Dr. Nicole LePera

Anxiety as Biology, Not Personal Failure

If anxiety is an alarm, it can also become oversensitive. Past stress, chronic pressure, traumatic experiences, sleep deprivation, and ongoing uncertainty can condition the nervous system to interpret ambiguous signals as threatening. As a result, anxiety may appear in ordinary situations—an email from a boss, a crowded room, a quiet evening alone. This is where LePera’s point becomes especially compassionate: when the response is physiological, “calming down” isn’t simply a decision. Instead, it often requires helping the body re-learn safety through repeated experiences of regulation, support, and predictability. [...]

Remembering the Body’s Need for Rest

The line “requires rhythm and rest” reframes rest from something earned to something necessary. Many people delay recovery until tasks are finished, but living systems don’t work on a checklist; they work on replenishment. This echoes well-established sleep science, such as Matthew Walker’s *Why We Sleep* (2017), which describes sleep as foundational to memory consolidation, immune function, and emotional regulation. As a result, rest becomes strategic rather than indulgent. It is how the body resets the very capacities—attention, patience, creativity—that modern life demands. [...]