Learned Helplessness: The Neuroscience of Low Self-Esteem, Trauma, and How Therapy Helps You Reclaim Personal Agency
Learned Helplessness: The Neuroscience of Low Self-Esteem, Trauma, and How Therapy Helps You Reclaim Personal Agency
Discover how learned helplessness develops through trauma, chronic stress, criticism, and emotional invalidation. Learn the neuroscience behind low self-esteem, hopelessness, anxiety, and emotional shutdown, along with how therapy can help restore confidence, nervous system regulation, and personal empowerment.
Why Do Some People Feel Stuck Even When They Want Change?
Have you ever felt like no matter how hard you try, nothing really changes?
Do you struggle with thoughts like:
— “What’s the point?”
— “I’ll probably fail anyway.”
— “Nothing I do matters.”
— “Other people seem capable, but I’m not.”
— “I don’t trust myself.”
— “I feel emotionally frozen or defeated.”
Do you find yourself staying in painful situations because part of you no longer believes you have the power to change them? Many individuals struggling with low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, trauma, or chronic relationship difficultiesare not simply “unmotivated” or lacking discipline. Sometimes they are experiencing learned helplessness.
From a neuroscience and trauma-informed perspective, learned helplessness is not weakness. It is often the nervous system’s adaptation to repeated experiences of powerlessness, unpredictability, criticism, failure, emotional invalidation, or chronic stress.
At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, we frequently help individuals explore how trauma, attachment wounds, emotional neglect, nervous system dysregulation, and relational experiences shape self-worth, confidence, motivation, and personal agency.
What Is Learned Helplessness?
Learned helplessness is a psychological condition in which individuals come to believe they have little or no control over their outcomes, even when change may be possible. The concept was first developed through research by psychologist Martin Seligman in the 1960s.
Research found that when individuals or animals are repeatedly exposed to uncontrollable stress or adverse experiences, they may eventually stop attempting to change their circumstances altogether (Seligman, 1975).
In humans, learned helplessness may appear as:
— Chronic self-doubt
— Fear of failure
— Emotional shutdown
— Passivity
— Procrastination
— Hopelessness
— Difficulty making decisions
— Remaining in unhealthy relationships
— Lack of motivation
— Anxiety
— Depression
Over time, the nervous system begins internalizing: “Nothing I do will matter.”
How Learned Helplessness Develops
Learned helplessness often develops gradually through repeated emotional experiences.
Childhood Criticism or Emotional Invalidation
Children who are:
— Excessively criticized
— Emotionally dismissed
— Shamed
— Controlled
— Chronically misunderstood
— Punished unpredictably
may begin believing their needs, feelings, or efforts are unimportant.
Over time, this can erode self-trust and confidence.
Trauma and Chronic Stress
Trauma often involves experiences where individuals feel trapped, powerless, unsafe, or unable to control outcomes.
This may include:
— Emotional abuse
— Childhood neglect
— Bullying
— Addiction in the family
— Chronic instability
The nervous system adapts by prioritizing survivalover exploration, creativity, risk-taking, or self-expression.
Repeated Failure or Rejection
Repeated experiences of rejection, disappointment, or failure may also contribute to helplessness, particularly when individuals lack emotional support or tools for self-regulation.
Perfectionism and Fear-Based Conditioning
Some individuals become so afraid of failure that they stop trying altogether. Perfectionism often masks profound fear, shame, and self-protection.
The Neuroscience of Learned Helplessness
From a neuroscience perspective, chronic helplessness affects both the brain and nervous system.
Research suggests chronic stress may impact:
— The amygdala
— Hippocampus
— Prefrontal cortex
— Dopamine pathways
— Stress hormone regulation
The brain begins organizing around threat detection rather than growth, exploration, or creativity.
Individuals may experience:
— Emotional shutdown
— Low motivation
— Exhaustion
— Hopelessness
— Nervous system dysregulation
Research has also linked helplessness to alterations in serotonin and dopamine functioning, both of which play important roles in mood, motivation, and emotional regulation (Maier & Seligman, 2016). This is why learned helplessness is not simply “negative thinking.” The body itself may begin expecting defeat, disappointment, criticism, or emotional pain.
