Season 4, Ep. 5 - Your Nervous System is Running the Relationship (Not Your Logic) with Alex Nashton

Jul 29

What if overthinking your relationship, scrolling endlessly, or fighting with your partner aren't personality flaws… but your nervous system desperately trying to keep you safe in a disconnected world?

In this cozy, cacao-fueled episode of Eros & Earth, I sit down with my brilliant neuroscientist friend Alex Nashton to explore what's really happening in your brain when intimacy breaks down, and how modern life quietly trains us toward isolation instead of connection.

If you've ever wondered why you analyze everything, shut down mid-conflict, crave your phone, or feel distant from the person you love most… this episode gives you language, compassion, and a way forward.

Guest: Alex Nashton - Neuroscience expert specializing in attachment, stress responses, and relational regulation (www.alexnashton.com)

If you've been searching for "why do I overthink my relationship" or "nervous system and intimacy", this episode is exactly what you need.

You'll learn:

Why rumination, overthinking, and "figuring it out" are forms of fight-or-flight
How disconnection triggers your brain's threat response, even with people you love
Why oxytocin (not communication skills) is the real foundation of intimacy

We also cover:

Fight, flight, freeze, and pursue–withdraw patterns in relationships
Dopamine addiction, screens, and why real life starts to feel dull
How phone detoxing, touch, eye contact, and even kittens regulate the nervous system

Modern relationships are struggling because our nervous systems are overwhelmed. In this episode, Alex and I unpack the neuroscience of disconnection, explaining how fight-or-flight responses show up as overthinking, withdrawal, conflict, and phone addiction. You'll learn how dopamine hijacks attention, why oxytocin restores safety and intimacy, and how to regulate your nervous system so love can feel nourishing again. If you're craving deeper connection, less anxiety, and a more embodied relationship, this conversation offers both science and soul.