Podcast: The Nervous System Eats First
Episode: Eating Feels Impossible? 3 Food-Environment Fixes for Perimenopausal Neurodivergent Women
Guest: Michael Lawrence — Master Chef (World Master Chef Society), Licensed Architect

Episode summary:
Have you noticed the same meal is comforting in one space but exhausting in another? Chef–Architect Michael Lawrence joins Dr. Stacey to reveal how light, sound, temperature, color, and texture shape your appetite, attention, and digestion before the first bite. You’ll learn three food-environment fixes and a 60-second sensory reset you can apply tonight—at home or out—so eating feels calmer and more nourishing, especially in perimenopause.

Key topics & timestamps:

• 00:00 — Why eating feels “impossible” (it’s not your fault)

• 01:24 — Who this is for: late-diagnosed, high-masking autistic women in midlife

• 02:28 — Michael’s dual lens: Master Chef + Architect (sensory-first design)

• 06:20 — The room speaks first: invisible sensory cues (light/sound/texture)

• 07:48 — Fix #1: Quiet the Room (soften light, reduce noise, steady temperature)

• 08:25 — Fix #2: On-Plate Design (color + texture → grounding & satiety)

• 20:11 — Fix #3: 60-Second Sensory Reset (pre-bite downshift ritual)

• 20:23 — Nourish or Numb lightning round: car eating, candlelight, “perfect bowl”

• 24:24 — One gentle ritual if you’ve been eating in survival mode

• 25:24 — Where to find Michael + free quiz & resources

Takeaways:

• Environment is medicine: Your eating space can up- or down-regulate your nervous system.

• Perfect Bite > willpower: Pair warm/soft with crisp/fresh to invite appetite gently.

• Rituals beat rules: A 60-second pre-bite reset changes how your body receives food.

Resources & links:

• Free “Menopause Burnout” Quiz → https://drstaceydenise.com/menopause-burnout-quiz/
  
  
• Watch the video podcast → https://drstaceydenise.com/video-podcast/
  
  
• Listen to the audio podcast → https://drstaceydenise.com/audio-podcast/
  
  
• Guest — Michael Lawrence: LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-lawrence-ml-design-studio/ • Site → https://ml-design-studio.webnode.page/
  
  

Credits & CTA:
Hosted by Dr. Stacey Denise, Lifestyle Medicine Physician & Neuroaesthetic MD. If this helped, share it with a friend who’s eating on survival mode.

Subscribe on YouTube and your favorite podcast app, and take the free quiz to get your personalized reset rituals.

Episode summary

Temple Grandin and Dr. Stacey Denise outline digital-hygiene rules for autistic adults: what the algorithm rabbit hole does to mental health, the one-hour screen rule, how to curate your feed, and simple swaps for real-world connection that lowers anxiety and improves sleep—vital during perimenopause/menopause.

Key takeaways

• Algorithms pull you into overload; design friction
• One-hour/day is enough for most—protect your attention
• Safe-feed checklist: follow/mute/block with intention
• Replace scrolling with real activities + older mentors
• A 7-day boundary plan you can adjust to your life

Guest: Temple Grandin — bestselling author and autism advocate.

Links

• Temple Grandin resources: https://www.templegrandin.com/
• Connect with Dr. Stacey Denise / TNSEF: https://drstaceydenise.com/

Chapters

Intro • Rabbit hole explained • Time limits • Curate your feed • Real activities • Week-one plan

Credits

Host: Dr. Stacey Denise. Produced by TNSEF—The Nervous System Eats First.

Welcome to The Nervous System Eats First — a podcast where science, story, and sensory wisdom meet to help neurodivergent women in midlife and menopause reclaim energy, intimacy, and emotional clarity.

I’m Dr. Stacey Denise, a physician-artist and Neuroaesthetic MD. After years of bridging medicine, neuroscience, and color psychology, I created the Neuroaesthetic Reset™ to support women who feel “tired but wired,” emotionally flatlined, or disconnected in their most important relationships.

Here, we explore three essential journeys:

1. Resilience & Calm: Nervous System Adaptation for Neurodivergent Women Over 40: Exhausted, But Not Broken

→ Why you’re always tired even when labs are “normal,” and how nervous system rituals, hormone literacy, and color-based resets restore vitality.

2. Energy, Sleep & Hormone Rituals for Neurodivergent Women Over 40: Healing Emotional Numbness & Identity Loss

→ What alexithymia and sensory overwhelm look like in menopause, and how interoception, art, and ritual help you name and feel again.

