The holidays are here and while the season is filled with light and celebration, many of us also feel the familiar weight of exhaustion, pressure, and the quiet belief that rest has to be earned.

In this grounding and emotional episode, Leanna shares her own story of pushing past her limits for years, mistaking her body’s signals as weakness instead of the deep wisdom they were. She opens up about chronic fatigue, burnout, and the nervous system patterns that made slowing down feel impossible.

You’ll learn why rest can feel unsafe when your body has been living in survival mode, how stress chemistry reshapes your energy and emotions, and what the research says about the biology of repair. Leanna also guides you through a gentle, real-time Four-N Reflection—Notice, Name, Nurture, Navigate—to help your body soften, settle, and find safety again before the year comes to a close.

In this episode, you’ll explore:

• Why burnout around the holidays is so common (and not a personal failure)
• The physiology of “wired but tired,” inflammation, and chronic exhaustion
• How your nervous system sends early warnings before a full crash
• Why rest can feel unsafe and the science behind that response
• A step-by-step guided Four-N practice to help regulate in real time
• How your individual repair becomes legacy repair for future generations
  
  

If you’re moving into the holidays feeling overwhelmed, overstretched, or simply tired to your bones—this episode will help your body exhale.

Take a breath. You don’t have to earn your pause. Your repair begins here.

Research Integrity Disclaimer

This podcast draws upon evidence-based frameworks in neuroscience, attachment theory, and trauma-informed practice.
Leanna’s reflections and the 4Ns Framework are original interpretations informed by this body of research and her clinical and coaching experience.
While every effort is made to represent research accurately, the ideas shared reflect Leanna’s professional understanding and may include her own evolving interpretations.
All information is intended for educational and reflective purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for therapy, diagnosis, or medical treatment.

Connect with me:
Instagram → @aligningwithleanna

Website → leannahunt.com

Disclaimer:
Although I am a licensed Associate Clinical Mental Health Counselor, The NeuroHeir℠ Podcast is not a substitute for therapy, counseling, or medical treatment. The tools and practices I share are for educational and coaching purposes only. Every nervous system is unique, and what we discuss on this podcast should not replace your own individual therapeutic work or professional support.

The focus of this podcast is my coaching work, which centers on education, nervous system practices, and generational healing tools designed to support—not replace—your personal journey with a qualified provider.

If you are struggling with your mental health or experiencing overwhelming emotions, please seek support from a licensed professional in your area. You don’t have to do this work alone.

This week, Leanna turns toward the next generation, the young adults navigating identity, independence, and inherited patterns of pressure. Through the lens of nervous-system science and generational healing, she explores how belonging is a body state, not a performance.

You’ll hear how family dynamics, cultural expectations, and even our biology (Yehuda et al., 2016) shape the way we seek connection, and how the 4Ns framework (Notice, Name, Nurture, Navigate) can help you shift from avoidance into authentic repair.

Whether you’re a parent learning to reconnect or a young adult setting new boundaries, this conversation will help you discover how healing can become a bridge instead of a wall.

In This Episode, You’ll Hear:

• Why so many young adults are turning toward “no contact” and what might be happening in their nervous systems
• How therapy culture sometimes emphasizes boundaries without regulation
• What Brainspotting and Polyvagal Theory teach us about attunement and co-regulation (Corrigan & Grand, 2013; Porges, 2011)
• The difference between avoidance and healing, told through a hypothetical vignette
• How inherited perfectionism and generational pressure shape belonging
• A guided 4Ns practice to reconnect with your body and younger self
• What it really means to Become a NeuroHeir™ meeting what you inherited with awareness and compassion

Referenced Research

• Yehuda, R., Daskalakis, N. P., Bierer, L. M., et al. (2016). Holocaust exposure induced intergenerational effects on FKBP5 methylation. Biological Psychiatry, 80(5), 372–380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.08.005
• Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and Society. W. W. Norton.
• Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory. W. W. Norton.
• Corrigan, F. M., & Grand, D. (2013). Brainspotting: An overview, review, and commentary. International Journal of Psychotherapy, 17(3), 8–17.
• Schwartz, R. (2021). No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model. Sounds True.

Research Integrity Disclaimer
This podcast draws upon evidence-based frameworks in neuroscience, attachment theory, and trauma-informed practice. Leanna’s reflections and the 4Ns Framework are original interpretations informed by this body of research and her clinical and coaching experience. While every effort is made to represent research accurately, the ideas shared reflect Leanna’s professional understanding and may include her own evolving interpretations. All information is intended for educational and reflective purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for therapy, diagnosis, or medical treatment.

