Anxiety Road Podcast

I think when I was starting out, I probably would not have considered Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.  I was really focused on stopping my symptoms and I was not the introspective person.    More bullheaded and introspective. I was much more focused on making my symptoms stop.   While doing the things that caused them in the first place.    I can tell you, that's probably not the way to go, but I had to learn from experience as opposed to from intellect. It was a rough road.   In this episode, a look at Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.    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:  The Anatomy of Anxiety, Understanding and Overcoming the Body's Fear Response by Ellen Vora. Link leads to the publisher Harper Collin's page of the book.   Psych Hub video about ACT    Timothy Gordon aka Zen Social Worker video on What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)?   Verywell Mind

Before talking about Dialectical Behavior Therapy,  I want to give a brief reminder of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy aka CBT. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a short term treatment that provides skills on how to transform negative thoughts and behaviors.   Traditionally, CBT is offered to people with an anxiety disorder, depression and other mental health conditions.   There are a number ways to do this but the general format is to:   Assess where you are right now. What is your view of yourself, your attitude about yourself and how you function with those beliefs. Skills and tool building process to help you deal with your symptoms and other blocks you experience. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a variation of CBT, the goals are the same but there are some differences.    DBT was originally created as treatment for suicide treatments, Borderline Personality Disorder, then eating disorders, some types of addictions and is now used for PTSD and anxiety conditions.   It is actionable focus, meaning yo

Sometimes we look for the thing to deal with our symptoms. The thing that is hard to get, access or is expensive. Or requires another person for delivery.   Not that kind of delivery, the whole structural system of good, services, materials and processing type of delivery. Not to mention that we all another person to do something.   Anyway,   We are looking for the thing that knocks some sense into our symptoms. We look but we don't always see the thing right in our homes or refrigerators.   Water. the TL:DR version is you need to water your brain.  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:    Sacramento Bee article on Kaiser Permanente and The California Department of Health.   Hawaii Public Radio post on the strike action of Kaiser behavioral health workers. From Mental Health UK, a short post on Diet and Mental Health.   U.S. Centers for Disease Control page on the amount

The verbal poison for profit business that is coursing through the system is killing people. Both passively and in actuality.   And I can tell you from experience that the let’s pretend balm of dismissing this as a mental health issue has been put into play.   Or a one-off action of a lonely man.    Sometimes all you can do is state the obvious.   We are alive.    And you can take pride that being alive pisses the hell out of a bunch of people.    We have a purpose. To get well, be healthy and chip away to make our spot of the planet a bit easier for the next generation.   This is just a message. It is gonna get messy. Take care of yourself and one other. More if you are up to 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 741-741. Resources Mentioned:    Psychology Today post on 10 Anxious Behaviors That May Actually Be Trauma Responses   Tabitha Brown video on Your are still here via YouTube. If you live

There isn't one path to healing.  There can be dozens but when you are in the thick of it you only care about what works now.   So you might decide, you have stuff to do, you don't have time for introspections, give me the pill.   And it might work for you. Until it doesn't. Or your symptoms change. Or your anxiety expresses itself as anger. Or overeating. Or hording.   It can happen that you do meditation. You monitor your nutrition. You run a mile a day.   And your symptoms still make you feel like a scared, helpless person. Treatment isn't always linear.   You might need to mix it up.    In this episode a look at two books that are very different from each other. Both offer a path to healing and treatment. It might work for you, it might not.   But these are accessible options to consider. 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:  Brown University Robert J. & Nancy D.

It is May it is U.S. version of Mental Health Awareness Month. Treating mental health concerns is just as important to treat as conditions for physical health. The need for mental health care is needed across all levels of society. Neither poverty nor wealth should be a barrier to access quality mental health treatment. Suicide is not something I want to talk about. I always want to focus on what you can do. Finding resources and keep putting that foot in front of the other. Rest when you need to but keep on going. In this episode, a quick look at the some of the symptoms of entering the darkest of places.

Anxiety symptoms are pesky. We spend a lot of time trying to deal with them.    In addition to our daily task duties and responsibilities.    In this episode, I want to share a few tips that can restore a sense of stability and calm.    I don't want to turn anyone into a time robot.    There are some evil time technological oppressors that are rising in the workforce or the corporate marketplace.    Those buggers are trying to find ways to micro manage folks working from home.   This episode is about using time to help you get things done.   What I am talking about is finding the mental shift necessary to make you existence calmer or more relaxed.   These are concepts, not instructions.    It is how to eat the elephant of work you have to do in smaller pieces of time.   Work on a task for five minutes a day, five days a week is 25 minutes a week.   This could be much better than trying to crunch it the last day that it is due.   It is about reframing time to match your needs.   Resources Mentioned:  Bearable

