The Science of Fitness Podcast · Science of Fitness

S2 E27 Overcoming Anxiety and Building Resilience Through Self-Awareness w/ Dr. Priyanka Naidu, Psychology Expert

·49 min·3 clips

While doing her PhD, Priyanka developed chronic insomnia from teaching university tutorials.

1. The Science of Fitness Podcast episode focuses on Dr. Priyanka Naidoo and the link between anxiety, resilience, and self-awareness. 2. Host and science communicator speaks with Dr. Priyanka Naidoo, a psychology expert who is product lead and wellbeing designer for Dala Health. 3. The conversation asks how someone with social anxiety can build confidence, separate themselves from their work, and use evidence-based tools. 4. Naidoo says psychology was not her first clear ambition, but she began to see that she could personally benefit from it and share that value with others. 5. She describes growing up with social anxiety and says she initially believed she was just a shy kid. 6. She recalls physical fight-or-flight responses, including shaking, perspiring, freezing, and being unable to speak. 7. She says her father told her one of his friends thought she was mute because she spoke so little when she was young. 8. The host links her experience to the larger problem of people not realizing their patterns are learned rather than fixed identity. 9. Naidoo says she once believed people were either confident or not, and she later learned confidence can be developed as a skill. 10. She points to performance psychology as the moment she understood that confidence, emotion regulation, and stress management can be strengthened over time. 11. Naidoo describes avoidance as a short-term relief that teaches the brain to keep avoiding feared situations. 12. She says tutoring at university terrified her, yet she kept doing it because she wanted to teach and present. 13. She recalls a semester of chronic insomnia, poor appetite, and her parents driving her to university so she would not have to drive herself. 14. Naidoo says student evaluations gave her evidence that she was doing okay even when she felt overwhelmed. 15. She says a presentation on Tuesday left her terrified, and a friend had to remind her that the task was routine for her. 16. Naidoo also says people often internalize rude treatment, but she now tries not to turn other people’s behavior into a judgment on her own worth. 17. The tone is reflective and practical, with the host using personal examples from public speaking and exercise science. 18. The format is a long-form interview that moves from biography to psychology tools to Dala Health’s product design. 19. Listeners interested in anxiety tools, psychology, and evidence-based wellbeing design. 20. Listeners who want a fast, light chat with little personal detail.

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