401 Panic Disorder Basics

A panic attack is a single experience. Your symptoms act the fool and you deal with it. A panic disorder is multiple unpredictable attacks that can occur during the day, week or month AND you worry when the next one will come.

And they will. They are stinky like that. In this episode, a description of what is a panic disorder, the symptoms and the treatment options.

Resources Mentioned: 

Medication Information

The Cleveland Clinic has information about SSRI medication.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America has a section on the site explaining the symptoms of panic disorders.

CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) Information

ADAA.org has an explainer video on CBT that you can watch on their website or YouTube channel.

There is also a blog post on three things to know about CBT.

The Rootd app helps those who have a panic disorder deal with it using CBT as the foundation

Panic Disorder Information

From the U.S, National Institute of Mental Health has a page about Panic Disorders. It appears that the information is unchanged but the related brochures that appeared have been removed. I don't believe the info has been change due to the current administration (it could happen).

Emergency Resources

The Trevor Project: Provides crisis support specifically for LGBTQ+ youth through phone (1-866-488-7386), text (START to 678-678), and online chat. Available 24/7. They also provide peer support and community. 

Veterans Crisis Line: Call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or chat online. There are phone lines for those serving overseas. Visit the website to find the current status of the Veteran line and international calling options. 

National Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 for free, confidential support 24/7. This service operates independently of the 988 service. Users can use text, chat or WhatsApp as a means of contact.

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 regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

ARP 400 - Panic Attack Basics

There are people that have one singular panic attack. They never have another one. Then there are those of us that have it infrequently or as a weekly pest. In this episode, I mention the bear in the driveway. 

For my overseas listeners, there are states that have bear populations. And humans have built housing near the areas where the bears and wildlife populate. So their could be a possibility of a bear rumbling through trash can looking for food. 

But panic attacks have invisible bears. There is a threat you can't see but your brain is telling you that you are in danger. You body reacts. In this episode, I explain in plain terms what a panic attack is, the symptoms and treatment options. 

I should probably tell you that I lean toward science + a whole body approach to treatment.

Resources Mentioned: 

Anxiety and Depression Association of America is a non-profit website that has educational resources. They also have a YouTube channel with a Ken Goodman - Coping with Panic Attacks video that explains the panic attack cycle process.

The Mayo Clinic page on When Panic Hits Home 

Helpguide.org has an 2026 updated page on panic attacks and panic disorders.

Emergency Resources

The Trevor Project: Provides crisis support specifically for LGBTQ+ youth through phone (1-866-488-7386), text (START to 678-678), and online chat. Available 24/7. They also provide peer support and community. 

Veterans Crisis Line: Call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or chat online. There are phone lines for those serving overseas. Visit the website to find the current status of the Veteran line and international calling options. 

National Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 for free, confidential support 24/7. This service operates independently of the 988 service. Users can use text, chat or WhatsApp as a means of contact.

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 regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

ARP 399 Foods that Support Gut Health

I do like Desire in The Sandman. What a rascal. What does this have to do with foods that support gut health? A lot more than I thought. Balancing your need for a cherry cheesecake versus you know you are going to have a hard time sleeping because of the sugar in your system. 

Not to mention what it does to your gut microbiome.

It is hard to make that choice. Because I really want that cheesecake. Or burger. Or that Peach soda I found at an international market. 2 liter bottle. Yeah, I was a little jumpy for a few days.

So in this episode, I do have a few words to say about desire, the feeling. Not the one in Netflix's The Sandman. But honestly, there is a relationship. Desire gets you amped up willing to do the things you shouldn't. 

You know you shouldn't. Next thing you know, a half bucket of chicken and all of the Cole slaw is  gone. Then living with shame, regret, and rumblings in your tummy.

The food items that I mention will help the good microbiomes to feel better, have support and send communication to your brain. 

That is a good thing. In the long term, a life affirming choice.

But like the song says, I'm only human.

Resources Mentioned: 

In case you missed the prior episode, the British Nutrition Foundation has an explainer article about the brain - gut connections and recommendations on the food you could be eating. The food info is toward the bottom of the site.

The Arthritis Foundation has a downloadable shopping list of foods you can use when you are in the store and want to make better choices. Some of those bad bugs contribute to inflammation in the body. 

From UCSD also known as the University of San Diego is a PDF on seven fermented foods that also includes recipes on how to use them. 

Emergency Resources

The Trevor Project: Provides crisis support specifically for LGBTQ+ youth through phone (1-866-488-7386), text (START to 678-678), and online chat. Available 24/7. They also provide peer support and community. 

Veterans Crisis Line: Call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or chat online. There are phone lines for those serving overseas. Visit the website to find the current status of the Veteran line and international calling options. 

National Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 for free, confidential support 24/7. This service operates independently of the 988 service. Users can use text, chat or WhatsApp as a means of contact.

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 regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

ARP 398 Brain Gut Axis and Mental Health

In this episode, I want to briefly define the brain gut health connection. The main question that only you can answer is are you willing to pursue nutrition as part of your anxiety, depression toolkit?  Most people say they want to be heathy but won't give up that extra large burger with chips. 

I am not trying to make you give that up. But from experience I do know that I can't sustain physical or mental health eating junk food each and every day. Lord knows I tried.

