Touch Talk Transform, LLC

02/23/2026

At Ichikawa City Zoo, the story of little Punch is turning into something even more beautiful.

The tiny macaque who once sat alone, holding tightly to his stuffed orangutan for comfort, is no longer by himself. The same baby who went viral for clinging to a toy after being rejected is now slowly being welcomed by the older monkeys around him.

At first, they only watched him from a distance — curious, cautious, unsure. But day by day, they moved closer. Sitting beside him. Studying him gently. Offering quiet companionship without fear.

For Punch, who once found comfort only in fabric and thread, this change means everything.

He is beginning to experience real warmth — the soft grooming of another monkey, the safety of sitting in a small group, the feeling of belonging. His stuffed toy may still rest in his arms, but now he has something more powerful: connection.

Punch’s journey reminds us that healing takes time. Sometimes it begins in loneliness… but with patience and kindness, it grows into acceptance.

And now, little Punch is no longer just the monkey who went viral.

He is the monkey who is finally finding his place.

02/18/2026

02/18/2026

4 Ways to Make Peace with Overwhelming Emotions https://buff.ly/ANijFxQ

It’s Monday… and for many people, that means Monday blues. 😔

Overwhelming emotions can feel like waves that might sweep you away. But here’s the truth. Emotions are temporary, and you can learn to make peace with them instead of fighting them. One powerful mindfulness tool is the RAIN practice:
• Recognize what you’re feeling
• Allow it to be there
• Investigate it with curiosity
• Nurture yourself with self-compassion

When you turn toward your emotions with mindfulness instead of running from them, something surprising happens. They begin to teach you, calm down, and lose their grip.

You don’t have to fear your emotions. You can learn from them. You can grow through them. And you can find peace, even on a Monday. 🧠💙

01/25/2026

"You cannot breathe your way out of patriarchy. You cannot cold plunge your way out of structural oppression. You cannot meditate, journal, or yoga your way out of conditions that were designed to dysregulate you.

This is not to say that nervous system regulation tools aren't valuable. They are. I use them. I teach them. I believe in the body's capacity to settle, to find ground, to return to itself.

But when regulation tools are offered as the solution to chronic activation without naming the cause of that activation, they become a form of gaslighting. They locate the problem in your body rather than in the conditions your body is responding to.

The message becomes: if you're still anxious, you haven't tried hard enough. If you're still activated, you haven't found the right technique. If you're still struggling, the failure is yours.

But what if your nervous system isn't broken? What if it's accurate?

What if your chronic activation is a correct response to living in a world where your body has never been fully safe? Where your rights can be legislated away? Where your value has been tied to your appearance, your compliance, your ability to serve? Where violence against women is endemic and normalized. Where the mental load is invisible and unpaid and never ending?

You're not dysregulated because you're doing something wrong. You're dysregulated because your body is reading the environment correctly.

This is the problem with nervous system work that doesn't include political analysis. It pathologizes accurate perception. It tells you to calm down when calm would actually be a form of denial. It trains you to regulate your way into tolerating conditions that should not be tolerated.

What if regulation isn't always the goal?

What if sometimes the goal is testimony?

What if your body's activation is not a problem to be solved but a truth to be witnessed? What if the shaking, the racing heart, the inability to settle is your body saying: this is not okay. This was never okay.

And I refuse to pretend it is.

There's a reason oppressed peoples have always used the body as a site of protest. The body that refuses to be calm is a body that refuses to comply. The body that stays activated is a body that is telling the truth about what it has survived.

I'm not saying don't regulate. I'm saying regulate with your eyes open. Know what you're regulating for. Notice if your regulation practice is helping you show up more fully for your life, or if it's helping you tolerate conditions you'd be better off changing or leaving.

There's a difference between settling your nervous system so you can be present and settling your nervous system so you can continue to be extracted from.

One is healing. The other is sophisticated dissociation.

Your body knows things. It knows what's safe and what isn't. It knows what's sustainable and what's depleting. It knows when you're in the wrong relationship, the wrong job, the wrong room.

