Change Your Brain Every Day - Victoria's Secret Angel's Secret Battle: Sara Sampaio on Trichotillomania, Anxiety & the Pressure to Be Perfect

Episode Date: March 20, 2026

On the runway, everything looks flawless. Behind the scenes, the struggle was real. In this raw and revealing conversation, Sara Sampaio—best known for her work with Victoria's Secret—opens up about her long-standing battle with trichotillomania and anxiety while navigating one of the most image-driven industries in the world.   Sara shares what it's like to live with a body-focused repetitive behavior that many people don't understand, how anxiety amplified the pressure of perfection, and why speaking publicly about her mental health became part of her healing journey.   In this episode, we explore: What trichotillomania really is (and why it's often misunderstood) The hidden mental health toll of the modeling industry Managing anxiety under constant public scrutiny Letting go of perfection and embracing vulnerability Why sharing your struggle can be empowering   This is more than a story about beauty standards—it's about courage, self-acceptance, and breaking the silence around mental health. Because sometimes the strongest thing you can do… is be honest.

Every day you are making your brain better or you are making it worse. Stay with us to learn how you can change your brain for the better every day. Hi, Sarah. Hi, Dr. How are you? Oh, great to meet you. Nice to meet you too. I'm really excited. You're excited to see your brain?

I mean, yeah, as long as there's nothing, we're there, I'm happy. You have a beautiful brain. Do I? Yes, thank you. But it's busy. Very busy. Let's go find out. Okay, let's figure it out.

I read your history. I looked at your scans. I just looked at your testing. So I have a good idea what's going on. But I want to hear from you, your goal. And how can I be really helpful to you? I've been diagnosed with general anxiety disorder and like low-grade depression.

I've been on Zoloft for now, I think, two years. And I was on another one, two other ones before, but this is the one that has been fitting the most. But I still just don't, I just don't feel good. It's hard to explain, but it's like I'm always tired. I'm just like, like, I still get like ups and downs. I don't know, I just don't like feel, it's hard to explain,

but it's like I don't feel good. And like I've learned how to cope with certain, like my anxiety was very physical. You know, I had like stomach issues, I had like jaw issues. Like I felt like my heart like, the population is that I even had a whole like heart scan because I was like, there must be something wrong. And so it's just, I still feel a lot of these things. A lot of it's more calm down, like the obsessive thoughts and all of that.

But, you know, my trico, like, I pull on my eyebrows and like, and then I also feel like my muscles are just always so tense. And when did it start? My trico started when I was, I think, 15. I can remember. Even before that, I had already, like, a lot of, like, body ticks. Like, I would do this with my eyes constantly. My parents even thought I had any, like, a problem with my eyes. But that kind of went away.

I tend to pick a lot on my lips as well. And now I have a lot of, like, I feel the need of doing certain, like, body movements. I still do them. It's sort of, like, ticks, right? Yeah, I have one on my sum this past couple of years. And I don't, like, yeah, it's, yeah, it's weird. I don't know. It's, I don't know if it's because I just have so much tension everywhere that I feel like it just releases it.

Anxiety got worse after the death of your grandfather, and that was five years ago. He, yeah, a little bit over five and a half or something like that. Panic attacks, fear of dying that happened shortly after that. And what was more interesting was because, you know, I obviously love my grandfather, but, you know, he's been sick, he had been sick for a really long time. So we've been waiting for him to pass away for a while. So we kind of were expecting. but I don't know must have something clicked and it just created this like fear of dying.

And I had other grandparents dying as well, but I guess because when I was really young, the other one was more quick. I don't know what clicked in my brain, but all of a sudden I just had this like big, overwhelming fear of dying. I still have. And I still like when I talk about it like makes me want to cry because it's the one thing that I still haven't been able how to deal with. So the way I learn how to deal with is just not thinking about it.

What do you think happens to you when you die? I think that's the problem. I don't know. And it's like it's really terrifying if there is just nothing. It's just like, I think that's what scares me the most. It's like, it's just what if there is literally nothing? And you just like stopped existing forever. like ever like it's and that's just we raised religious at all uh i was raised catholic uh me too but i don't really believe in god i like like yeah i don't really believe in it when did that

i just always been very into science and it's just a lot of things just don't make sense And I just don't, I don't know. I just, I don't think I've ever really believed in it, to be honest. So it was more what your family did. Yeah, I mean, my parents aren't very religious, but, you know, I was baptized and I did first communion and had to go to church a few times. I think part of me hated to go to church. Also, why I'm like, I don't want to be here.