And if you do have anxiety, depression or the long list of things that can happen to people, then you have to take nutrition seriously. 

Your good gut microbiota need help and reinforcements. 

Resources Mentioned: 

There is an excellent 2 minute video that explains visually the brain and gut health connection. The video is from Professor Mark Dingman YT Channel Neuroscientifically Challenged. 

From 2025 is an post from New York Presbyterian Health Matters section of their website, who spoke with Dr. Benjamin Lebwohl, a gastroenterologist about the gut brain axis.

The Cleveland Clinic has a 2023 blog post on the brain gut connection. It gives an overview, the functions, bit of an anatomy lesson and some of the conditions associated with an unhappy gut environment 

And for those that like the science straight (or is that neat?) there is a journal entry by Niazi, Madiha Khan, Hassan, Farooq, Tufail, Tabussam, ismail, Muhammad Amjed, Riaz, Khadija, The Role of Microbiome in Psychiatric Diseases (Insomnia and Anxiety/Depression) with Microbiological Mechanisms, Advanced Gut & Microbiome Research, 2023, 1566684, 9 pages, 2023. 

Emergency Resources

The Trevor Project: Provides crisis support specifically for LGBTQ+ youth through phone (1-866-488-7386), text (START to 678-678), and online chat. Available 24/7. They also provide peer support and community. 

Veterans Crisis Line: Call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or chat online. There are phone lines for those serving overseas. Visit the website to find the current status of the Veteran line and international calling options. 

National Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 for free, confidential support 24/7. This service operates independently of the 988 service. Users can use text, chat or WhatsApp as a means of contact.

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 regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

ARP 397 A Look at Helpguide.org

This is a look at the non-profit website Helpguide.org It is that season where I am juggling too many life experiences.  I do want to call attention to their resources for mental health and mental wellness information. 

You can find info on most of the anxiety conditions as well as depression, eating disorders and addiction issues. 

One of the advantages of the site is that there are no ads or potential monetary conflicts of interest. 

I'm going to break out more resources as time allows so that the under mentioned sites get better known. 

Resources Mentioned: 

The non-profit website Helpguide.org

Emergency Resources

The Trevor Project: Provides crisis support specifically for LGBTQ+ youth through phone (1-866-488-7386), text (START to 678-678), and online chat. Available 24/7. They also provide peer support and community. 

Veterans Crisis Line: Call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or chat online. There are phone lines for those serving overseas. Visit the website to find the current status of the Veteran line and international calling options. 

National Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 for free, confidential support 24/7. This service operates independently of the 988 service. Users can use text, chat or WhatsApp as a means of contact.

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 regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Soft Rain Animated Short on Depression

Depression can be a soul killer. But there is treatment. This is an animated video about one or more people who are trying to cope with it.

The name of the video is called Soft Rain and apparently it has won a number of awards. 

Emergency Resources:

The Trevor Project: Provides crisis support specifically for LGBTQ+ youth through phone (1-866-488-7386), text (START to 678-678), and online chat. Available 24/7. They also provide peer support and community. 

Veterans Crisis Line: Call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or chat online. There are phone lines for those serving overseas. Visit the website to find the current status of the Veteran line and international calling options. 

National Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 for free, confidential support 24/7. This service operates independently of the 988 service. Users can use text, chat or WhatsApp as a means of contact.

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 regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

ARP 396 - Deeply Unimportant Sleep Aid Podcast

Does your anxiety or depression symptoms keep you from sleeping? Or maybe you are looking for the drowsy professor type voice that knocks you out.  The Deeply Unimportant podcast might be what you are looking for. Sometimes you need a specific type of voice to put you into the sleep zone.

Once upon a time there was a guy named Terrance McKenna. Very deep into psychoactive plants, mushrooms and alternative waves of being.

I didn't really understand what he was talking about. Not a clue. This was a good thing because within 15 minutes of listening to him I was asleep. Again, I didn't not understand anything. I just knew that if he was on the radio, I was going to be able to go to sleep.

These days, I need something more "boring" than Mr. McKenna. No disrespect to Terrance. For those on his wave length he was the man. Now days, we have a lot of options from ASMR to stories but for me, this cuts through the mind yapping and slides me into sleepy town. 

Resources Mentioned: 

The main website is https://deeplyunimportant.com. You can listen to the ad supported version for free or if you need the full eight-hour version you can subscribe and become a member. You also have the option to listen on your favorite podcasting app.

There is an audiogram introduction trailer on YouTube about the podcast.

There is a McKenna tribute site by Lorenzo called Psychedelic Salon that contains some of the recordings of Terrance McKenna. There is also an official archive site where you can purchase his work.

The Simply Noise app can help you with finding the right sound for your needs, that could be a frequency noise or a sound of nature. Windows users can go to the download section of the website and select the items that will give them an audio balm.

Emergency Resources:

The Trevor Project: Provides crisis support specifically for LGBTQ+ youth through phone (1-866-488-7386), text (START to 678-678), and online chat. Available 24/7. They also provide peer support and community. 

Veterans Crisis Line: Call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or chat online. There are phone lines for those serving overseas. Visit the website to find the current status of the Veteran line and international calling options. 

National Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 for free, confidential support 24/7. This service operates independently of the 988 service. Users can use text, chat or WhatsApp as a means of contact

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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 regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.