Show 214 Decision Fatigue

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 you of it. 

Decision Fatigue is when your brain has made too many decisions in a period of time. Your reasoning, quality of the decisions and what you are willing to do not to make a decision is in play.

Do I want ice cream, sorbet or water ice? That is too complicated for me right now. 

In many of the pages of the Internet there is advice about fighting, overcoming and how to guard against having it affect you.

Some of the sources are linked below.

But why does everything have to be a fight? Or stomped to the ground?  Check out the resources below and see if they help make the concept clear. 

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: 

Therapist Joe Borders page on Anxiety and Decision Fatigue.

The Center for Anxiety in New York has a page about Overcoming Decision Fatigue.

Four Remedies for Decision Fatigue from University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business

Melody Wilding's post about Stressed? Try This 1 Minute Self-Care Practice To Regain Control. 

2018 article on How to Prevent Decision Fatigue at Verywell Mind.

How To Beat Decision Fatigue With Better Brain Habits a 2018 blog post at Trello.

The Complexities of Decision Making from the Human Factor Blog.

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.

Justin Michael Williams Clip on Boring Meditation

There are many paths to meditation. there is the secular one. The faith influenced path and on and on.

This is a person that is talking about meditation. Yes it can be boring. Maybe understanding what it is you are trying to do could help.

 

I was checking out the Sounds True website and viewed this video. He is the author of Stay Woke, Meditation for the Rest of Us and you can get more info about his book at the Sounds True website 

I had trouble accessing his main website so that is a thing that might be worked out in time.

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.

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.

Show 213 Anxiety Lessons from Fictional Detectives

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 life can get a bit too much. 

But I also know that telling folks that there is help, it is accessible in a variety of forms and that there isn't a quick fix is an important thing to do. 

With a medical diagnosis of anxiety or depression, you do have to make adjustments on how you go forward. You have to look at what you are putting in your body. 

You have to look at your environment - is it a healthy one for you? Do you want or don't want to take  medication? It is a choice. 

Honestly, you have to find what is right for you. I could list 1,000 things you could do. You might only need seven. Or the 1,001 that neither of us knows about. 

Treatment isn't the MacGuffin. It is the journey in claiming bits of yourself before you find it. That is hard for many people to accept. There is work involved.

There is much more to it and that is why there are a bunch of episodes on a variety of topics. Some you might resonate with and others are crap to you.

That is ok. Or you might just come to the blog and find something a resource you can use.  That works for me too.

In this episode, something a little different. This is a look at some of the famous detectives of fiction that may or may not have an anxiety condition.

Some are self-declared and others have things projected on to them. But it is interesting to look at how the detectives function with the anxiety MacGuffin in the closet.

Resources Mentioned: 

Jane Pauley via Sunday Morning on Recognizing Depression.

New York Times article,  At Talkspace, Start-Up Culture Collides With Mental Health Concerns

Talkspace Founders Respond to New York Times article on Medium.

PTSD Resources

Episode 161 - a list of therapy search databases to aid you in finding a therapist. 

ADAA.org brochure on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Psychiatry.org has an information page about PTSD as well.

Daylio Self-Care Bullet Journal app to help keep track of your moods, task and goals. It is available for iOS and Android devices.

OCD Resources

Helpguide.org information page on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

ADAA.org has a brochure on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

The International OCD Foundation also has a resource page on the topic, including a page that evaluates apps for those trying to control their condition..

Grief Resources

The non-profit What's Your Grief has a resource section with solo learning courses about various aspects of the grieving process. 

From Psychology Today a post about Bereavement Anxiety Managing anxiety after the death of a loved-one.

Detectives Hook-Ups

On YouTube, you can find episodes of  1970s Lord Peter Whimsey performed by Ian Carmichael or the audio book versions. There are also some clips and episodes of the 1987 version performed by actor Edward Petherbridge.

Dr. Lucy Worsley talks about Sayers and also mentions Whimsey's PTSD condition.

Agatha Christie official website with listing of her books, plays and other materials.

For those hard core and closer to the canon text visit The Baker Street Irregulars.

Monk - The Television Series via Fandom.com

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.

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.

Metathesiophobia aka The Fear of Change

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. Even if there is sufficient information to warrant a change, even temporary. Or permanent. And that is ok, if it doesn't impact your or another persons life. 

Not being political here. Let me give an example.

Ralph goes to work, then goes home.

Does not go anywhere on the weekends.

Does not like being alone so somebody has to be in the house with him.

Does not take vacations and doesn't like it if the family wants to go.

So they don't go anywhere as a group. 

Ralph knows this isn't right but he can't tolerate being anywhere but work and home.

Ralph might have a phobia.

There are resources that might be of assistance to help understand and how to deal with phobias. I share a few of them in the podcast.

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 has an information posts on phobias and irrational fears 

Faith G. Harper 2018 book Unf*ck Your Brain: Using Science to Get over Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Freak-Outs, and Triggers. You can find the book in paper form or as an audio book at your preferred book vendor.

Verywell Mind has an page on a list of phobias and some of the things a person can do about them. 

The Anxiety Toolkit by Alice Boyes, PhD You can read a passage from the book at Oprah.com

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.

For Me and Those that Come After

I'm putting this here because I probably should not mention it in the podcast again. 

And I think it should be viewed by people who are starting to be aware that there is more to treatment or reconstructing your life than a set finite list of rules and where they come from.

Rules are important, especially in health care. You gotta wash you hands in order not to spread germs from one person to another. This has been proven true by science and data. 

But sometimes a healing can happen via a song. An image. Or a cartoon.

I never want to be so old that I can't be open to inspiration, creativity or learning because of the form of the content. 

Not my style. Never has been.

Never will be.

This is a clip from the animated series, called Steven Universe. It explains the concept of what is a negative thought and how to deal with it.

20 million people have watched this clip. It is resonating with all kinds of folks. Maybe it will with you. Maybe it won't. I'm just plunking this here, just in case.

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.

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.

Show 211 Negative Thoughts and Anxiety

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 thinking. This is about controlling one of the symptoms of having a medically diagnosed anxiety condition. 

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: 

At ADAA.org a post on Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts and how to understand them.

Melli O'Brien at MrsMindfulness on The Four Keys to  Overcoming Negative Thinking for Good.

I can't let this go, Steven Universe clip on Just A Thought. It really does speak to the process of letting go of a negative thought.

Very Well Mind has a post about Negative Thinking Patterns and Your Beliefs and some suggestions about dealing with them. 

On Audible.com there is a audio book, Rewire Your Anxious Brain How to Use the Neuroscience of Fear to End Anxiety, Panic, and Worry by Catherine Pittman and author Elizabeth Karle

From Mental Health America, a worksheet on Stopping Stupid Thoughts.

Twenty Questions to Help You Challenge a Negative Thought pdf accessed via McGill University.

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.