Show 324 - Dealing With Symptoms

It has been a while since I’ve mentioned this; the focus on the podcast is for folks that have been medically diagnosed with an anxiety condition or disorder. 

However, all are welcome. The over-stressed, the somewhat anxious or those that are up against it and don’t know what to do.

Everybody has anxiety. That is normal and necessary. We need it for our personal safety and awareness that there is a possible problem or danger. Anxiety’s job is to bring awareness. Not a good thing or a bad thing. 

For some of us, our anxiety alert system is out of whack. Our brain is on constant high alert. There are symptoms that are hard to control. That is the topic of this episode. How do you deal with your symptoms?

If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

Resources Mentioned: 

National Institute of Mental Health definition page on Anxiety Disorders. They also have downloadable booklets on:

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder 
• Panic Disorders 
• Social Anxiety Disorder 
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) FAQ page on Anxiety, the types of anxiety, treatment options and additional resources.

American Lung Association video on Pursed Lip Breathing technique.

Very Well Mind page on 9 Breathing Exercises to Calm Anxiety.

Harvard Health Page on Foods Linked to Better Brain Power.

ARP 216 has examples of books about the brain/gut connection aka nutrition.

Five Minute Meditation Practice via Greater Good in Action/UC Berkeley

UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) meditations exercises in different languages.

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.

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Pebble in the Road - Acceptance

There are days when we muck it up. And spend hours berating yourself that you were not perfect or you did not catch one of the dozens of bug a boos that you handle in a day. 

On this day, I would like to suggest that you stop being mean, nasty or hyper-critical about being fallible. Practice your breathing, drink some water, move your body and actively be kind to yourself.

If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

Resources Mentioned: 

Katie McLaughlin six minute guided meditation on peace and acceptance

VeryWell Mind post on How to Embrace Self-Acceptance

Psychology Today blog post on How to Practice Acceptance

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.

Pebble in the Road - Fight the Reaper

For those of you that don’t understand about the experience of depression, I have two websites that might help folks get a grip on it.  

The first is Will O’Neil’s Actual Sunlight. It is a fictional narrative game about the experience of living and trying to exist in a depressive state.  

Another expression of the experience is an old school HTML website called Depression Quest. 

It is an interactive experience about living with depression.

What am I talking about this? 

In this episode, a word or two about Heather Armstrong and a few resources that might help you understand depression a little bit more and a resource or two to help some of you stay on this side of the life fence.

If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

Resources Mentioned: 

Washington Post article about Heather Armstrong.

The website Live Through This

Will O’Neil’s Actual Sunlight

Old school HTML interactive narrative Depression Quest

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 322 - What Is A Health Coach?

Last time, I talked about coaching. How there are different types of coaches and that it is an unlicensed and unregulated practice. There are good and bad coaches, and we need to find ways to figure out who is who.

I tried to chop it down into chunks but this is a big topic. And not a lot of consumer friendly information sources. Many of the resources I found where connected to vendors wanting to either have folks sign up for their telehealth service or to take a class or course on health couching. 

The somewhat neutral sources I've listed below. 

I know this one is wordy. But honestly, I whacked it down from 22 minutes to about 14 minutes.

Probably should have knocked off another seven but you do what you can when you can.

For my overseas folks. I do not know if you have the expression "wham, bam, thank you mam."

It applies to the vending machine approach to obtaining sexual services from an in-demand vendor. 

Going to a doctor or medical office can be a long wait, then you get into the office, say your piece. The doctor takes a look, makes a decision in about two minutes and out you go.

Don't know if it is the same in the UK, India, Australia, Canada or the islands.

Which is why telemedicine is very popular. Most people would like to cut out the waiting and get to the important part of their care. 

In this episode, a look at health coaching.

If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

Resources Mentioned: 

S.E. Cupp is a political commentator on CNN program S.E. Cupp Unfiltered. She is also a fellow traveler on the road. May 2023 is Mental Health Awareness Month. This is a short clip from her show talking about her experiences with the condition and why she wants to bring awareness about mental health out of the shadows.

Post on Very Well Health called Does Eating Fried Foods Really Put Us at Risk for Depression and Anxiety?  

Look folks, do the best you can. Eat to support your brain health. If you slip up and eat some fries; try to have a bit of fruit or veggies for your next meal. The goal is clean eating but some of us are going to get dusty along the way. 

Cleveland Clinic page on What Is A health Coach? 

Positive Psychology What is Health Coaching?

Wave Life is an app with information about mental fitness, cognitive support for Gen-Z folks and health coach support. 

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 321 What is a Coach?

I’m working my way through the mental health telemedicine providers and I’m coming across the word “coach.” 

I get a little leery about that word because I’ve had some experiences with people using it to wrap themselves in a health wellness cloak of respectability.

I’ve gone to conferences and sat in on sessions that I thought were about how to best provide information to people wanted health information. 

A couple of those sessions went into details about how to lead your audience down a sales funnel by appealing to fears, wants and needs.

And how you can position yourself as an expert to sell $47 a bottle worth of healing.

Yeah, I have a lot of preconceived bias about that word. But are my preconceived bias getting in the way of what is happening in the mental health care space?  Maybe. 

This is the dipping of the toes into the coach space. Just want to define the term and some of the ways people are using it. 

The next episode will be a deeper dive into health coaches and coaching.

If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

Resources Mentioned: 

Wondermind is a website that is dedicated to educate, support and connect with young adults and adult adjacent people. Talks about mental fitness and mental health issues.

Cleveland Clinic page on What is a Health Coach?

Harvard Health Blog on Health Coaching, is it Effective and Should You Try It?

 

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.