Connect with me:
Instagram → @aligningwithleanna

Website → leannahunt.com

Disclaimer:
Although I am a licensed Associate Clinical Mental Health Counselor, The NeuroHeir℠ Podcast is not a substitute for therapy, counseling, or medical treatment. The tools and practices I share are for educational and coaching purposes only. Every nervous system is unique, and what we discuss on this podcast should not replace your own individual therapeutic work or professional support.

The focus of this podcast is my coaching work, which centers on education, nervous system practices, and generational healing tools designed to support—not replace—your personal journey with a qualified provider.

If you are struggling with your mental health or experiencing overwhelming emotions, please seek support from a licensed professional in your area. You don’t have to do this work alone.

Parenting isn’t just about what we say. It's about what our nervous system communicates. In this episode, Leanna shares how co-regulation, attunement, and the 4Ns can transform daily stress into connection.

You’ll hear:
✨ Why children sense our stress even when we say “I’m fine.”
✨ How age-appropriate honesty builds safety.
✨ Why “Because I said so” can disconnect and what to say instead.
✨ How the parts of us that never got repair often show up to parent.
✨ Simple ways to use the 4Ns during the holidays to stay grounded and connected.

Referenced Research

• Feldman, R. (2017). The neurobiology of human attachments. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 21(2), 80–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2016.11.007
  
  
• Lieberman, M. D., et al. (2007). Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity. Psychological Science, 18(5), 421–428. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01916.x
• Main, M., & Goldwyn, R. (1998). Adult attachment scoring and classification system. Unpublished manuscript, University of California, Berkeley.
  
  
• Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory. New York, NY: Norton.
  
  
• Schore, A. N. (2001). Effects of a secure attachment relationship on right brain development. Infant Mental Health Journal, 22(1-2), 7–66.
  
  
• Schwartz, R. C. (1995). Internal family systems therapy. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
  
  
• Schwartz, R. C., & Sweezy, M. (2021). Internal family systems therapy (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
  
  
• Siegel, D. J. (1999). The developing mind. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
  
  
• Siegel, D. J. (2012). The whole-brain child. New York, NY: Random House.
  
  
• Tronick, E. (2007). The neurobehavioral and social-emotional development of infants and children. New York, NY: Norton.
  
  
• Tronick, E., & Beeghly, M. (2011). Infants’ meaning-making and mental health. American Psychologist, 66(2), 107–119. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021631
  
  

Research Integrity Disclaimer
This episode draws upon evidence-based frameworks in neuroscience, attachment theory, and trauma-informed practice. Concepts such as neuroception (Porges, 2011), biobehavioral synchrony (Feldman, 2017), rupture and repair (Tronick, 2007), affect labeling (Lieberman et al., 2007), and integration (Siegel, 1999, 2012) are described here in alignment with the published research that informs them.

All information shared is intended for educational and reflective purposes only and should not be taken as a substitute for therapy, diagnosis, or medical treatment.

Connect with me:
Instagram → @aligningwithleanna

Website → leannahunt.com

Disclaimer:
Although I am a licensed Associate Clinical Mental Health Counselor, The NeuroHeir℠ Podcast is not a substitute for therapy, counseling, or medical treatment. The tools and practices I share are for educational and coaching purposes only. Every nervous system is unique, and what we discuss on this podcast should not replace your own individual therapeutic work or professional support.

The focus of this podcast is my coaching work, which centers on education, nervous system practices, and generational healing tools designed to support—not replace—your personal journey with a qualified provider.

If you are struggling with your mental health or experiencing overwhelming emotions, please seek support from a licensed professional in your area. You don’t have to do this work alone.

The day before Thanksgiving, or any family gathering, can stir up more than recipes and to-do lists. Our nervous system remembers past experiences and prepares us for what’s ahead, often long before the moment arrives.

In this episode, Leanna shares how family, food, and the body intertwine and why our survival patterns at the table are never random. You’ll hear personal reflections, somatic insights, and a gentle guided practice you can use to find your way back to regulation, no matter what dynamics unfold.

Together, we’ll explore:

• How your nervous system “preps” for the holidays before they even happen
• What fight, flight, freeze, and appease can look like around the table
• Why food can become both comfort and protector
• A one-minute grounding and Brainspotting resource practice you can use anytime
• How gratitude anchors safety in the present moment
  
  

This episode closes with a powerful reminder:

You can’t control the energy in the room, but you can care for your own nervous system.

Referenced Research & Readings

• Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377–389.
  
  
• Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. New York: W. W. Norton.
  
  
• Sapolsky, R. M. (2004). Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers (3rd ed.). New York: Henry Holt.
  
  
• Siegel, D. J. (1999). The Developing Mind: How relationships and the brain interact to shape who we are. New York: Guilford Press.
  
  
• Yehuda, R., Daskalakis, N. P., Bierer, L. M., et al. (2016). Holocaust exposure induced intergenerational effects on FKBP5 methylation. Biological Psychiatry, 80(5), 372–380.

