So, I’m going to lay out a more realistic approach or tips to help folks deciding to walk out the door. I got my sources. I got some real-life experience and not much more than that. There are folks on Twitter who are struggling on how to make the right decision for them. As it often happens, there are jerk faces who will pop in and state that you gotta man-up and stop being what they perceive to be weak. Or they will share that they never put on a mask. They never stopped living their lives. To...
Mar 09, 2021•9 min•Ep. 238
There is a lot going on. People are going to need to start thinking about re-entry into their world. Those those of us that have anxiety conditions and disorders that can be ruff. What you want to do might conflict with what you are able to do. If you've been on long term lockdown, your brain might put up a fuss about being outside. I speak from experience. I'm zero for three on it. I did it, but there was a commotion from deep inside about it. I have a link to a musician's "audiogram" video by ...
Mar 02, 2021•9 min•Ep. 237
Not having a great time but I'm ok. Not like I don't have stuff to do but currently in that vortex of when is the other thing that I think is gonna happen? And in the middle of the vortex are the old symptoms making a bum rush for the gate. So this episode is a bit more narrative. It is about an experience that I had when I though I was doing the right thing for me. And it was. But I still ginned up an attack. It happened for a lot of reasons. Many of which I wrote down and then cut out of the s...
Feb 23, 2021•6 min•Ep. 236
Loneliness is a 365 day thing but it stings a bit more on February the 14th. Chronic loneliness is when you have long term feelings of isolation. You ain't go nobody and you feel it in your soul. You don't have to be a natural sad sack to feel this way. Some of the loudest party animals are also chronically lonely. For some people it is longing for more than superficial conversations. Or it can be persistent feelings of not being worthy, not being enough or dare I say it, not liking yourself ver...
Feb 14, 2021•9 min•Ep. 235
A few years ago, I read an article about the tradition of the prisoners' last meal. And then how it ended in many states. One of the stories involved a man requesting a single olive as his last meal. That is all that he wanted. He looked at it, held it and then consumed it. To me, that is an example of a mindfulness practice. In this episode, I'll define what it is and a few resources for you to check out. I may not be the best person to talk about mindfulness. I'm getting better at it. And I kn...
Feb 02, 2021•7 min•Ep. 234
Emetophobia is the fear of vomiting. That fear can be so strong that it dictates where you go, what you eat or who you trust to handle your food. Some mental health professionals think that it could be connected to obsessive compulsive disorder. In this episode, a look at some of the resources you can access about the phobia and what you can do about it. If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to...
Jan 26, 2021•6 min•Ep. 233
You can't be for or against stress. You can't fight stress. You can learn that it is a normal body process. What is important to know is that good stress is a way to learn and improve on how you handle life situations. Bad stress is an opportunity to be aware of a problem and start the process of handling it. In this episode, a very simplified look at what stress is, and a verbal description of the stress triangle. If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273...
Jan 19, 2021•7 min•Ep. 232
I want to repeat the call to action. Your call to action this week is to begin making intentional choices on what goes into your body. You are not going to heal your body in a day. But each day that you replace a fizzy drink with clean water is a good day. Restoration first and then the healing will come. If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741. Resources Mentioned: Dr. Sanjay Gupta bo...
Jan 12, 2021•11 min•Ep. 231
This episode is for people that post questions on answer boards and get questionable responses. Or no response at all. Mainly because the questions gets asked so many times. This is a journey of stop, go, fail and try again. I hear you. Your symptoms of anxiety are interfering with your life. You don’t want mumbo-jumbo, you want answers. What specifically, can you do? For some, you will not be able to hear or understand what I have to say. Others will flat out not like it. And there will be a fe...
Jan 05, 2021•10 min•Ep. 230
Loneliness can come and go. But if it is on-going then that could be a form of chronic loneliness. Chronic loneliness can also intermix with anxiety and depression. That is never a good thing. I removed mention of Anna Magnani from the episode but she is another person that can make you reconnect to feelings and emotions. Anna Magnani was fierce. She was a first class, A1 scene stealer. I have great sympathy for any actor in any film she appeared in. In body, presence, and using the craft of act...
