There's a specific kind of pain that shows up in midlife—burning feet at 2am, aching joints that won't settle, restless legs stealing your sleep. Your labs are fine, but your body is screaming. This episode is for you.

Dr. Njideka Olatunde brings 40+ years of reflexology wisdom to teach you:

• Why deep breathing (5-5-5) is your body's circuit breaker for pain
• Hand reflexology technique for immediate relief
• The pain-stress connection: why stress exits through your body
• "Aging is blossoming"—the vintage wine reframe
• Generational trauma and why "we're due our healing"
• Listening as touch therapy—the #1 treatment for pain
• FREE gift: Medication-free pain relief poster

After losing family to the opioid crisis, Dr. Njideka created Touchology—a medication-free approach teaching people to use their own hands as first-line defense against chronic pain.

For women navigating menopause pain, weight changes, GLP-1 considerations, and bodies that feel foreign—this is medicine.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

[00:00] Cold Open: When Pain Won't Sleep
[03:00] Meet Dr. Njideka Olatunde
[05:00] Origin Story: From Social Work to Touchology
[08:00] The Opioid Crisis: Why Touch Became First-Line Defense
[10:00] The Pain-Stress Connection: Why They're Inseparable
[14:00] Empowerment: You Must Participate in Your Healing
[16:00] Midlife Wisdom: Aging as Vintage Wine
[22:00] Nervous System 101: The Elbow Example
[28:00] Practical Tool #1: Deep Breathing (5-5-5 Technique)
[30:00] Practical Tool #2: Hand Reflexology Tutorial
[35:00] Generational Trauma & Healing: "We're Due Our Healing"
[40:00] Making New Traditions: Adding Newness to Foundation
[45:00] Nourish or Numb Segment
[51:00] The Touch of Gratitude: Dr. Njideka's Personal Practice
[53:00] African Tradition: The Gift (Free Pain Relief Poster)
[55:00] Resources & Closing

Resources:

Dr. Njideka Olatunde:

• Website: https://focusonhealing.com
• Podcast: Touchology Wellness Experience
• FREE Pain Relief Poster: https://touchologyreflexology.com
• Contact: Available through website

Dr. Stacey Denise:

• Free Quiz: "What Kind of Menopause Burnout Are You?" → https://drstaceydenise.com/take-the-quiz
• Instagram: @drstaceydenise
• Newsletter: https://drstaceydenise.com/newsletter
• Website: https://drstaceydenise.com

Podcast: The Nervous System Eats First
Host: Dr. Stacey Denise | The Neuroaesthetic MD
Guest: Dr. Njideka N. Olatunde | Pioneering Holistic Pain Relief Through Touchology™ Using the Power of Touch
Episode: 18

"Janice has always been a wish. From the moment she was born, she was a wish."

These are the words Dr. Janice Campbell's mother said when she learned about her daughter's autism diagnosis at age 50. That moment of being truly SEEN is what this episode is about.

Dr. Janice Campbell—doctor of acupuncture, Five Element practitioner, former theater stage manager, and late-diagnosed autistic woman—teaches us:

• Five Elements Explained: How Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water map your nervous system • The Christmas Party Game: Real-time nervous system regulation demonstration • "Chi Follows the Mind": Why body safety requires life belonging first • "Remember When It Was Easier?": Your nervous system's call for help • Autism + Menopause: Why you need BOTH hormonal AND nervous system support • Verbal Needles: How language shifts physical states • Aging as Adventure: Designing your elder self

For women who've spent decades feeling like a "turtle without their shell"—performing belonging instead of embodying it—this episode is your roadmap home.