💛 Takeaway Quote

“Gratitude isn’t pretending everything is fine; it’s allowing the body to recognize what is still safe, still steady, still good.”

Connect with me:
Instagram → @aligningwithleanna

Website → leannahunt.com

Disclaimer:
Although I am a licensed Associate Clinical Mental Health Counselor, The NeuroHeir℠ Podcast is not a substitute for therapy, counseling, or medical treatment. The tools and practices I share are for educational and coaching purposes only. Every nervous system is unique, and what we discuss on this podcast should not replace your own individual therapeutic work or professional support.

The focus of this podcast is my coaching work, which centers on education, nervous system practices, and generational healing tools designed to support—not replace—your personal journey with a qualified provider.

If you are struggling with your mental health or experiencing overwhelming emotions, please seek support from a licensed professional in your area. You don’t have to do this work alone.

In this week’s episode, I’m joined by my husband, David, for an honest conversation about what 25 years of marriage, and a whole lot of nervous-system learning, have taught us about love, communication, and repair.

We talk about how silence once showed up as protection in our relationship, what it took to find our way back to safety, and how learning to regulate ourselves has changed the way we connect.

You’ll hear us reflect on:

• How inherited patterns of silence and stress shaped our early years together
• The shift from trying to fix each other to learning to self-regulate first
• What nervous-system awareness looks like in real-life partnership and repair
• Why safety isn’t the absence of conflict — it’s the ability to come back to connection.

Every relationship is really just two nervous systems learning how to feel safe together. When we stop waiting for the other person to go first and begin regulating ourselves, we open the door for love, repair, and legacy repair to unfold in real time.

If you haven’t yet, download your free Mini NeuroHeir Survival Map, a simple visual guide to help you understand your body’s safety patterns and begin practicing regulation.

👉 Download the free Survival Map here: https://leannahunt.com/neuroheir-survival-response-map/

Connect with me:
Instagram → @aligningwithleanna

Website → leannahunt.com

Disclaimer:
Although I am a licensed Associate Clinical Mental Health Counselor, The NeuroHeir℠ Podcast is not a substitute for therapy, counseling, or medical treatment. The tools and practices I share are for educational and coaching purposes only. Every nervous system is unique, and what we discuss on this podcast should not replace your own individual therapeutic work or professional support.

The focus of this podcast is my coaching work, which centers on education, nervous system practices, and generational healing tools designed to support—not replace—your personal journey with a qualified provider.

If you are struggling with your mental health or experiencing overwhelming emotions, please seek support from a licensed professional in your area. You don’t have to do this work alone.

Silence can be both protection and prison. In this powerful episode of The NeuroHeir Podcast, Leanna explores how silence often born from trauma, fear, or survival can be passed down through generations as an inherited nervous system pattern.

Through personal reflection, client stories, and powerful research, Leanna unpacks how our bodies learn that quiet means safety and how that very silence can become a cage. You’ll learn how unspoken family rules like “keep the peace” or “we don’t talk about that” shape our physiology, relationships, and sense of safety.

You’ll Learn:

• The science linking unspoken trauma and intergenerational stress
• How silence maps onto fight, flight, freeze, and appease states
• Why storytelling and compassion regulate the nervous system
• Practical ways to begin releasing inherited silence using the 4 Ns™

If you’ve ever felt the weight of unspoken stories, this conversation offers both understanding and a path toward release.

🧠 Mentioned in this episode:

• The NeuroHeir Survival Response Map: https://leannahunt.com/neuroheir-survival-response-map/

Research References

Lis-Turlejska, M., Szumiał, S., & Drapała, I. (2018). Post-traumatic stress symptoms among Polish World War II survivors: The role of social acknowledgement. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 9(1), 1423831. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2018.1423831
Full text: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5795636/

Rzeszutek, M., Dragan, M., Lis-Turlejska, M., Schier, K., Holas, P., Pięta, M., Van Hoy, A., Drabarek, K., Poncyliusz, C., Michałowska, M., Wdowczyk, G., Borowska, N., & Szumiał, S. (2023). Exposure to self-reported traumatic events and probable PTSD in a national sample of Poles: Why does Poland’s PTSD prevalence differ from other national estimates? PLOS ONE, 18(7), e0287854. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287854

Machcewicz, P. (2022). Voices of the Past: The Postwar Fate of Polish History under Communism. Cambridge University Press.

Connect with me:
Instagram → @aligningwithleanna

Website → leannahunt.com

Disclaimer:
Although I am a licensed Associate Clinical Mental Health Counselor, The NeuroHeir℠ Podcast is not a substitute for therapy, counseling, or medical treatment. The tools and practices I share are for educational and coaching purposes only. Every nervous system is unique, and what we discuss on this podcast should not replace your own individual therapeutic work or professional support.