Dec 29, 2020•12 min•Ep. 229
This is a quick episode on needle phobia. I don't give as much wiggle room as I normally do. Your health is a stake. If you have dental pain and need treatment that you refuse to do, that is painful. On many levels. Having needle phobia that is stronger than tooth pain is serious. It affect not just your mouth but other body systems as well. If you need diagnostic testing but you won't do it then you are making yourself sicker. Because at some point, you are going to have a needle in your arm an...
Dec 22, 2020•8 min•Ep. 228
In this episode, a look at a device that might help you with symptom management and up your pattern breathing skills. For those of you reluctant to take medication or are looking for other ways to handle your symptoms, this could be an option. I want to make sure that folks know about a new talk show series from Taraj P. Henson called Peace of Mind. It is a talk show about mental health issues concerning the Black/African American community. It streams on Facebook Watch on Monday and Wednesdays ...
Dec 14, 2020•9 min•Ep. 227
In this weeks show I fess up to eating chocolate cookies, a look at the website and videos from MedCircle.com and a look at some of the essential oils that can be helpful to handle anxiety symptoms. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health: "Aromatherapy is sometimes used for insomnia, but we don’t know whether it’s helpful because little rigorous research has been done on this topic. Aromatherapy is sometimes incorporated into massage therapy for various conditi...
Dec 07, 2020•10 min•Ep. 226
It has been a hard couple of weeks. Last week I had a public panic attack. If you are looking for a how to do it episode then I invite you to check out some of my prior episodes. The short version is that sometimes you think you get it but then you find out that you don't have it. That something from long ago can jack you up. The good news is that you can learn from it and get about making changes. Take that mud and find some value in it. If you need support contact the National Suicide Preventi...
Nov 30, 2020•9 min•Ep. 225
One of the suggested treatment options is medication. Traditionally in the U.S. that meant going to the drug store/pharmacy. Now, that X=the unknown is catching up with us, very soon you will be able to make a tele-heath appointment with a mental health provider. That person will provide you a prescription for medication. You log onto Amazon.com and request delivery of your meds, which are delivered two days later. Amazon Pharmacy isn't the only way to have medication delivered. But there are qu...
Nov 23, 2020•5 min•Ep. 224
The dictionary says that feeling numb is a lack of sensation. Those of us with anxiety disorders are usually feeling something. Until we don’t. Let’s say something big happened and everybody around you is celebrating. But you are not a part of it. Even if it is something that you really wanted. You are separated from the experience. There are a couple of names for this but the easy way to express it is feeling numb. In this episode, a look at what feeling numb is, the source and some of the onli...
Nov 09, 2020•8 min•Ep. 223
On one of the BBC web pages is an video about a man who started walking to control his panic attacks . it turned into a mission and career. I admire his determination and his ultimate goal of doing that in other countries of the world. I'm trying to hold my space in the here and now. Not as easy as it sound. But it is important. Find your peace where you can. In this episode a quick look at burnout resources. We all need a helping hand but some of us need just a bit more in dark times. If times ...
Nov 02, 2020•4 min•Ep. 221
I get a little long winded but in this episode, I needed to explain what are medical apps and what isn't. That breathing app on your phone probably isn't a medical app. That is the topic of this weeks episode. If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741. Resources Mentioned: U.S. Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Device Software Functions Including Mobile Medical Applications U.S....
Oct 27, 2020•9 min•Ep. 222
You can be sitting in a doctor’s office. The doctor tells you that there is nothing physically wrong. Based on your symptoms, you fit the profile of a person having an anxiety condition. The doctor may or may not prescribe medication. The doctor may or may not give you are referral to a behavioral health professional like a therapist, psychologists or psychiatrist. Maybe, if you have a really good doctor, they provide you with a brochure or handout that gives you more than a sentence about your ...
Oct 20, 2020•9 min•Ep. 220
There are different types of anxiety journals and workbooks for different needs. There are books that you can use by yourself, and others that are best used working with a behavioral health professional. And you’d think I wouldn’t have to define what a journal or workbook is but in this case, I do. Because there are the bound type of books that you can find anyplace from the 99 Cents Only store to the most expensive stationary outlet. Bound blank pages with maybe the date and a section for doodl...