Learned Helplessness and Low Self-Esteem
One of the most painful consequences of learned helplessness is its impact on identity and self-worth.
People may begin viewing themselves as:
— Incapable
— Weak
— Inadequate
— Defective
— Powerless
— Unintelligent
— Undeserving
This can create profound shame.
Many individuals compare themselves to others and wonder: “Why can everyone else handle life better than I can?”
Yet trauma-informed therapy recognizes that these beliefs often developed as adaptive survival responses. A nervous system conditioned by fear, unpredictability, criticism, or emotional pain may naturally struggle with confidence and self-trust.
How Learned Helplessness Shows Up in Relationships
Learned helplessness frequently affects intimate relationships.
Individuals may:
— Tolerate mistreatment
— Struggle to set boundaries
— Fear conflict
— Avoid expressing needs
— Remain in emotionally unsafe relationships
— People please excessively
— Assume they are the problem
— Feel emotionally trapped
Some people unconsciously believe:
— “My feelings do not matter.”
— “I cannot ask for more.”
— “Nothing will change anyway.”
— “I should just tolerate this.”
Over time, this can deepen anxiety, resentment, emotional exhaustion, and relational disconnection.
The Difference Between Laziness and Nervous System Shutdown
Many individuals with learned helplessness harshly criticize themselves.
They may call themselves:
— Lazy
— Weak
— Unmotivated
— Incapable
— Failures
But from a somatic and neuroscience perspective, many people are not lazy. They are overwhelmed, dysregulated, emotionally exhausted, or stuck in survival responses. The nervous system sometimes shuts down when it no longer perceives effort as emotionally safe or meaningful.
This shutdown can resemble:
— Procrastination
— Avoidance
— Emotional numbness
— Depression
— Passivity
— Low energy
Compassionate understanding is often far more effective than shame.
How Therapy Helps Heal Learned Helplessness
Therapy can help individuals gradually rebuild:
— Self-trust
— Emotional safety
— Personal agency
— Emotional resilience
At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, we approach learned helplessness through an integrative, trauma-informed lens that recognizes the relationship between the body, brain, attachment experiences, and nervous system functioning.
Somatic Therapy
Somatic approaches help individuals reconnect with their bodies, emotions, boundaries, instincts, and internal experiences. This can increase feelings of empowerment and embodiment.
EMDR Therapy
EMDR may help process unresolved trauma, shame, fear, criticism, or painful memories that continue reinforcing helplessness beliefs.
Attachment Focused Therapy
Attachment work helps individuals explore how early relational experiences shaped beliefs about worth, safety, capability, and emotional expression.
Nervous System Regulation
As the nervous system becomes more regulated, many individuals report:
— Increased motivation
— Greater clarity
— Improved emotional resilience
— Stronger boundaries
— More self-confidence
— Renewed creativity
— Greater willingness to take healthy risks
Self-Compassion Work
Research suggests self-compassion improves emotional resilience and reduces shame-based thinking(Neff, 2003). People often heal more effectively through compassion than self-punishment.
Reclaiming Personal Agency
Healing learned helplessness does not usually happen all at once.
It often develops gradually through:
— Small moments of empowerment
— Emotional safety
— Supportive relationships
— Self-trust
— Consistent experiences of agency
Sometimes healing begins with very small internal shifts:
— “My feelings matter.”
— “I can make choices.”
— “I am allowed to take up space.”
— “I do not have to stay powerless.”
— “My past does not define my future.”
From Shame to Self-Compassion and Healing
Learned helplessness can profoundly affect self-esteem, motivation, relationships, emotional well-being, and identity. But what often appears externally as passivity or lack of confidence may actually reflect years of nervous system adaptation to fear, unpredictability, criticism, trauma, or emotional pain. Understanding the neuroscience behind learned helplessness can help shift the conversation away from shame and toward compassion, regulation, and healing.
At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, we help individuals reconnect with their sense of agency, emotional resilience, confidence, and self-worth through trauma-informed, neuroscience-based therapy approaches that address both the mind and the nervous system.
Contact us today to schedule a free 20-minute consultation and begin your journey toward embodied connection, clarity, and confidence.
