Millions of people struggle with anxiety & depression every single day. Regulate & Rewire is where Amanda, a nervous system focused and trauma-informed practitioner, teaches you the lessons she learned on her healing journey and the tangible research-based tools she uses with clients everyday to help them regulate their nervous system & rewire their mind – in hopes of helping you do the same. Each episode features specific takeaways for you to apply to your healing journey today.
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more
In Part 2 of this sleep anxiety series, Amanda gets practical. She breaks down exactly what to do when you can't fall asleep, what to do when you wake up in the middle of the night, and offers a full toolkit of cognitive, environmental, and somatic practices that shift the conditions for sleep over time. If Part 1 was the understanding, this is the application. Click here to preorder at $50 off (or learn more about) the Ohm Breathing Lamp. ps. this is *not* an affiliate link, I just genuinely lo...
Sleep anxiety is one of the most common experiences for people living with chronic stress, anxiety, and dysregulation. In Part 1 of this three-part series, Amanda breaks down why the nervous system is at the center of sleep disruption, the difference between not being able to fall asleep and middle-of-the-night wake-ups, and the primary drivers behind nighttime anxiety. This is the understanding episode — Part 2 brings the tools, and Part 3 is a guided wind-down practice. 3 Takeaways: Sleep requ...
Understanding self-harm through a nervous system lens changes everything — and in this episode, Amanda breaks down what's actually happening in the brain and body when this behavior shows up, why it works as a short-term regulation strategy even when it comes at a high cost, and what genuinely helps address the root of the pattern rather than just the behavior itself. 3 Takeaways: Self-harm is a nervous system regulation attempt. Understanding this is not permission to continue it — it's the fou...
Walking for mental health goes deeper than most people realize — and in this episode, Amanda breaks down exactly why increasing your daily step count is one of the highest-return nervous system practices you're probably underutilizing. From bilateral movement and cortisol metabolism to blood sugar stability and sleep, the science behind a simple daily walk is more connected to your emotional wellbeing than you might think. 3 Takeaways: Walking touches many of the underlying physiological systems...
In this listener response episode, Amanda answers three thoughtful follow-up questions from the five-part stress management series. She digs deepest into a question about reorienting to a baseline mindset stressor — using the trigger vs overwhelm distinction to help listeners diagnose what's actually happening before deciding what to do about it. She also honors a listener's real-life editing win in the middle of profound grief, and offers a few grounding thoughts on going it alone, the impulse ...
In the final episode of this stress management series, Amanda steps back from frameworks and talks about the gap between understanding what needs to change and actually changing it. She revisits the nervous system ladder as a way to help listeners locate themselves after five episodes of honest reflection, reads from her book Healing Through the Vagus Nerve on the four-phase healing process and her strategic healing philosophy, and closes with a direct look at what personalized, whole-human supp...
In part four of this stress series, Amanda moves from filtering into action — introducing the 3 D's framework for actually editing your stress bucket. She opens by distinguishing between poking holes (reactive regulation) and real editing, then walks through Delete, Delegate, and Do Differently with honest personal examples from her own life. She also introduces Add as the fourth move on the supporter side of the see-saw, and closes with an important reminder that editing isn't just a thinking e...
In part three of this stress series, Amanda introduces the important step that comes before editing your stress bucket — filtering it. She shares two practical filters to help you get clear on what actually belongs in your life: the rubber vs glass ball distinction and your personal core values. This episode is honest about the fact that this process is often countercultural and sometimes relational, and Amanda shares her own experience of what it cost — and ultimately gave — when she first star...
In part two of this stress series, Amanda walks you through a practical, honest assessment of your stress by examining both sides of the see-saw—your stressors and your supporters. She breaks stressors into baseline (chronic) and daily (variable) inputs, helping you identify where your load is actually coming from. This episode emphasizes that real change starts with awareness, and gives you a framework to understand whether your reactions are coming from accumulated stress (overflow) or deeper ...
In this episode, Amanda introduces a new four-part series on stress by reframing what stress actually is, and why stress itself isn't really the problem. She explains how stress is a natural, necessary nervous system response, but becomes harmful when it remains unresolved and accumulates over time. Using the stress bucket and see-saw metaphors, she offers a more honest and actionable way to understand and work with stress in modern life. 3 Takeaways: Stress isn’t the problem—chronic, unresolved...