3. Regulation & Pleasure Rituals: Sensory Self-Intimacy Tools for Menopausal, Autistic & BIPOC Women: No More Numb, No More Shame

→ How hormones, trauma, and touch aversion affect midlife desire — and what neuroaesthetic rituals can do to rebuild intimacy, without pressure or shame.

Expect candid solo episodes, healing memoir interviews, and expert guest conversations blending evidence with lived wisdom. Each episode closes with a Neuroaesthetic Reset Ritual you can try right away — because healing isn’t just knowledge, it’s sensory practice.

If you’re a high-functioning, neurodivergent, or BIPOC woman in menopause who is done with surface-level hacks and ready for embodied, beautiful solutions — this podcast is your sanctuary.

📌 Take the free quiz: What Kind of Menopause Burnout Are You?

You don’t need to perform your peace. You just need space to return to it.

Have you ever said, “I don’t even recognize myself anymore” — but your labs come back “normal”?

That gap between how you feel and what you can explain isn’t weakness. It has a name: interoception — the body’s hidden sense that helps you feel safe, centered, and alive. When menopause, neurodivergence, or trauma mutes that internal signal, your nervous system loses its compass. The result? Alexithymia, shutdown, and emotional disconnection.

In this conversation, Dr. Stacey Denise sits down with Dr. Kelly Mahler, award-winning occupational therapist and interoception researcher, to unpack the sensory and emotional truth behind why midlife can feel so flat — and what it takes to feel again.

🧠 What You’ll Learn:

• What interoception is — and why it disappears in midlife
• How alexithymia shows up in high-functioning women
• Why trauma, stress, and ND masking blunt your body’s signals
• The difference between nourishing and numbing rituals
• Gentle ways to rebuild body trust and emotional access (no perfection required)

🎯 This Is For You If:

• You feel emotionally numb, flat, or “not yourself”
• You shut down under stress or can’t explain how you feel
• You’ve been told “everything looks normal” — but it isn’t
• You’re navigating menopause and feeling disconnected from your body
• You’re ND, sensory-sensitive, or just deeply tired of powering through

👩🏾‍⚕️ Hosted by:

Dr. Stacey Denise, The Neuroaesthetic MD
Founder of The Neuroaesthetic Reset Method™ and SDM Medical PLLC
Website: www.drstaceydenise.com
Instagram: @drstaceydenise

👤 Featured Guest:

Dr. Kelly Mahler, OTD, OTR/L
🌍 www.kelly-mahler.com
📸 @kelly_mahler

📚 Resources:

💡 Take the free quiz: What’s Blocking Your Menopause Energy & Intimacy?
🎧 Listen to more episodes: The Neuroaesthetic MD™ Podcast
🧠 Join the email list: drstaceydenise.com/podcast

🎧 Episode 8: Beyond the Bowl — How Flexibility, Flavor & Feeling Your Way Through Food Can Reset Your Brain

Host: Dr. Stacey Denise

Guest: Dr. Nina Cherie Franklin

Duration: ~85 minutes

Listen on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible, iHeart Radio

✨ Episode Summary:

What if the way you build a salad could help rebuild your nervous system?

In this soulful and science-woven episode, Dr. Stacey Denise sits down with clinical nutritionist and That Salad Lady founder Dr. Nina Cherie Franklin to explore what nourishment really means in midlife—especially for women navigating brain fog, shutdown cycles, emotional fatigue, and sensory overwhelm.

Together, they move beyond diets, detoxes, and default wellness rules into a rhythm-based, symptom-informed approach to eating—one rooted in clarity, flexibility, and truth.

Dr. Franklin shares the origin story behind her Build Your Bowl framework and how her new book (The Build Your Bowl Salad Cookbook) is helping women across the country stop numbing with food and start feeding their energy, intuition, and emotional regulation with care.

💡 Inside This Episode:

• Why clean eating isn’t always clear or calming
• The link between food sensitivities, stress, and shutdown
• Flexitarian nourishment for neurodivergent and midlife women
• Rituals to soften food guilt and reclaim intuitive structure
• A live “Build Your Bowl” reflection for mood and energy
• Our signature Nourish or Numb? segment with surprising food truths

📘 Mentioned in This Episode:

• The Build Your Bowl Salad Cookbook by Dr. Nina Cherie Franklin
• Dr. Franklin’s website: ThatSaladLady.com
• Follow her on Instagram: @that.salad.lady

🧠 For Listeners Navigating:

• Emotional dysregulation and eating cycles
• Burnout, brain fog, and “wired-but-tired” patterns
• Menopause, ADHD, or sensory processing challenges
• Identity loss around food, body, or energy

📣 Share Your Story:

What’s one food ritual that nourishes you—or one you’re ready to release?