📞 Call us at (310) 651-8458
📱 Text us at (310) 210-7934
📩 Email us at admin@embodiedwellnessandrecovery.com
🔗 Visit us at www.embodiedwellnessandrecovery.com
👉 Check us out on Instagram @embodied_wellness_and_recovery
🌍 Explore our offerings at Linktr. ee:https://linktr.ee/laurendummit
References
1) Maier, S. F., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2016). Learned helplessness at fifty: Insights from neuroscience. Psychological Review, 123(4), 349-367.
2) Neff, K. D. (2003). Self-compassion: An alternative conceptualization of a healthy attitude toward oneself. Self and Identity, 2(2), 85-101.
3) Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. Norton.
4) Seligman, M. E. P. (1975). Helplessness: On depression, development, and death. Freeman.
5) Van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Viking.
Post-Traumatic Growth and the Nervous System: Can Your Body Truly Heal After Trauma?
Post-Traumatic Growth and the Nervous System: Can Your Body Truly Heal After Trauma?
What is post-traumatic growth, and how does trauma recovery affect the autonomic nervous system? Explore the neuroscience of healing, nervous system regulation, and how therapy can help you feel safe, connected, and fully alive again after trauma.
Can You Ever Truly Feel Better After Trauma?
If you are in the middle of trauma recovery, you may find yourself wondering:
Will my body ever stop feeling so tense?
Will I always feel hypervigilant, exhausted, emotionally overwhelmed, or disconnected?
Will I ever feel safe in relationships again?
Can the nervous system ever really heal after trauma?
These questions are deeply human. Many people enter therapy hoping to “get rid of” trauma symptoms, only to discover that trauma recovery is not about erasing what happened. It is about helping the nervous system reorganize around safety, connection, flexibility, and meaning.
Post-traumatic growth does not mean the trauma was a good thing. It does not romanticize suffering or suggest that pain automatically creates wisdom. Instead, it refers to the psychological, emotional, relational, and neurobiological shifts that can occur when a person begins integrating traumatic experiences in ways that foster resilience, insight, and a deeper connection to self and others.
At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, we help clients understand trauma through a neuroscience-informed, somatic, and attachment-based lens. One of the most transformative realizations for many clients is that the nervous system can change.
What Is Post-Traumatic Growth?
Post-traumatic growth is a psychological concept developed by researchers Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun. It refers to positive changes that can emerge after significant adversity, trauma, grief, or crisis.
Research suggests that some individuals develop:
— Greater emotional depth
— Increased appreciation for life
— More meaningful relationships
— Enhanced personal strength
— Spiritual or existential growth
— Improved self-awareness (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004)
Importantly, post-traumatic growth does not mean the absence of pain. A person can still experience grief, triggers, sadness, or nervous system dysregulation while also experiencing growth. Growth and pain often coexist.
Trauma Lives in the Autonomic Nervous System
To understand post-traumatic growth, we first need to understand trauma itself. Trauma is not only a memory. It is a nervous system experience. The autonomic nervous system constantly evaluates safety and danger through unconscious neuroception, a term coined by Stephen Porges, a renowned American psychologist and neuroscientist best known for developing the Polyvagal Theory, which links the autonomic nervous system to social behavior and emotional regulation.
When the brain perceives threat, the nervous system shifts into survival responses such as:
— Fight
— Flight
— Freeze
— Fawn
These responses are adaptive. They are designed to protect you. But when trauma remains unresolved, the nervous system can become chronically stuck in survival mode.
This may look like:
— Panic or anxiety
— Emotional numbness
— Chronic tension
— Difficulty trusting others
— Feeling unsafe even in calm environments
You may know, on a logical level, that you are safe while your body still reacts as if danger is present. Trauma recovery can feel confusing at times.
The Neuroscience of Trauma Recovery
One of the most hopeful findings in neuroscience is the concept of neuroplasticity. The brain and nervous system are not fixed. They can reorganize through repeated experiences of safety, regulation, and connection.
This means your nervous system can learn:
— That rest is safe
— That closeness does not always lead to harm
— That emotions can be tolerated
— That your body is no longer trapped in the past
Trauma therapy helps create these corrective experiences.
At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, we often explain to clients that healing happens through repetition, not perfection. Small moments, such as the moment your body softens slightly or that you are able to stay present while being vulnerable, or the moment you notice a trigger without becoming consumed by it, matter. These are nervous system shifts.
