Welcome to The Nervous System Eats First — a podcast where science, story, and sensory wisdom meet to help neurodivergent women in midlife and menopause reclaim energy, intimacy, and emotional clarity.

I’m Dr. Stacey Denise, a physician-artist and Neuroaesthetic MD. After years of bridging medicine, neuroscience, and color psychology, I created the Neuroaesthetic Reset™ to support women who feel “tired but wired,” emotionally flatlined, or disconnected in their most important relationships.

Here, we explore three essential journeys:

   1.       Resilience & Calm: Nervous System Adaptation for Neurodivergent Women Over 40: Exhausted, But Not Broken

→ Why you’re always tired even when labs are “normal,” and how nervous system rituals, hormone literacy, and color-based resets restore vitality.

   2.      Energy, Sleep & Hormone Rituals for Neurodivergent Women Over 40: Healing Emotional Numbness & Identity Loss

→ What alexithymia and sensory overwhelm look like in menopause, and how interoception, art, and ritual help you name and feel again.

   3.       Regulation & Pleasure Rituals: Sensory Self-Intimacy Tools for Menopausal, Autistic & BIPOC Women: No More Numb, No More Shame

→ How hormones, trauma, and touch aversion affect midlife desire — and what neuroaesthetic rituals can do to rebuild intimacy, without pressure or shame.

Expect candid solo episodes, healing memoir interviews, and expert guest conversations blending evidence with lived wisdom. Each episode closes with a Neuroaesthetic Reset Ritual you can try right away — because healing isn’t just knowledge, it’s sensory practice.

If you’re a high-functioning, neurodivergent, or BIPOC woman in menopause who is done with surface-level hacks and ready for embodied, beautiful solutions — this podcast is your sanctuary.

📌 Take the free quiz: What Kind of Menopause Burnout Are You? 

You don’t need to perform your peace. You just need space to return to it.

Have you ever said, “I don’t even recognize myself anymore” — but your labs come back “normal”? 

That gap between how you feel and what you can explain isn’t weakness. It has a name: interoception — the body’s hidden sense that helps you feel safe, centered, and alive. When menopause, neurodivergence, or trauma mutes that internal signal, your nervous system loses its compass. The result? Alexithymia, shutdown, and emotional disconnection. 

In this conversation, Dr. Stacey Denise sits down with Dr. Kelly Mahler, award-winning occupational therapist and interoception researcher, to unpack the sensory and emotional truth behind why midlife can feel so flat — and what it takes to feel again. 

🧠 What You’ll Learn: 

• What interoception is — and why it disappears in midlife
• How alexithymia shows up in high-functioning women
• Why trauma, stress, and ND masking blunt your body’s signals
• The difference between nourishing and numbing rituals
• Gentle ways to rebuild body trust and emotional access (no perfection required)

🎯 This Is For You If:

• You feel emotionally numb, flat, or “not yourself”
• You shut down under stress or can’t explain how you feel
• You’ve been told “everything looks normal” — but it isn’t
• You’re navigating menopause and feeling disconnected from your body
• You’re ND, sensory-sensitive, or just deeply tired of powering through

👩🏾‍⚕️ Hosted by:

Dr. Stacey Denise, The Neuroaesthetic MD
Founder of The Neuroaesthetic Reset Method™ and SDM Medical PLLC
Website: www.drstaceydenise.com
Instagram: @drstaceydenise

👤 Featured Guest:

Dr. Kelly Mahler, OTD, OTR/L
🌍 www.kelly-mahler.com
📸 @kelly_mahler

📚 Resources:

💡 Take the free quiz: What’s Blocking Your Menopause Energy & Intimacy?
🎧 Listen to more episodes: The Neuroaesthetic MD™ Podcast
🧠 Join the email list: drstaceydenise.com/podcast