The focus of this podcast is my coaching work, which centers on education, nervous system practices, and generational healing tools designed to support—not replace—your personal journey with a qualified provider.

If you are struggling with your mental health or experiencing overwhelming emotions, please seek support from a licensed professional in your area. You don’t have to do this work alone.

What if your healing isn’t about breaking cycles but repairing them?

In this deeply personal and powerful episode, I introduce the concept of Legacy Repair and what it means to become a NeuroHeir—someone who consciously tends to their nervous system inheritance.

Through my own story of rediscovering my late father’s journals and powerful research on intergenerational trauma, I explore how silence, survival, and family patterns shape the way we live, love, and connect today.

You’ll learn:

• What it means to become a NeuroHeir and practice legacy repair
• How the NeuroHeir Survival Map explains inherited protection states
• Why compassion not distance is key to generational healing
• What Polish WWII research reveals about silence and the body
• How the 4 Ns (Notice, Name, Nurture, Navigate) create conscious repair

This episode isn’t about fixing the past—it’s about integrating its truth so your body can finally rest. Whether you’re the first in your family to seek change or simply curious about how your lineage lives in you, this conversation will help you begin the gentle work of repair.

🎧 Tune in and discover how to move from breaking to repairing—one compassionate breath at a time.

Referenced Research & Resources

Rzeszutek, M., Dragan, M., Lis-Turlejska, M., & Baran, J. (2023). Long-lasting effects of World War II trauma on PTSD symptoms and embodiment levels in a national sample of Poles. Scientific Reports, 13, 17222. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-44300-6

Lis-Turlejska, M., Szumiał, S., & Drapała, I. (2018). Post-traumatic stress symptoms among Polish World War II survivors: The role of social acknowledgement. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 9(1), 1423831. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2018.1423831

Connect with me:
Instagram → @aligningwithleanna

Website → leannahunt.com

Disclaimer:
Although I am a licensed Associate Clinical Mental Health Counselor, The NeuroHeir℠ Podcast is not a substitute for therapy, counseling, or medical treatment. The tools and practices I share are for educational and coaching purposes only. Every nervous system is unique, and what we discuss on this podcast should not replace your own individual therapeutic work or professional support.

The focus of this podcast is my coaching work, which centers on education, nervous system practices, and generational healing tools designed to support—not replace—your personal journey with a qualified provider.

If you are struggling with your mental health or experiencing overwhelming emotions, please seek support from a licensed professional in your area. You don’t have to do this work alone.

Have you ever caught yourself snapping at someone you love, shutting down mid-conversation, or saying yes when every part of you wanted to say no?

In this episode of the NeuroHeir℠ Podcast, Leanna explores the four core survival responses including fight, flight, freeze, and appease, and how they shape our emotional reactions, relationships, and generational patterns. You’ll also learn about the window of tolerance, how stress affects the brain, and why these ancient responses are not flaws but intelligent survival mechanisms.

You’ll Learn:

• What the window of tolerance is and how it explains emotional overwhelm
• How the amygdala, vagus nerve, and prefrontal cortex interact during stress
• Why your body’s reactions are adaptive and ancient
• How generational modeling keeps survival patterns on autopilot
• A reflection to identify your most common state and expand your window of tolerance

If this episode resonates with you, don’t forget to download the NeuroHeir Survival Response Map for a visual guide to finding your way back to calm.

Referenced Research & Resources:

• Impala Completing the Stress Cycle [Video]. (2013). YouTube. https://youtu.be/-QgglTik6G4?si=bbMNLONgqr1YnUEM
  (This wildlife clip visually illustrates the natural stress-release process often referenced in Peter A. Levine’s Somatic Experiencing® work.)
• Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation. W. W. Norton & Company.
• Schore, A. N. (2019). Right Brain Psychotherapy. W. W. Norton & Company.
• Siegel, D. J. (1999). The Developing Mind: Toward a Neurobiology of Interpersonal Experience. Guilford Press.

Connect with me:
Instagram → @aligningwithleanna

Website → leannahunt.com

Disclaimer:
Although I am a licensed Associate Clinical Mental Health Counselor, The NeuroHeir℠ Podcast is not a substitute for therapy, counseling, or medical treatment. The tools and practices I share are for educational and coaching purposes only. Every nervous system is unique, and what we discuss on this podcast should not replace your own individual therapeutic work or professional support.

The focus of this podcast is my coaching work, which centers on education, nervous system practices, and generational healing tools designed to support—not replace—your personal journey with a qualified provider.

If you are struggling with your mental health or experiencing overwhelming emotions, please seek support from a licensed professional in your area. You don’t have to do this work alone.