Why Healing Often Feels Nonlinear
Many trauma survivors become discouraged because healing is not linear. One day, you may feel grounded and hopeful. The next, emotionally flooded or exhausted. This does not mean you are failing.
Trauma recovery involves the nervous system gradually expanding its capacity to tolerate both activation and calm. As this happens, old memories, emotions, and sensations may resurface for integration.
This is especially true for individuals recovering from:
The body often releases trauma in layers.
What Post-Traumatic Growth Looks Like in Real Life
Post-traumatic growth is rarely dramatic. More often, it appears quietly.
It looks like:
—Setting boundaries without overwhelming guilt
—Feeling emotionally present with a partner
—Sleeping more deeply
—Laughing again
—Trusting your intuition
— Feeling less controlled by triggers
— Experiencing moments of peace in your body
For some people, growth also includes a deeper sense of meaning and authenticity.
Trauma has a way of stripping away illusions and forcing profound questions:
Who am I now?
What truly matters to me?
What kind of relationships do I want?
What does safety actually feel like?
These questions can become part of the healing process.
The Role of Relationships in Nervous System Repair
Human nervous systems heal in connection.
Research in attachment theory and Polyvagal Theory suggests that safe relationships help regulate the autonomic nervous system (Porges, 1998).
This is called co-regulation.
When someone feels emotionally attuned to, their body begins receiving signals of safety.
This can gradually reduce:
— Cortisol
— Defensive responses
And increase:
— Emotional flexibility
— Social engagement
— Capacity for intimacy and trust
This is why trauma often impacts relationships so deeply and why relational healing matters.
At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, we frequently work with individuals and couples navigating:
— Sexuality and intimacy concerns
— Emotional disconnection
— Trauma-related relationship patterns
Because trauma recovery is not only about symptom reduction; it is also about restoring connection.
Somatic Therapy and Nervous System Healing
Many trauma survivors spend years trying to “think” their way out of symptoms, but trauma is not only cognitive. It is embodied. This is why somatic therapies can be so powerful.
Approaches such as:
— EMDR
…help regulate the autonomic nervous system directly.
These approaches help clients:
— Notice body sensations safely
— Complete defensive responses
— Increase nervous system flexibility
— Develop greater capacity for emotional regulation
The goal is not to force the body to relax; it is to help the body learn that it no longer has to remain in survival mode.
Quetions to Reflect On During Trauma Recovery
If you are currently healing from trauma, consider:
What does safety feel like in my body?
When do I feel most regulated?
What relationships help me feel emotionally grounded?
What survival strategies am I still carrying?Where have I already grown, even subtly?
Growth is often easier to see in hindsight.
You Do Not Become the Person You Were Before
One of the hardest truths about trauma is that it changes you. But trauma recovery can also change you. Post-traumatic growth is not about returning to who you were before the pain.
It is about becoming someone with:
— Greater emotional awareness
— More nervous system flexibility
— Deeper self-understanding
— Increased capacity for connection and meaning
The goal is not perfection; the goal is integration.
Moving Toward a Body That Feels Safer
At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, we believe trauma recovery involves more than coping skills.
It involves helping the nervous system experience:
— Safety
— Connection
— Regulation
— Trust
Over time, many clients notice something profound; their body no longer feels like an enemy. And while trauma may remain part of their story, it no longer defines every moment of their life. That shift is not about “getting over it.” It is about the nervous system learning a new experience of being alive.
Reach out to schedule a complimentary 20-minute consultation with our team of therapists, trauma specialists, somatic practitioners, or relationship experts, and start working towards integrative, embodied healing today.
📞 Call us at (310) 651-8458
📱 Text us at (310) 210-7934
📩 Email us at admin@embodiedwellnessandrecovery.com
🔗 Visit us at www.embodiedwellnessandrecovery.com
👉 Check us out on Instagram @embodied_wellness_and_recovery
🌍 Explore our offerings at Linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/laurendummit
References
1) Porges, S. W. (1998). Love: An emergent property of the mammalian autonomic nervous system. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 23(8), 837-861.
2) Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W. W. Norton & Company.