Amanda shares the nervous system framework behind a real family decision — getting a puppy with three kids under five — and why saying yes to something stressful can still be the regulated choice. Using the seesaw model (stress bucket on one side, supporter blocks on the other), she introduces a simple filter for everyday decisions: "D oes this give more than it takes?" She walks through two examples, the puppy she said yes to and the ceramics class she said no to, and names the two hardest dire...
In this episode, I'm breaking down the song "You'd Never Know" by Blu Eyes—a devastatingly honest look at what depression actually feels like from the inside, and why it so often goes unseen from the outside. We talk about what dorsal vagal shutdown really looks like, why the gap between "you look fine" and "I'm screaming inside" is so dangerous, what happens when a doctor says "everything looks good" and you turn that into self-blame, and why healing isn't a straight line—even when you're funct...
In this episode, I'm breaking down the song "Dear Anxiety" by Blu Eyes—and why it might be the most accurate description of anxiety and nervous system regulation I've ever heard set to music. We explore why anxiety isn't a disorder or a malfunction but a protective response, what it actually looks like to be in relationship with your anxiety instead of at war with it, and how this one song captures the entire arc of regulation work—from somatic awareness to sending signals of safety to letting e...
Do you ever finish a conversation and realize you’ve just given a twenty-minute dissertation to justify a simple "no" or a basic need? In this episode, we’re peeling back the layers on chronic over-explaining. It turns out, this isn't just a quirky personality trait—it’s a sophisticated nervous system response. Whether you’re trying to preemptively defend yourself against being "the bad guy" or you learned early on that your needs weren't valid unless you built a legal case for them, this episod...
This episode explores compassion fatigue, a biological response to witnessing suffering, and introduces moral elevation as a powerful antidote. It discusses the importance of acknowledging personal capacity while engaging with global issues, highlighting how 'looking for the helpers' can activate the vagus nerve, reduce stress, and foster hope. The conversation also emphasizes dialectical thinking to embrace complexity and maintain mental well-being amidst overwhelming realities.
When the world feels like it's falling apart, how do we stay connected to ourselves while still showing up for what matters? In this episode, we're talking about collective trauma, what it actually means to be "regulated" (hint: it doesn't mean calm), and the tangible nervous system tools that can help you stay resourced during ongoing crisis. This isn't about fixing everything—it's about staying grounded enough to keep going. In this episode, you'll learn: What collective and vicarious trauma a...
New intro, repeat episode of one I published almost exactly a year ago. While the examples I offer are a year old, the suggestions offered apply just as much to some of the chaos we're all experiencing this week as well. Hit play on this episode again, see what resonates, and I'll be back next week with some new thoughts. - In this episode of Regulate & Rewire, we explore how to navigate collective trauma and maintain mental health in a world that feels increasingly chaotic. From California ...
Why does “New Year, New You” feel so motivating… and then fall apart just weeks later? In this episode, we explore why New Year’s resolutions often backfire—not because you lack discipline or willpower, but because they ask your nervous system to do something it’s biologically wired to resist. Through a nervous-system and mental-health lens, we unpack why massive change feels threatening, how winter is a season of rest (not reinvention), and what a more sustainable, regulated approach to the new...
In Part 2 of our New Year mini-series, we’re moving beyond the "New Year, New You" hype to have a more honest conversation about what it actually looks like to let go. Following Amanda's annual NYE Circle event, she's sharing the raw, real list of patterns and beliefs that she is choosing to leave behind. From the "addiction to urgency" to the "shoulds" we place on our grieving bodies, this episode is an invitation to gently acknowledge and begin to untangle the habits or patterns that once kept...
The calendar says the year is over, but has your nervous system caught up? In Part 1 of our New Year’s Mini Series, we’re moving away from high-pressure goal setting and "new year, new you" rhetoric. Instead, we are creating a "pocket of space" to let the previous year actually complete. Our bodies don’t experience time through dates; they experience it through processed or unprocessed sensations. Join me for a condensed version of my annual New Year’s Eve Circle—a somatic practice designed to h...