Oct 12, 2020•14 min•Ep. 219
We can get caught in a vortex of life responsibilities and obligations. However, there are times when we must pare it down to what is essential. So let’s get specific. Your physical and mental health are essential. This is not debatable. Your treatment is important. You do have the option to stop or start your treatment at any time but there is a cost to that decision. That cost isn’t always financial. Relationships. Being able to socialize in person. Being able to make non-fear-based decisions....
Oct 05, 2020•9 min•Ep. 218
A mistake is an act or judgement that is misguided or wrong. It isn't always a bad thing. You do the best you can with the information available. Sometimes you find out that what you thought would work, has problems. Or you are not in the right space to accept what you are being told. Or there is so much noise in your head that you grab on to the first thing you see. Sometimes that works. Sometimes it doesn't. If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255...
Sep 28, 2020•4 min•Ep. 217
This week, a look at three audiobooks that talk about using food or nutrition as a way to deal with an mental health or anxiety condition. There are a lot of resources when it comes to finding materials about treating the various forms of anxiety. Finding authoritative and viable resources is a lot more difficult. Then there are books with ok content but with poor or non-engaged readers. I can't recommend those books. So, the books that appear in this episode had to pass through the following pr...
Sep 21, 2020•11 min•Ep. 216
Food can be one of the many paths to healing. There are essential minerals that the body needs to function. Run low on them and you might have problems sleeping, focusing and functioning. In this episode, a look at the mineral magnesium, what it can do for you and some of the foods and products you can access to get you up to proper levels. If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741. Reso...
Sep 15, 2020•9 min•Ep. 215
Hi folks, I'm going into virtual vacation mode. This episode is the inspiration I need to take a break. The brain is mush. And not the good kind either. I'll either skip a couple of weeks or make short episodes. If you are new to the podcast, there is plenty of topics in the archives for you to check out.. Decision Fatigue is about thinking exhaustion. At some point you can't make a decision or you make one to get people out of your face. Make the wrong decision and they will be back to remind y...
Aug 25, 2020•6 min•Ep. 214
I was viewing CBS Sunday Mornings Jane Pauley about her journey regarding depression and bi-polar depression. And how people will come up to her and start talking about their issues with the illness. There are a lot of foot soldiers who are trying to do the right thing about sharing reliable information about mental health treatment. I make no secret that I am on the same journey as other people. There are weeks when I think I should shut it down. And sometimes I might miss an episode because li...
Aug 17, 2020•12 min•Ep. 213
This is a pebble in the road about the fear of change. Specifically, the phobia about the fear of change. It has a name. Metathesiophobia. It is much easier to say the fear of change. That is the topic of this episode. There is a lot of fear romping around these days. I think it is important to know what you are dealing with but that is just me. I can see that for a lot of people, getting back to "normal" overrides anything else. They want and need that structure. They want it the way it was. Ev...
Aug 09, 2020•4 min•Ep. 212
Some of the people with an anxiety disorder have excessive negative thoughts. They come at you like a Tommy gun. Obsessively repetitive negative thoughts. The kinds of things that would get a birth pessimist shook up. There isn't one type of negative thought. These things have a pattern or an intensity that can internally terrorize person in their own body. The good news is that there are ways to control and maybe even stop them. That is the topic of this episode. PS: This is not about positive ...
Aug 02, 2020•11 min•Ep. 211
There was a news story about people putting on the masks. People mentioned symptoms about heart palpitations, can't breathe and feeling disorientated. Those are some of the symptoms of an anxiety or panic attack. You might have to go through a process to be comfortable wearing a mask. There are a lot of things you can do. In this episode, a look at some of the things you can do to make peace with the mask, if you want to. What am I talking about? Well, some of the things that cause problems is t...
Jul 30, 2020•6 min
When you have certain types of anxiety conditions, you could experience an increase in the number of negative thoughts. Or you already have an abundance of negative thoughts and the anxiety or depression is make it worse. In this episode, a look a three types of thoughts that could be romping around in your head. And some of the resources that might help you to understand and bring order to the chaos. If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, the Tre...
Jul 20, 2020•12 min•Ep. 210