3) Siegel, D. J. (2012). The developing mind: How relationships and the brain interact to shape who we are (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
4) Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2004). Posttraumatic growth: Conceptual foundations and empirical evidence. Psychological Inquiry, 15(1), 1–18.
5) van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Viking.
How Toxic Relationships Accelerate Aging: The Neuroscience of Stress, Inflammation, and Emotional Wear
How Toxic Relationships Accelerate Aging: The Neuroscience of Stress, Inflammation, and Emotional Wear
Can a stressful relationship make you age faster? Discover how chronic conflict, emotional tension, and unresolved relational stress increase cortisol, inflammation, and biological aging—and how therapy can help restore nervous system regulation and long-term health.
How Ongoing Stressful Relationships Can Actually Age Your Body Faster
Have you ever noticed that some relationships leave you feeling physically exhausted? Not just emotionally drained but tense, inflamed, foggy, fatigued, and somehow older?
Maybe your chest tightens every time your partner walks into the room. Maybe conflict feels constant, or emotional safety feels impossible. Maybe you spend so much time anticipating criticism, defending yourself, or trying to keep the peace that your body never fully relaxes.
If you are living inside ongoing relational stress, your nervous system may be paying a much higher price than you realize. Research increasingly shows that chronic stress from conflict-filled relationships does not stay in the mind. It also lives in the body (Honkasalo, 2001).
Repeated exposure to criticism, unpredictability, emotional neglect, hostility, or chronic tension can elevate cortisol, increase systemic inflammation, dysregulate the nervous system, and even accelerate biological aging. In other words, unhealthy relationships can literally make your body age faster.
At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, we help individuals and couples understand how trauma, attachment wounds, and chronic relational stress affect both emotional health and physical well-being. Healing relationships is not just about feeling better emotionally; it is often about protecting your long-term health.
What Is Biological Aging?
Chronological age is how many birthdays you have had. Biological age is how your body is actually functioning. Two people can both be 45 years old chronologically, but one may have the cardiovascular health, inflammation levels, immune function, and cellular repair capacity of someone much older. This is called accelerated biological aging.
Researchers now use epigenetic markers, particularly DNA methylation “aging clocks,” to measure how quickly the body is aging on a cellular level. These biomarkers help us understand how stress, trauma, lifestyle, and relationships influence health beyond simple age. One 2026 study published in PNAS found that negative social ties, or “hasslers,” people who frequently create problems, tension, or emotional difficulty, were significantly associated with faster biological aging, increased inflammation, and greater multimorbidity.
Each additional “hassler” in someone’s close network was associated with approximately:
— 1.5% faster pace of biological aging
— Nearly 9 months older biological age
— Higher depression and anxiety severity
— Increased BMI and inflammatory markers
— Greater chronic health burden
That is not small. That is your nervous system keeping score.
Why Conflict-Filled Relationships Create Chronic Stress
Healthy stress is temporary. Toxic relational stress is repetitive. When your body perceives ongoing emotional threat, criticism, rejection, emotional unpredictability, betrayal, or walking on eggshells, it activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, your core stress response system.
This releases:
— Cortisol
— Adrenaline
— Norepinephrine
These chemicals are helpful during true danger. But when they are elevated day after day, they become damaging.
This can lead to:
— Sleep disruption
— Digestive issues
— Anxiety and hypervigilance
— Depression
— Immune dysfunction
— Hormonal imbalance
— Increased inflammation
— Reduced cognitive flexibility
— Cardiovascular strain
— Accelerated cellular aging
The body is not designed to live in a constant state of defense, and many people in chronically stressful relationships do exactly that.
Your Relationship May Be Keeping Your Nervous System in Survival Mode
Ask yourself:
— Do I feel physically tense around my partner?
— Do I constantly monitor someone else’s mood?
— Do I feel emotionally unsafe expressing needs?
— Do I recover slowly after conflict?
— Do I feel more exhausted after interactions than before?
— Do I feel guilty resting because I am always managing someone else’s emotions?
These are not just “communication problems.” These are often signs of nervous system dysregulation. When relationships repeatedly trigger fear, abandonment, shame, or emotional instability, the body often responds as though survival is at stake. Because developmentally, connection has always been tied to survival. This is why attachment wounds feel so physical.
