#174 - Nervous System Regulation, AI & Working With Your Cycle with Orla O'Flaherty

Orla O'Flaherty is back! This time we're getting personal — nervous system regulation, hormones, and how to manage stress while you're building a business (because let's be honest, that stress is real).

We talk about why slow, steady reputation-building beats chasing follower counts, why networking still matters, and where AI genuinely helps with the practical stuff — but where it can also keep you stuck in your head and make loneliness worse if you start using it as your therapist.

Orla walks through her somatic tools — "anchors," full-body yes/no signals, and why feeling and releasing uncomfortable emotions (anger especially) beats bypassing them every time. We get into the link between anxiety and control/safety, why awareness has to come with embodiment, and then into the cycle stuff — the cortisol-progesterone relationship, how blood sugar regulation supports your stress levels, appetite, and workplace realities. And why compassion, not shame, is what actually changes behaviour.

Timestamps:

00:00 Podcast Intro Orla Returns

01:03 Being Searchable Slow Growth

03:24 Quality Followers Real Business

05:18 Redefining Businesswoman Mindset

06:51 AI Versus Human Connection

14:13 Anchors Stop Chasing

16:30 Manifestation Want Versus Need

20:42 Hypervigilance And Emotions