
69. "I Googled My Own Symptoms Because I Thought Something Was Wrong With My Brain"
From Courageously Expressed | Post-Traumatic Purpose Reclamation by Chelsea Bartell-Smith
March 18, 2026 · 44 min
About this episode
Nicole shares her journey of overcoming neurological fears and embracing her dreams through understanding her nervous system.
Nicole had done everything right. Spiritual work. Energy clearing. Limiting belief reprogramming. She had the vision, the coaching certification, and a clear picture of the stage she wanted to stand on. She was also googling her own symptoms a week before we started working together — convinced something was neurologically wrong with her brain. It wasn't her mindset. It was her nervous system treating her dreams like a threat. In this episode, she walks us through what that actually felt like in her body, the two childhood memories that were quietly running her business decisions decades later, and what shifted when we finally worked with her body instead of around it. Three months later — she's giving a keynote talk as an international speaker. That was the dream she had stopped believing in. In this episode: The five-year-old alarm story — a moment Nicole laughed off for years that was secretly dictating her relationship with productivity and worth What 15 racing thoughts at once actually feels like in the body (and why calling it "Type A" kept her stuck) How regulation — not more strategy — became the foundation that let her finally build The concussion at 18 that…
People in this episode
Host: Chelsea Bartell-Smith
Guest: Nicole
Topics covered
- nervous system
- childhood memories
- productivity
- mental health
- personal growth
Keywords
- nervous system
- symptoms
- childhood memories
- productivity
- mental health
- keynote talk
- personal growth
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