Like, I'd rather be out with my friends playing. but yeah, I just never really believed in it, I guess. But then that makes the thought of death even scarier. Yeah, and, you know, like I can tell my, like, the thing that makes most sense to me is reincarnation. And that's the thought that makes it more bearable to me a little bit. Then it's like, I still don't know. You know.

So I'm a person of science. And I think it's harder to not believe. Because to think you and I are here by random chance that has no design, that makes no sense to me. Right? If I look at your eyes. And I'm like, how does that make sense? Because there's a law in physics called entropy. Things go from order to disorder.

And yes, there's a lot of chaos in the world. But there's also a lot of beauty in the world. Tell me about the feeling someone's out to hurt you. I wouldn't say like hurt, but I always feel like someone is out to get me. Like, I just, I don't know. I've always had that feeling that like, yeah, even in my job, sometimes it just feels like people are against me. Is that true?

Sometimes, yeah. Yeah. It's always good to question your thoughts. Like, I don't have any tattoos, but if I got one, it would be, is it true? Like when I had a thought, it's not the thoughts you have that make you suffer. It's a thoughts you attach to. that make you suffer. Want to see your scans?

Yes. So we did a study called SPECT, and SPECT looks at blood flow, an activity. It looks at how your brain works. And it basically shows us three things. Good activity, too little or too much. And then my job is to balance it. If it's low, we can find ways to stimulate it.

If it's too high, we want to calm it down. This is a healthy brain. And on the left, full, even symmetrical activity, the top left, we're looking underneath the brain just like this. The bottom right, we're looking down the top like this, and then one side. Color doesn't mean anything, it's the shape. Okay. Should just be big and firm. The image on the right, color does mean something.

Blue is average activity. Red is the top 15%. white is the top 8%. And you see all the white here in the cerebellum. It has half the brain's neurons. So that's why it's usually the most active. You have a lot of great brain function.

I have seen a lot of brains. But it's this little bumpiness. Where's that bumpster? So could be from a past concussion. It's not a big deal. I wouldn't, what I'd worry more about is why is it a little bit bumpy? And the things that could cause it, a lack of oxygen at some point, anesthesia, drugs, alcohol, mold. You already told me you're environmentally very sensitive.

Yeah. And so, or an infection at some point. Okay, we're going to get that healthier. The cool thing is, over time, we can reverse it. That's the exciting thing. This is really interesting. So remember I told you I could see where you would get stuck on things? Your brain's gear shifter is right here.

You like things a certain way. And if they're not, it just bothers you. Yeah. And it's not because you want to be that way. It's just your brain is wired that way. You also have a busy, this is called posterior singular gyros, and that actually goes with intelligence. Finally confirmed it. Whenever somebody says you don't have a brain, you go, nope, I do.

And it's big, and it's beautiful. Smart. So what I want you to take away from this is I have a beautiful brain. It's busy. And it looks like something's toxic. So the first thing with any toxic is. avoid it. So if you're doing anything toxic, avoid it. While we're repairing your brain, the cool thing is we can do it again in six months and go, how are we doing? Yeah. We did one of

our patients after two months, his brain was radically better. But it was way worse than you have a beautiful. But it's busy. Yeah. Despite being on it's all. If you want, I'll teach you how to kill the hand. Okay. And where are the ends again? Automatic, negative thoughts. Okay. The thoughts that just come into your mind automatically and ruin your day. I'm going to let you take him home. Oh, yes.

And I want you to put him where you can see him every day. And if you can write down 20 of your worst thoughts, I'll teach you how to get rid of him. It's so helpful. So whenever you feel sad or mad or nervous or out of control, which will start writing down what you think. Okay. So what we're going to do, I'm going to give you these supplements. So one of them is two packets, multiple vitamin, fish oil, brain boost.

That should help your memory. I'm going to give you a probiotic to help your gut, because there's a gut-brain connection. Yeah. Saffron, love Saffron. Okay. There's 24 studies showing it improves mood like antidepressants. You can take it with the Zola. Okay.

And it can help your libido and help your mood and your memory. Great. And then I'm going to give you magnesium. They're chewables. And I want you to take one to three a day. And the goal with the magnesium is lower your anxiety, and decrease the ticks. You know, sometimes it's just nice to

put, like, to understand a little bit more. What's, you know, because it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's just like, I just feel like something's just wrong and I don't really understand what. Something is wrong. Yeah. We're going to find it. We're going to fix it. Yeah.

Great.