This is a pebble in the road about the definitions of dreams, bad dreams and nightmares.    If you are an highly anxious person this is one of many possible symptoms of stress and anxiety that you might experienced.    Vivid dreams and nightmares can be a sign of anxiety symptom. Or not.    It could be just your brains way of taking out the neural trash floating around the joint.    But you might have a different cultural or social way of understanding dreams. That is ok. It is important to recognize that your relationship with dreams and nightmares are your experience.   How you deal with them is also your experience. One that with the right information and context might give you the tools to control there appearance or doing the work on finding an effective treatment.   This episode only deals with what dreams and nightmares are, potential causes and triggers of the rascals and a resource or two to help you learn more about it.   If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-

Not all anxiety, workbooks are created equal or even readable.    Many of them are designed to be used with a therapist or our therapist directed.   If you flip to a random page and can't figure out or understand what the heck they're talking about, that might not be the right workbook. There are a number self-directed anxiety workbook that are specifically designed so that you, as the consumer can work through your issue without a therapist. You can gain similar information as if you were in a therapy session. But only if you actually use the workbook.   Owning it and looking at it from time to time will not work.   Some of the workbooks in the marketplaced are pretty bad. Some of them are okay.    And some of them actually achieve the goal of being able to convey information in plain English and have a workable means of you trying to deal with your problems by yourself.    So I have three anxiety workbooks to share with you.    If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-2

This is a pebble in the road about some of the free resources that are out there for people that have an anxiety condition or disorder.    While we're trying to obtain services and hopefully work our way through the process sometimes the people that we encountered don't have the kind of information that we need.   There are resources that we can take advantage of from the anxiety and mental health websites via brochures and tips sheets. You can download these docs on your phone or tablet for reading.    Desktop folks you can read on screen as well.   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:  Anxiety and Depression Association of America resource page on anxiety disorders. Some of the documents have been translated into other languages. National Institute of Mental Health Publications about Anxiety Disorders. There are documents in English and Spanish.  Anxiety Canada also has

This episode is about a rock, actually a crystal, that caused me to think about the multiple times a day someone is trying to sell me something. A thing they think I want.  Or need.  And if I am vulnerable, like I might just want that scoop of designer ice cream as an adventure in tasting, I'll go along with the bit. Men's shaving and grooming kits. Not so much. That happens if I'm watching a wood crafting  or male garden videos. Or non-political preppers.  There are such people and what they are doing is important. But I don't need to see a bunch of fear based ads on the collapse of the world unless I fork up money for dehydrated food. Anyway, there are people and companies salivating about the mental health marketplace. I get pitches all of the time from drug rehab companies, therapists from other countries, and public relations people who prove that seven out of ten times they are not reading or listening.   It seems researching is not a fundamental part of their profession.  Maybe that is a bit harsh.  

There are a lot of grounding techniques but one of the most accessible is to breathe. Specifically deep breathing. Breathing is a  I went to the eye doctor to get my eyes checked. Unlike the dentist, I'm much more calm about the examination. I want my eyes taken care of and make sure they get what they need.   I'm an active participant. I can gamify the target test. It doesn't mean I'm not anxious, but I don't have as many triggers to set off an alarm.   And I can use some grounding techniques to handle the examination.   Grounding has multiple meanings depending on the context but what I mean by it is a technique that you can use to lovingly call your brain activity back to normal. It is a way to center yourself back to an internal safe place.    Note the use of the word "lovingly".    Yelling at your internal self to cut the crap and be normal will not work. The part of you that is freaking out cannot hear or understand verbal commands. In this episode, a very easy method to practice deep breathing for gro

Some symptoms are hidden inside the body. And some symptoms are very visible.    There are different reasons why people pick at their skin and not everyone that does. This has an anxiety condition. There are some skin conditions like acne that causes folks to pick at it. They shouldn't, but their skin condition is caused by an organic physical problem with.   And then there are those that cannot be ignored. It is a self-inflicted visualization of a problem. This is a quick pebble in the road, just the facts and where you can find help and assistance.  Resources Mentioned:  The International OCD Foundation page on Skin-Picking aka Excoriation. This website has a lot of information about the various forms of OCD and OCD Spectrum disorders.   Pick Me Foundation has a skill management page to help folks learn skills and techniques on handing their symptoms.   Merck Manual has a patient accessible guide to the disorder that will give you a basic understanding of the disorder and how it can relate to anxiety an