Why Family Conflict Can Be Especially Aging
Interestingly, the 2026 PNAS study found that family-related negative ties were the strongest predictors of accelerated aging, even stronger than spousal stress in some cases. Why? Because family relationships are often emotionally loaded, historically rooted, and difficult to escape.
Parents, siblings, adult children, and other close relatives often carry:
— Unresolved childhood trauma
— Loyalty conflicts
— Guilt
— Emotional unpredictability
— Longstanding attachment wounds
Unlike friendships, family systems can feel inescapable. The nervous system interprets this as ongoing threat without resolution. That creates profound physiological wear.
Inflammation: The Hidden Cost of Relational Stress
One of the clearest pathways between emotional stress and physical aging is inflammation. When stress is chronic, the immune system remains activated. The body begins producing more inflammatory proteins, even when no infection is present.
Over time, this low-grade chronic inflammation contributes to:
— Heart disease
— Autoimmune conditions
— Depression
— Metabolic dysfunction
— Cognitive decline
— Chronic fatigue
— Accelerated aging
The PNAS study specifically found that greater exposure to negative social ties was associated with increased inflammation markers and poorer health outcomes across multiple systems. This is why relational stress often first manifests as physical symptoms. The body often speaks before the mind fully understands.
Can Therapy Reverse the Damage?
Yes, but not through insight alone. Healing requires nervous system repair.
At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, we approach this through a neuroscience-informed, somatic lens.
This may include:
Attachment-focused therapy
Understanding how early relational wounds shape present-day relationship patterns.
EMDR and trauma processing
Helping the body release unresolved trauma that keeps the stress response activated.
Somatic therapy
Teaching the nervous system how to recognize safety again.
Couples therapy
Creating emotional safety, boundary clarity, and healthier patterns of repair.
Boundary work
Reducing exposure to chronic relational stressors when repair is not possible. Sometimes healing means improving the relationship. Sometimes it means changing your proximity to dysfunction. Both are valid.
Emotional Safety Is Preventive Medicine
We often think of wellness as:
— Supplements
— Exercise
— Sleep
— Nutrition
And those matter. But emotional safety belongs on that list because your body cannot fully heal in an environment it experiences as unsafe. Love should not feel like chronic cortisol. Connection should not require nervous system collapse. The quality of your closest relationships shapes your physiology more than most people realize, and protecting your peace is not selfish. It is biological.
Your Body Notices
A stressful relationship does not just affect your mood. It also affects your immune system, inflammation, hormones, sleep, aging, and long-term health. When chronic conflict becomes the norm, people often stop noticing how much their bodies are carrying. But your body notices. It always notices. The good news is that the nervous system is adaptable. With the right support, safety can be relearned, regulation can be restored, and relational patterns can change.
At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, we specialize in helping individuals and couples understand the deep connection between trauma, relationships, and physical well-being because healing is never just emotional. It is embodied.
Reach out to schedule a complimentary 20-minute consultation with our team of therapists, trauma specialists, somatic practitioners, or relationship experts, and start working towards integrative, embodied healing today.
📞 Call us at (310) 651-8458
📱 Text us at (310) 210-7934
📩 Email us at admin@embodiedwellnessandrecovery.com
🔗 Visit us at www.embodiedwellnessandrecovery.com
👉 Check us out on Instagram @embodied_wellness_and_recovery
🌍 Explore our offerings at Linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/laurendummit
References
Epel, E. S., Blackburn, E. H., Lin, J., Dhabhar, F. S., Adler, N. E., Morrow, J. D., & Cawthon, R. M. (2004). Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101(49), 17312–17315.
Honkasalo, M. L. (2001). Vicissitudes of pain and suffering: chronic pain and liminality. Medical Anthropology, 19(4), 319-353.
Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Wilson, S. J., & Madison, A. (2019). Marriage and gut (microbiome) feelings: Tracing novel dyadic pathways to accelerated aging. Psychosomatic Medicine, 81(8), 704–710.
Lee, B., Ciciurkaite, G., Peng, S., Mitchell, C., & Perry, B. L. (2026). Negative social ties as emerging risk factors for accelerated aging, inflammation, and multimorbidity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 123(8), e2515331123.
McEwen, B. S. (1998). Protective and damaging effects of stress mediators. New England Journal of Medicine, 338(3), 171–179.