Message us or tag @drstaceydenise to continue the conversation. You are never alone in this journey.

Can lighting a candle be a form of healing? In this episode of The Neuroaesthetic MD™ Podcast, Dr. Stacey Denise sits down with TEDx speaker and Meltdown Candle Bar founder Tameka Tate for an immersive conversation on ritual, scent, and sensory care for the overwhelmed nervous system.

Whether you’re neurodivergent, menopausal, or just tired of "wellness performance," this episode is a soft place to land.

💡 What You’ll Learn:– How scent heals where language can’t– Candle rituals that soothe burnout– Sensory strategies for dementia, menopause, and grief– Why emotional safety starts with sensory rhythm– How to reclaim your identity through ritual

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music & iHeart Radio🔗 All links: drstaceydenise.com/podcast

📍 Connect with Tameka Tate:Website: mdcandlebar.comInstagram & TikTok: @mdcandlebarLocation: 1564 A Street, Castro Valley, CAEmail: meltdowncandlebar@mdcandlebar.com

🎙 Hosted by Dr. Stacey Denise, MD | PhD(c) | Founder of The Reset™ Method
Subscribe for more episodes exploring brain health, neuroaesthetics, and ritual-based healing.

What if your nervous system didn’t need words to heal—but color, texture, and ritual instead?

In this episode, I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with Ann Yakimovicz, an Austin-based abstract artist whose work gently unravels the threads between art, nature, and emotional regulation. Her background in landscape architecture adds a unique layer to how she creates—not just for the eye, but for the body. Each piece invites you to feel your way back into the sensory world you may have forgotten.

We talked about what it means to have a “nature’s heartprint”—those deeply personal, embodied memories that live in texture, scent, and shape. Ann’s artwork speaks to that inner archive. And whether you consider yourself neurodivergent or simply exhausted from the noise of modern life, I know this conversation will offer a tender point of return.

One of my favorite moments? When Ann shared a simple but powerful ritual with paint chips—yes, those little color swatches from the hardware store—as a tool for emotional clarity and grounding. It’s low-cost, accessible, and incredibly nourishing.

Inside this episode, we explore:

• How abstract art helps us regulate emotion and process sensory overload

• The intuitive rituals Ann uses to begin her painting practice

• Why texture matters—for memory, for healing, and for neurodivergent care

• What art can teach us about grief, connection, and environmental well-being

• How to bring more observation and reverence into daily life

Ritual to Try:

The Paint Chip Practice

Go to your local hardware store and pick out 8–10 paint swatches that you’re drawn to. Each day, choose one. Ask: What does this color invite me to feel? Where do I see it in my life? Then let that color walk with you—through your home, your commute, or your breathwork.

Let’s Stay in Ritual:

If this episode spoke to you, please subscribe, leave a review, or forward it to a friend who could use a soft landing today. You can find The NeuroaestheticMD™ Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

And if you’d like to explore Ann’s beautiful work, visit annyakiart.com. Her site is a retreat in itself.

Closing Note from Me to You:

Art doesn’t have to be loud to be powerful. Sometimes healing begins in a whisper—a shift in color, a new way of seeing a tree, a memory stirred by touch. This week, I hope you let beauty be part of your medicine.

Ready to personalize your own Color Reset journey?

If today’s episode spoke to you, let’s explore what your nervous system is really asking for. The 4-week Neuroaesthetic Reset™ Starter is the first step—a gentle, structured path into visual healing, emotional clarity, and sensory sovereignty.

I invite you to book a private call with me to explore whether it’s the right fit.

Hey love,
What if color wasn’t just pretty—but a quiet medicine for your nervous system?

In this gentle episode, we explore how certain hues can soothe, restore, and reconnect you to yourself. You'll learn how to discover your reset color, create small rituals for real-life healing, and remember: you don’t have to earn your rest.

Share your color with me on Instagram or let it quietly guide your day. Whether it’s a post, a DM, or a private moment—you’re heard. I’m here, and I’m listening.

With softness,
Dr. Stacey Denise

Subscription, links & Email List

• ⁠YouTube⁠
• ⁠Blog⁠
• ⁠Newsletter⁠

⁠ ⁠Socials

• ⁠Dr. Stacey's LinkedIn⁠
• ⁠Dr. Stacey's Instagram⁠
• ⁠Dr. Stacey's Facebook ⁠
• ⁠Website⁠