It happens that I start in on an idea and think I've done my research. Only to get whacked in the head about a question I did not ask. Like how to find the specific vendor on a state website.   For example, I start to think about the episode and then a thought came into my head.    "How are they supposed to do that?"    And because I'm hardheaded and I don't listen to the spirits from up on high, I respond that they should go to their mental health or behavioral health board in their state.    Then the spirits from up on high say, "you better double check that."    I'm hard-headed, but I'm not stupid.    I got humbled right quick. There are some states to provide mental health services and resources to the public. Every nook and cranny of their website has resources and plain English explanations. There are other states that work as a conduit between public and private resources.   But when it comes to seeking licensing info, it may not be a state mental health site you need to be.   Some of the states have

There is a lot of craptastical thinking about therapy. Everything from religion is therapy to “put this device on your wrist and use our app and bingo-bango, you are cured.   Fear and confusion running amuck, and that is mainly from the people who don’t have the medical form of an anxiety condition or disorder giving advice.   An episode or so ago I wrote about the treatment option of medication. The choice and responsibility of using it or not using medication.   In this episode a look at what is therapy and some of the resources available.  Resources Mentioned:  Mental Health America article on What is Therapy? Description of the process, list some of the types of therapy and things to consider when seeking a therapist.    U.S. National Institute of Mental Health page on Psychotherapy, brief description of therapy process and listing of type of therapy options. National Alliance of Mental Health (NAMI) also has a post on therapy options.    Helpguide.org on Finding a Therapist Who Can Help You Heal with s

Burnout is when it is really hard to put two sentences together and have them make sense.   Burnout is all you want to do is stay in bed under the covers. Because it is safe. They can't get to you there.    Except that you can't. You have to go to work, do that thing. Complete the task. Make nice to people who may or may not deserve it.   Dr. Candance Good in a post on Psychology Today states:   "Burnout was common before the pandemic. But now pile on two years of uncertainty, civil unrest, irritability in the political climate, disruptions in work and childcare, and fear.    These circumstances can trigger a stress reaction in our bodies; burnout is the physical reaction to that stress."   In this short episode, a word or two about burnout.   Resources Mentioned:  Helpguide.org page on Burnout, Prevention and Treatment. Candace Good MD, M.D. post on Psychology Today on Why Self-Care Is Not Enough to Beat Burnout   Burnout is real. Here’s how to spot it—and recover. article on PopSci by Isobel Whitcomb

There is an attempt, a progress or reintegration taking place found in small pockets of modern medicine. Some of our national health systems are looking at it, but not near enough now.    Sure. There are things that don't require a mental health therapist. You accidentally break your leg and you need a cast and maybe physical therapy. No mental health professional required.   But for mind and body problems, maybe there should be a stronger connection and support system.    This would require a far better health system than we have in the United States of America. I cannot speak to other places.   I know other countries they have non-toxic accessible physical health care systems.   I don't know if that's the same for mental health, so let's go on and get to it.    So after you get your confirmation that you have a medically diagnosed anxiety conditioner disorder, you have a lot of information and decisions to make.   What are you supposed to do?    And what can you do?   Resources Mentioned:  To learn about

Life is like Dodge Ball, only you are the only one without a ball and you keep getting pelted. Having technical problems that probably will be resolved with a night's sleep. In the meantime, I was able to rescue a portion of the show. This is a quick upload of the In the News section about a new pharmacy service. I'll put the full upload when I can find the right part of the ARP blog to kick in the pants to get it to work.  

The headline version for 2022 is medication, therapy, nutrition, body support and environment. Yes, I’ve changed things up just a bit.   But before we can get to that, I feel that we need to have an understanding about symptoms.    Most people tend to think of treatment as getting rid of their symptoms. Totally valid. And understandable.   I know I felt that way, if I could just get rid of the bug-a-boos, I could get back to normal.   It reflects we have been taught about health and health care. Take the pill, apply the spray, cover it up and move along.   The dictionary meaning symptoms is defined as subjective evidence of disease or physical disturbance or something that indicates the presence of bodily disorder.   Your symptoms are indicators that there is a problem, and your mind and body are asking you to figure it out.    There is more in this week's episode.   Resources Mentioned:  From Anxiety Centre post on Can Anxiety Symptoms Change? Anxiety Network page on Physical (Somatic) Symptom Shifting Rec

Not all treatment plans are the same. What works for Betty will not work for Veronica before I can do that. I need to start at a place.  Many people won't start a treatment unless they recognize that they need to make a change. I like to refer to this as the, "What The Hell phase."    In this episode, more about the What the Hell phase and the Oh, Snap phase that happens before you start your healing journey. 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:  Helpguide.org page on Anxiety Disorders and Anxiety Attacks   The UK charity Mind.org.uk has a 23 page downloadable PDF about anxiety and panic attacks.   Also on Helpguide, a page where you can access different types of meditations. Disclaimer:  Links to other sites are provided for information purposes only and do not constitute endorsements.  Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with questions you may have re