Sign up for the NYE Circle – Sunday, December 28th at 8 PM ET - CLICK HERE In this episode I yap about my dumpster fire day. Thought I had childcare, I didn't. My 2 year old had 47 meltdowns. My 4mo old joined me for the membership Q&A— cute but not ideal. I found out a full bag of Christmas gifts got accidentally taken out with the trash last night. My son pulled our fish tank down off the shelf. Gallons of water and tiny rocks EVERYWHERE, a gash in his leg, but luckily the fish survived an...
In this episode (a repeat conversation from 2023), Amanda dives into a common struggle during the winter months: Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) , or seasonal depression. She shares listener struggles, the science behind how light impacts our mood, and actionable, research-backed tools to help you navigate the winter blues. In this episode you'll learn: The definition of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and why the decrease in daylight hours is the biggest contributing factor. The three empir...
We all bump into the blurry line between regulating and avoiding . In this episode, Amanda unpacks the difference between soothing your nervous system and emotionally bypassing—using a real client story to show how even “healthy” tools can become numbing when the intention and impact are off. Learn how to choose between regulation and resourcing, and try a simple check-in to turn coping back into connection. In this episode, you’ll learn: The clear definitions of regulation (state-shifting) vs a...
This week, I’m pulling back the curtain on the Regulated Living Membership—because doors are officially open. If you've been stuck in survival mode, if therapy and mindset work helped you understand the why but didn’t give you a way forward—this is for you. In today’s episode, I walk you through the what, why, and who of the membership. You’ll hear real member stories, learn what makes this space different, and get a behind-the-scenes look at Course Club—our 5-week guided orientation that starts...
Sometimes, the kindest thing you can do for your nervous system isn’t to rest—it’s to move. This episode is for the ones who don’t relate to overachieving or overfunctioning because they’re on the other end of the spectrum: the stuck, the shut down, the ones who can’t seem to get going no matter how much they want to. If motivation feels impossible and even small tasks feel like climbing a mountain, this episode will help you understand why —and how to begin again with gentleness and devotion in...
Today's conversation is for the Type A, high achieving, often overwhelmed and anxious nervous system folk. Amanda talk about the pattern we often see where we stop our self-care habits when we feel good, but stopping them often puts us back into a spiral of anxiety and the story of, "why do I do this? I'm just not disciplined or motivated enough, etc..." But what if that’s not the problem at all? In this episode, we reframe what it means to “stay consistent,” explore why many of us use overwhelm...
Today’s going to be a little bit different, instead of our normal educational chat this is going to be a guided experiential episode that you can come to when you’re feeling activated to find some support in getting more regulated through various somatic exercises. If you’re listening in the car or while doing something else, come back to this episode then you can be more fully present with the guided exercises. Hit play to join me for this guided regulation practice! — Looking for more personal...
I (Amanda) signed up to chaperone my kindergartener's field trip. Then childcare fell through. Suddenly I'm responsible for my feral 2-year-old AND five other 5-year-olds. My nervous system panicked—heart racing, adrenaline spiking, pure chaos mode. But here's the thing: I wasn't dysregulated. In this episode, I'm using my chaotic morning to show you what nervous system regulation actually looks like in real life (hint: it's not about staying calm). In this episode, you'll learn: Why activation ...
Ever feel like you're failing, no matter how hard you try to organize, optimize, or just push through? In this deeply personal and vulnerable episode, Amanda pulls back the curtain on her own postpartum season—navigating life as a new mom of three while running a business. She shares the story of a recent "crash out" spiral and the unlikely tool that gave her the reality check she desperately needed. In this episode, you'll learn: Why the feeling that you’re constantly "failing" is often a sign ...
A deeply personal exploration of eldest daughter syndrome—the invisible load that comes with being the responsible one, the second mom, the example. If you're an eldest daughter who learned that being helpful mattered more than being carefree, this episode is for you. We explore how love and responsibility got tangled up early on, the connection to anxiety and depression, and the path toward healing while honoring both the gifts and the weight of this role. In this episode, you'll learn: Why eld...
