EPISODE 220: Mastering Your Triggers: How to Reclaim Your Energy and Longevity from Within

Episode 220: Dave Asprey

The 5 F-Words of Energy Allocation

Dave brilliantly laid out the primal survival algorithm hardwired into our mitochondria—the energy-producing engines of our cells. Here are the five ancient priorities your biology still follows:

1. Fear – Avoid danger at all costs
2. Food – Eat for survival, often unnecessarily
3. Fertility – Seek reproduction, not always consciously
4. Friendship – Build bonds to ensure community and support
5. Forgiveness – Release trauma and reset the system

If you spend too much energy stuck on fear or hunger, you never get to connection, intimacy, or self-evolution. This is the real reason why most people burn out—they’re operating on outdated emotional software.

Your Trauma Is Stored in Your Cells

Let’s be real. We all have triggers. But what if I told you that your mitochondria react to emotional states just as much as physical stressors? According to a study by UCSF’s Dr. Elissa Epel, caregivers in chronically stressful emotional states had poorer mitochondrial efficiency compared to those in gratitude and love-based emotions.

Here’s the kicker: your biology reacts to your beliefs.

Through the lens of polyvagal theory, pioneered by Dr. Stephen Porges, we know the vagus nerve regulates our fight-or-flight responses and connects directly to emotional memory and trauma.

Trauma from childhood, ancestral lineage, or even birth (yes, birth) encodes your nervous system with fear-based filters. Without rewiring, those filters unconsciously steer your choices, relationships, and health.

The Reset Process (from Heavily Meditated)

The good news? You can consciously reprogram your nervous system. Dave Asprey’s Reset Process is a powerful tool to start releasing trauma and triggers right now:

1. Recall a minor trigger (e.g., a comment that annoyed you)
2. Feel the discomfort it caused—without numbing or escaping
3. Name the action and emotion: “You did X. It made me feel Y.”
4. Find Gratitude for one good thing that came from the situation
5. Flip the Lens: Look at the person through compassion. What might have caused them to act that way?

Write it down. Share it with someone. Your ego might try to make you forget this healing, so documenting the work is key.

This isn’t just mindset work. It’s metabolic healing.

Takeaways

• Emotional triggers rob your energy at a cellular level
• Childhood and ancestral trauma shape your current state
• Forgiveness is neurological freedom
• You can reset your operating system through curiosity, gratitude, and compassion

Imagine living in a state where nothing external can trigger you. That’s not a fantasy—it’s possible.

“When you become neurologically untriggerable, you become unstoppable.” – Dr. Kien Vuu

Resources and Next Steps

Download your free Thrive Starter Guide packed with longevity exercises, breathwork tools, and high-performance hacks: thrivestatestarter.com
Get the 2nd edition of my bestselling book Thrive State: thrivestatebook.com
Follow me for more breakthroughs: @doctorvmd

Other episodes you might be interested:

Relevant Links:

Other YouTube videos to enjoy: