Wired for Connection: A Polyvagal Podcast

A conversation with MaryCatherine McDonald, PhD, on the relationship between joy, trauma, and the nervous system — and why healing isn't about pushing past pain, but about making joy feel safe again.   We cover:  • Why the trauma response is never wrong, and how shame blocks healing • Why joy can feel unsafe or inaccessible after trauma • The six "joy thieves" that quietly steal joy from daily life • How joy helps regulate the nervous system, restoring safety and connection • What to do when even a tiny joy practice feels fake or uncomfortable • Why joy work is a real healing practice, not toxic positivity MaryCatherine McDonald is a research professor and life coach who specializes in the psychology and philosophy of trauma. CONNECT with the Polyvagal Institute: www.polyvagalinstitute.org [http://www.polyvagalinstitute.org/] @PolyvagalInstitute [email protected]

Deb Dana, LCSW, is one of our keynote presenters at the 2026 PVI International Gathering in Sitges, Spain. Secure your spot, either virtually or in-person, here! [https://www.polyvagalinstitute.org/2026polyvagalconference] She is also a Co-Founder of the Polyvagal Institute. In this episode of Wired for Connection, Travis Goodman sits down with Polyvagal Theory expert, clinician, and author Deb Dana to explore relationship rupture and repair through the lens of the nervous system. Deb explains why even small moments of disconnection can register in the nervous system, how fight, flight, shutdown, and dysregulation affect conflict, and why meaningful relationship repair requires enough nervous system regulation to access curiosity, courage, and connection. We explore how Polyvagal Theory can help us understand conflict in relationships, trauma triggers, emotional shutdown, broken trust, co-regulation, neuroception, nervous system regulation, and the process of rebuilding safe connection. Deb also explains why healthy relationships are not relationships without rupture. The ability to recognize disconnection and find your way back through repair can strengthen trust and attachment over time. CONNECT WITH Polyvagal Institute:           WEB: www.polyvagalinstitute.org [https://www.polyvagalinstitute.org/] Instagram: @polyvagalinstitute [https://www.instagram.com/polyvagalinstitute/] LinkedIn: polyvagal-institute [https://www.linkedin.com/company/polyvagal-institute] Email: [email protected] CONNECT WITH Travis Goodman:          Web: travisgoodmanlmft.com [https://www.travisgoodmanlmft.com/]

Kate Woodsome is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and founder and director of the Invisible Threads Impact Lab, building the human and relational capacity democracy depends on. Kate is also the the Royden B. Davis, SJ Visiting Professor at Georgetown University, Dept. of Culture, Communication and Technology. For two decades, Woodsome reported and led global news teams for Voice of America, Al Jazeera English, and The Washington Post, covering upheaval from Cuba to Cambodia, Hong Kong to Washington, DC. Reporting on the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack left her with complex PTSD and a visceral understanding of how trauma is a cause and effect of polarization. After her team won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, she left traditional journalism, unwilling to perpetuate a culture that treats trauma as the price of truth.  In this episode, we discuss the link between our collective nervous system and democracy. Kate also shares practical insights on fostering civic resilience, and she shares a preview of her talk at the upcoming Polyvagal Institute International Gathering.  Kate is one of our keynote presenters at the upcoming conference, in which we'll explore the theme: Navigating Conflict with a Resilient Nervous System. Virtual and in-person tickets are available here.  [https://www.polyvagalinstitute.org/2026polyvagalconference]

In this episode of Wired for Connection, Travis Goodman, LMFT sits down with trauma therapist, author, podcaster, and trainer Verena König to explore fawning, appeasement, people-pleasing, and the nervous system. Verena is speaking at 2026 PVI International Gathering. Our theme this year is "Navigating Conflict With a Resilient Nervous System. Join us in Spain [https://www.polyvagalinstitute.org/2026polyvagalconference] this September! Verena shares how the fawn response and appeasement response are not signs of weakness, but adaptive trauma survival responses. We explore how early attachment wounds and relational trauma shape adult relationships, and why unhealthy relationship patterns can sometimes feel safer than healthy connection. This conversation explores Polyvagal Theory, complex PTSD, nervous system regulation, and the healing journey of moving from automatic survival responses into more choice, connection, and self-trust. If you have ever wondered why you over-adapt, people-please, avoid conflict, silence your needs, or lose yourself in relationships, this episode will help you understand the deeper trauma and nervous system patterns underneath those responses. Learn more about Verena and her work here. [https://www.verenakoenig.de/]  CONNECT WITH Polyvagal Institute:          WEB: www.polyvagalinstitute.org [https://www.polyvagalinstitute.org/] Instagram: @polyvagalinstitute [https://www.instagram.com/polyvagalinstitute/] LinkedIn: polyvagal-institute [https://www.linkedin.com/company/polyvagal-institute] Email: [email protected] CONNECT WITH Travis Goodman:         Web: travisgoodmanlmft.com [https://www.travisgoodmanlmft.com/]

In this episode of Wired for Connection, we chat with Dr. Keira Barr about skin health, stress, inflammation, and the nervous system. Dr. Barr is a dermatologist whose work lives at the intersection of psychodermatology, mind-body medicine, Polyvagal Theory, and skin healing. She shares how her own experience with early melanoma, gut issues, hormone issues, and burnout changed the way she understood dermatology and helped her see that the skin is not simply a problem to fix, but a messenger speaking through the body. We explore how the nervous system and skin are in constant communication, including the nervous, immune, cutaneous, and endocrine pathways that shape inflammation, stress responses, and chronic flare cycles. Dr. Barr explains why your skin can generate cortisol, adrenaline, and inflammatory messengers, making it both a target and a source of the stress response. This helps explain why stress can show up as acne, rosacea, eczema, psoriasis, hives, hair loss, and other inflammatory skin conditions. Dr. Barr also unpacks how Polyvagal Theory gives language to what many people with chronic skin issues already feel: "I'm not broken. My body is trying to tell me something."  Dr. Barr also shares practical tips on sleep, food, environment, social media, self-touch, breath, and skincare rituals can become nervous system supports. She explains why the skin is the first site of attachment, how touch communicates safety, and how applying skincare with intention can become a regulation practice instead of another self-improvement chore from the $500 billion beauty-industrial circus. If you struggle with chronic skin flares, acne, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, hives, stress-related breakouts, or skin shame, this episode offers a compassionate and science-informed way to understand your skin through the lens of safety, inflammation, and nervous system regulation. Dr. Barr will be presenting at the 2026 PVI International Gathering in Sitges, Spain. Both in-person and virtual tickets are available now.  [https://www.polyvagalinstitute.org/2026polyvagalconference] CONNECT WITH Polyvagal Institute:         WEB: www.polyvagalinstitute.org [https://www.polyvagalinstitute.org/] Instagram: @polyvagalinstitute [https://www.instagram.com/polyvagalinstitute/] LinkedIn: polyvagal-institute [https://www.linkedin.com/company/polyvagal-institute] Email: [email protected] CONNECT WITH Travis Goodman:        Web: travisgoodmanlmft.com [https://www.travisgoodmanlmft.com/]