Why You Can’t Heal Until Your Body Feels Safe… and How To Get There with Dr. David Rabin

Smart People Podcast

If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing all the right things—the workouts, the healthy food, the meditation app, the supplements—but your body still isn’t responding the way it should… this episode is for you.

Because here’s the truth: You can’t heal until your body feels safe. Not calm. Not relaxed. Safe. And that’s not just a mindset—it’s a biological state.

Today’s guest, Dr. David Rabin, is a board-certified psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and co-founder of Apollo Neuro. He’s spent decades researching how chronic stress, trauma, and even subconscious fear can hijack your nervous system and silently block your body’s ability to recover. What he’s uncovered is game-changing: the body doesn’t heal because we tell it to—it heals when it knows it can.

In this conversation, we break down exactly how that works—starting with the vagus nerve, the body’s command center for switching between stress and recovery. Dr. Rabin explains why your nervous system might still be operating in fight-or-flight mode, even if your life feels perfectly fine. You’ll learn how stress re-routes resources away from the parts of your body responsible for sleep, digestion, immunity, and long-term healing—and why most of us have no idea it’s happening.

We also explore how trauma can be stored in the body for years, why it doesn’t always show up in your memories, and how new tools—from psychedelics to vibration-based therapies—are helping people access deep healing without spending a decade in talk therapy.

By the end of this episode, you’ll have a whole new framework for understanding stress—not just as a feeling, but as a physiological state you can learn to shift. And more importantly, you’ll leave with actionable ways to start teaching your body what safety actually feels like.

So if you’ve ever wondered why you still feel stuck—even when life looks good on paper—don’t miss this one.

Let’s get into it.

Learn more about Dr. Rabin at drdave.io.

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