support they expected.

We’ll explore:

• The nervous system's role in feeling safe or unsafe
• Gen Z's emotional vocabulary, its strengths and challenges
• Why Gen X parents feel blindsided despite their best efforts
• The difference between healthy boundaries (bridges) and isolating ones (walls)

Links and Resources:

IBS Nervous System Reset

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Silence can be one of the most powerful tools we have but it can also become one of the most damaging. In this episode of Building Resilience, we talk about the double-edged nature of silence: when it truly helps regulate your nervous system, and when it tips into avoidance, shutdown, or even self-abandonment.

You’ll learn five different ways silence shows up: from a healthy reset to a symptom of trauma - and how to tell the difference. we also explore silence as a boundary, a relational message, and even as a quiet container for grief.

If you’ve ever wondered, “Am I choosing silence from a place of strength, or from fear?”- this conversation will give you clarity, compassion, and practical insights to navigate your own patterns with silence.

We’ll explore:

• Silence can regulate your nervous system when used intentionally.
• Silence may also be a symptom of shutdown or trauma responses.
• Silence can act as a boundary, but it can also be misused as control.
• Quiet moments after crisis often bring grief or exhaustion to the surface.
• Silence in relationships is never neutral, it sends powerful messages.
• Awareness helps distinguish between protective silence and harmful avoidance.

Want to create your own Skool Community? Check it out here: https://www.skool.com/signup?ref=06e003b61b8148ebbafd3a067f3cc2e1

—-------------

📝 Get My Resilience Journal

A guided journal for emotional well-being and nervous system care

📌 Amazon US:

https://www.amazon.com/Mental-Journal...

📌 Amazon CA: Buy Here:

https://www.amazon.ca/Mental-Journal-...

🎓 Join the Nervous System Journaling Club

Doodle, journal, and heal in community:

https://www.skool.com/nervous-system-...

Let’s Stay Connected:

Instagram & Facebook: @leahdavidsonlifecoaching

Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter: leahdavidsonlifecoaching.com/newsletter

Enjoyed the episode?

Please leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. It helps more people discover these tools for healing and resilience.

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Do you ever feel guilty for spending time on things that don’t feel “productive”? Or maybe you’ve let go of hobbies altogether because they don’t seem to “count”?

In this episode of Building Resilience, we explore why skipping hobbies is actually wrecking your nervous system, and how bringing them back can help restore your energy, identity, and joy.

Hobbies aren’t just frivolous or “nice to have.” They’re nervous system nourishment. They help us regulate, re-engage with life, and remember who we are outside of our roles and responsibilities. Whether it’s painting, gardening, collecting, or listening to music, hobbies can pull you out of survival mode, help you find your “play zone,” and bring you back to life.

If you’ve been burned out, overwhelmed, or stuck in survival mode, this conversation will remind you why fun, curiosity, and creativity are not optional extras, they’re essential for resilience.

We’ll explore:

• Productivity pressure disconnects us from joy and meaning.
• A true hobby is about presence, curiosity, and enjoyment, not performance or profit.
• Rest has two forms: stillness (quieting) and nourishment (reigniting).
• Burnout often comes from doing too little of what feels alive.
• Hobbies guide the nervous system into the “play zone”, that sweet spot of safety + engagement.
• The nervous system sometimes just needs something that lets it “be.”
• Exploring hobbies opens safe containers for creativity, joy, and regulation.

📝 Get My Resilience Journal

A guided journal for emotional well-being and nervous system care

📌 Amazon US:

https://www.amazon.com/Mental-Journal...

📌 Amazon CA: Buy Here:

https://www.amazon.ca/Mental-Journal-...

🎓 Join the Nervous System Journaling Club

Doodle, journal, and heal in community:

https://www.skool.com/nervous-system-...

Let’s Stay Connected:

Instagram & Facebook: @leahdavidsonlifecoaching

Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter: leahdavidsonlifecoaching.com/newsletter

Enjoyed the episode?

Please leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. It helps more people discover these tools for healing and resilience.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.