Why Does a Hand Lotion Calm Me Down? Nervous System Regulation with Elif Durgel

You catch a smell. A lotion, a tea, something cooking. And in under a second — before you've even thought about it — you're home.

That's not nostalgia. That's not weakness. That is your nervous system doing something remarkable.

This week we're joined by psychologist and cross-cultural specialist Elif Durgel, founder of Roots and Wings Academy in Eindhoven, for a warm, science-light conversation about why smell bypasses the thinking brain entirely and connects directly to memory, identity and emotion — and what that means for international parents living far from where they started.

We talk about:

• Why smell hits faster and deeper than any other sense
• What nervous system regulation actually feels like from the inside
• The invisible extra load of living between cultures — and why July makes it louder
• Why so many of us quietly deny ourselves the things that help
• Why going to the expat shop isn't retail therapy — it's something more real than that

Whether you're heading home this summer, somewhere completely new, or discovering the Netherlands in July for the first time — this one is your permission slip.

20 minutes. No jargon. Just a really good conversation.

Find out more about Elif: rootsandwingsacademy.nl
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