Episode 2: Nervous System 101 – Why Dating Feels Like a Threat (Even When It’s Supposed to Be Fun)

You’ve just had a great date. There’s chemistry, laughs, maybe even lingering eye contact. You wake up the next morning, check your phone… and it’s as silent as Ross at a science conference.

Cue panic.

In this episode, Tim Ervin, therapist, coach, and author of The Attachment Trap , dives into why dating doesn’t always feel fun. Instead, it can feel like your nervous system is stuck in a Friends rerun where Monica’s spiraling over Richard, Rachel’s triple-texting Ross, and Chandler is using sarcasm as a trauma response. (Oh wait… he is.)

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Why your nervous system scans dating situations like they’re emotional minefields

• How polyvagal theory explains that sinking feeling when someone takes too long to text back

• Why silence feels like danger (even when nothing went wrong)

• How Monica’s morning-after meltdown reveals what your nervous system really fears

• What elevator floors, meatball subs, and Smelly Cat have to do with survival

• Three somatic tools to help you regulate before, during, and after a date

We’re talking about real science, but with a Central Perk twist. Think of this episode as your personal guide to surviving modern romance without having to become a Monica-on-espresso or shut down like Ross when someone mentions commitment.

Because you’re not broken, you’re wired for survival.
And once you understand what your body’s trying to protect, you can teach it how to feel safe with connection, not just coffee and caution tape.