How the Brain Handles Change (And Why Transformation Feels Hard)

In this episode of the Autonomic Homeostasis Activation Podcast, hosts Tom Pals and Ruth Lorensson explore the profound connection between change, homeostasis, and wellness. They unpack why change isn’t something to resist but to embrace—because homeostasis itself is change, the constant dynamic adjustment that keeps us alive and well.

Drawing on neuroscience, Tom explains how the brain perceives change through the amygdala, either as a threat (activating the sympathetic fight-or-flight response) or as an opportunity (activating the parasympathetic rest-recover-digest state). Together, Tom and Ruth explore how our perception of change determines our experience of it—whether we spiral into anxiety and frustration or move toward growth, restoration, and resilience.

Listeners will learn the difference between wanting change and wanting to change, and how cultivating a mindset of beneficial anticipation—seeing change as life-giving—creates space for healing, adaptability, and sustainable wellness.

💡 Key Themes:

• Homeostasis as a living, dynamic process
• The neurobiology of change and emotional regulation
• How perception shapes our stress or peace response
• The power of beneficial anticipation over negative anticipation
• Why embracing change is central to true wellness

✨ “Change is not the enemy of wellness—it’s the evidence of life.”

🔗 Learn more at autonomichealing.org
 or connect with Tom at innerworkings.org
.