Late-diagnosed autistic women in menopause, women who've been masking their whole lives, anyone whose body feels like foreign territory: You don't need to fix yourself. You need to remember you've always been a wish.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

[00:00] Cold Open: The "Wish" Story
[03:00] Meet Dr. Janice Campbell
[05:00] Theater Stage Manager to Acupuncturist Journey
[10:00] Late-Diagnosed Autism at 50
[15:00] Five Element Medicine: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water
[22:00] The Christmas Party Game (Nervous System Demo)
[28:00] "Chi Follows the Mind": Energy & Belonging
[33:00] Verbal Needles: Language as Medicine
[38:00] Back-Body Awareness Practice
[43:00] Autism & Menopause Intersection
[48:00] "Remember When It Was Easier?" as Nervous System Signal
[52:00] Nourish or Numb Segment
[58:00] Designing Your Elder Self

Concepts Mentioned:

• Five Element Theory (Traditional Chinese Medicine)
• Chi/Qi (life force energy)
• Acupuncture meridians
• Diagnostic interaction
• Verbal needles
• Back-body awareness

Resources & References

Connect with Dr. Janice Campbell:

• Website: http://www.drjanicecampbell.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-janice/
• Podcast: Once Upon A Moment
• The Octopus Movement (Founding Member)

Dr. Stacey Denise:

• Free Quiz: "What Kind of Menopause Burnout Are You?" → https://drstaceydenise.com/take-the-quiz
• Instagram: @drstaceydenise
• Newsletter: https://drstaceydenise.com/newsletter
• Website: https://drstaceydenise.com

Podcast: The Nervous System Eats First
Host: Dr. Stacey Denise | The Neuroaesthetic MD
Guest: Dr. Janice Campbell | Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
Episode: 17

Episode Summary

Have you ever reached a point where your body simply refused to keep going? Where the usual tricks—green juice, journaling, sheer grit—just stopped working? In this powerful episode, Dr. Stacey Denise sits down with Cassandra Love Lambert—globally recognized somatic transformation coach, bestselling author, and founder of the Pain Into Power Process—to explore what it means to move from survival to sovereignty.

Cassandra shares her raw journey: how becoming a mother surfaced unhealed childhood trauma, why all the healing work she did in her 20s (talk therapy, Landmark, shamanic circles) didn't reach the roots, and the moment EFT tapping changed everything. Through evidence-based somatic practices including EFT tapping, brain spotting, parts work, and somatic attachment therapy, she now helps high-achieving women—especially those in perimenopause and menopause—finally feel safe to be fully seen.

This conversation explores how perimenopause strips away the mask, why rage shows up during midlife (and why that's healthy), the connection between boundaries and self-love, and why healing isn't about fixing yourself—it's about coming home to your body.

Key Topics & Timestamps

• 0:00 – Cold Open: When Your Body Says "No More"
• 5:30 – The Rupture: Becoming a Mother and Facing Unhealed Trauma
• 11:20 – What Cassandra Tried That Didn't Work
• 16:24 – The Moment Somatic Work Changed Everything
• 18:41 – When Your Body Becomes Your Teacher
• 20:58 – The Birth of the Pain Into Power Framework
• 24:17 – Parts Work and Inner Child Integration
• 27:30 – Perimenopause: When the Mask Cracks
• 28:23 – Why Rage Shows Up in Midlife (The Rage EFT Tapping Circle)
• 31:04 – Menopause as Rite of Passage and Rebirth
• 34:15 – The Five-Phase Method: Awareness, Balance, Regulation, Safety, Belief
• 38:00 – EFT Tapping, Brain Spotting, and Somatic Practices Explained

Resources & References

Connect with Cassandra Love Lambert:

• Website: cassandralovelambert.com
• Instagram: @c_love_lambert
• Pain Into Power Coaching
• Rage EFT Tapping Circle for Women
• Book: "Into the Light: Becoming My Own Hero" (Number One Bestseller, February 2025)

Practices Mentioned:

• EFT Tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique)
• Brain Spotting
• Parts Work (Internal Family Systems)
• Somatic Attachment Therapy

Connect & Community

• Listen on Apple Podcasts / Spotify / YouTube
• Subscribe to the show for updates and new episodes
• Join our newsletter for science and stories at drstaceydenise.com
• Follow us: @drstaceydenise on Instagram
• Share your story: Tag @drstaceydenise and @c_love_lambert
• Take Dr. Stacey's free quiz: FIND YOUR MENOPAUSE SLEEP PATTERN

Podcast: The Nervous System Eats First
Host: Dr. Stacey Denise | The Neuroaesthetic MD
Guest: Cassandra Love Lamber | Somatic Transformation Coach
Episode: 16