The question is not how do I make my body stop reacting. The question is what is my body trying to tell me that I haven't been willing to hear.

Sometimes the most radical thing you can do is not calm down. Sometimes the most radical thing is to let your body speak. To let it be a witness. To refuse to regulate yourself into compliance with conditions that are slowly killing you.

Although you cannot breathe your way out of patriarchy, you can listen to the body that has been registering its impact all along."
—Ailey Jolie

Artwork by instagram.com/haisoohaisoohaisoo

01/23/2026

Your worth has never been the problem.
Only the environment has changed.

The same water is valued differently,
not because it becomes better,
but because the place changes how it is seen.

People do the same to themselves.
They shrink in spaces that cannot recognize them,
and begin to shine when they find where they belong.

If you feel invisible, unappreciated, or small,
do not assume you are lacking.
You may simply be standing in the wrong room.

Change the place.
Let your value be seen.🌿

01/21/2026

Fyi

Wellness and nervous system regulation can absolutely be fancy— biohacking gadgets like vagal nerve stimulators, peptides, supplements. And hey, I love them too; I’ve seen them work wonders for people chasing peak performance. But the truth is, I recommend these free nervous system regulators to my telehealth patients just as often—like solid sleep routines, gentle walks in nature, or even breathing through a tough day without spiraling.   
   
Those aren’t glamorous, but they’re essential game-changers for keeping your nervous system regulated and calm. Sometimes, chasing the perfect protocol or the next thing to buy or consume or try means missing out on just being consistent with the simple stuff that’s already right there. Consistency is the ultimate biohack.   
                  
                  

01/17/2026

New Research Shows Self‑Silencing Is Linked to Serious Illness in Women

Emerging scientific research has shone a powerful light on a behavioural pattern many women know all too well, self‑silencing. This is the tendency to suppress emotions, avoid conflict, and put others’ needs before your own in order to keep peace or preserve relationships. While it may feel like politeness or strength, new studies suggest this silent habit may be making women sick in profound ways.

Researchers have found that when women continually hold back their true thoughts and feelings, whether at home, at work, or in relationships, it doesn’t just take an emotional toll. It may also impact physical health. One notable study of midlife women found that higher levels of self‑silencing were directly linked to signs of carotid plaque, a marker for cardiovascular disease and increased risk of heart attack, even when common risk factors like diet, exercise, and depression were accounted for. This suggests that suppressing emotions can influence real biological processes.

And it doesn’t stop there. A growing body of evidence connects self‑silencing and emotional repression with higher rates of anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome, autoimmune symptoms, and other chronic conditions in women, showing that the mind and body are deeply linked.

Many scientists and psychologists believe cultural pressures that reward women for being agreeable and selfless may unintentionally encourage this pattern, with potentially serious consequences for long‑term health. That’s why experts are calling for greater awareness, supportive relationships where women can express themselves freely, and health strategies that address not just the body, but the emotional and social factors that shape wellbeing.

01/16/2026

We've always known that sleep, movement, and nutrition matter for longevity—but a brand new study in The Lancet just quantified exactly how little it takes when you address them together.

The study followed nearly 60,000 adults and found something remarkable: combining just 5 extra minutes of sleep, 2 minutes of moderate physical activity, and a small dietary improvement (like adding half a serving of vegetables) per day was associated with gaining one additional year of lifespan.

When researchers looked at improving these behaviors individually, sleep alone required 25 minutes more per day to achieve the same one-year gain. Physical activity alone needed 2.3 minutes. And diet alone? It couldn't produce a statistically significant benefit on its own.

The secret is synergy. These behaviors amplify each other through interconnected physiological pathways. Sleep affects appetite regulation and energy for movement. Movement improves sleep quality. And nutrition supports both.

This is proof that you don't need a complete lifestyle overhaul to extend your life. Small, sustainable changes across multiple pillars of health create compounding benefits that isolated interventions simply can't match.

What's one small improvement you can make in each area today?

01/09/2026