Anxiety Road Podcast

Medication is one, but not the only treatment option when it comes to anxiety. In this episode, a description of what Benzodiazepines Medication are, some of the names and resources to check out.    In housekeeping news, thank you all that have stuck with me. I found out that the new software and microphone I was using  had a distortion.    I couldn't hear it on my side but I was checking an episo...

They say it is Mental Health Awareness Month 2021. It is also National Barbeque Month, and so many more affinity items and groups.  It is the things that we pay attention to that can define us. Or not.   There is a New York Times article about research being conducted about talk therapy and MDMA for sever PTSD cases. Much more testing need to occur but it seems promising.    There will folks that...

In the episode, I mentioned that your symptoms are not the enemy. They ain't your friend either. Symptoms are a way for your brain and body to communicate with you. Your symptoms do not use words. They do not do that noun conjunction verb.  They are good at telling you there is a problem. They are lousy at telling you why there is a problem. They try. They really do.    Like if you really don't li...

If your symptoms or your condition plays havoc with your ability to function you have a problem.   It does help to know. Truth is, It doesn't matter how it got started.   How you are going to handle it or get it treated is your decision. In this episode, a look at some but not all of the causes of an anxiety disorder.    Knowing what you have can take the stink out of it.    Just a heads up, there...

I truly don't know what to say. There needs to be some healing infusions and I don't have any.   But I can say many of us are trying not to be overwhelmed or discouraged by hate based carbon units.   It is hard.  But we can do it. Are ancestors taught us that and we have to hold on waiting for our time to make changes.   Not to wait on them. Make them. In this episode, a few words about why the po...

I had wanted to do a show about writing anxiety.  Then I got hit with a wave of brain fog. Pea soup thick. Three full days of trying to think around and over it.  No can do. I can find items for the show. I knew what I wanted to talk about. I just couldn't put the words together.  So this is a pebble in the road with a book recommendation. Dr. Brewer has self-declared he was a traveler on the road...

I generally don't talk about famous people unless they self-declare their illness or there is a compelling reason. Not in a million years did I think that I would have something to say about Ernest Hemingway.  I knew he was a writer. I knew that he seem to love adventure and liked the ladies both within and outside of the bonds of matrimony. And that he was thought of as a manly man.    So when I...

You can find ways to deal with your symptoms. For some of us, there is medication. It isn't for everybody. Or you may choose to use a coping skill or relaxation technique. it isn't for everybody.    What is important to know is that you have choices on how you want to handle your symptoms.    In this episode, a look at some of my process and a few resources to check and hopefully use to make yours...

One of the great things about WandaVision is that there was a shared communal place for joy, life and grief. Now the comic book nerd in me is huffing and puffing about conflating three different story arcs in the series. I normally don't like it but WandaVision gets a special dispensation for just how well it can be done.   This episode is about grief. Anxiety can be a dance partner with it or mak...

So, I'm going to lay out a more realistic approach or tips to help folks deciding to walk out the door. I got my sources. I got some real-life experience and not much more than that.  There are folks on Twitter who are struggling on how to make the right decision for them. As it often happens, there are jerk faces who will pop in and state that you gotta man-up and stop being what they perceive to...

There is a lot going on. People are going to need to start thinking about re-entry into their world.    Those those of us that have anxiety conditions and disorders that can be ruff. What you want to do might conflict with what you are able to do.   If you've been on long term lockdown, your brain might put up a fuss about being outside.   I speak from experience. I'm zero for three on it. I did i...

Not having a great time but I'm ok. Not like I don't have stuff to do but currently in that vortex of when is the other thing that I think is gonna happen? And in the middle of the vortex are the old symptoms making a bum rush for the gate.    So this episode is a bit more narrative. It is about an experience that I had when I though I was doing the right thing for me.   And it was. But I still gi...

Loneliness is a 365 day thing but it stings a bit more on February the 14th. Chronic loneliness is when you have long term feelings of isolation.  You ain't go nobody and you feel it in your soul. You don't have to be a natural sad sack to feel this way. Some of the loudest party animals are also chronically lonely.   For some people it is longing for more than superficial conversations.  Or it ca...

A few years ago, I read an article about the tradition of the prisoners' last meal. And then how it ended in many states.     One of the stories involved a man requesting a single olive as his last meal.    That is all that he wanted. He looked at it, held it and then consumed it.   To me, that is an example of a mindfulness practice. In this episode, I'll define what it is and a few resources for...

Emetophobia is the fear of vomiting. That fear can be so strong that it dictates where you go, what you eat or who you trust to handle your food.    Some mental health professionals think that it could be connected to obsessive compulsive disorder.    In this episode, a look at some of the resources you can access about the phobia and what you can do about it.   If you need support contact the Nat...

You can't be for or against stress. You can't fight stress. You can learn that it is a normal body process.    What is important to know is that good stress is a way to learn and improve on how you handle life situations. Bad stress is an opportunity to be aware of a problem and start the process of handling it.    In this episode, a very simplified look at what stress is, and a verbal description...

I want to repeat the call to action. Your call to action this week is to begin making intentional choices on what goes into your body. You are not going to heal your body in a day.    But each day that you replace a fizzy drink with clean water is a good day.    Restoration first and then the healing will come. If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255,...

This episode is for people that post questions on answer boards and get questionable responses. Or no response at all. Mainly because the questions gets asked so many times. This is a journey of stop, go, fail and try again.    I hear you. Your symptoms of anxiety are interfering with your life. You don't want mumbo-jumbo, you want answers. What specifically, can you do?   For some, you will not b...

Loneliness can come and go. But if it is on-going then that could be a form of chronic loneliness. Chronic loneliness can also intermix with anxiety and depression. That is never a good thing. I removed mention of Anna Magnani from the episode but she is another person that can make you reconnect to feelings and emotions.  Anna Magnani was fierce. She was a first class, A1 scene stealer. I have gr...

This is a quick episode on needle phobia. I don't give as much wiggle room as I normally do. Your health is a stake.  If you have dental pain and need treatment that you refuse to do, that is painful. On many levels. Having needle phobia that is stronger than tooth pain is serious. It affect not just your mouth but other body systems as well.   If you need diagnostic testing but you won't do it th...

In this episode, a look at a device that might help you with symptom management and up your pattern breathing skills.   For those of you reluctant to take medication or are looking for other ways to handle your symptoms, this could be an option. I want to make sure that folks know about a new talk show series from Taraj P. Henson called Peace of Mind.  It is a talk show about mental health issues...

In this weeks show I fess up to eating chocolate cookies, a look at the website and videos from MedCircle.com and a look at some of the essential oils that can be helpful to handle anxiety symptoms.  According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health:  "Aromatherapy is sometimes used for insomnia, but we don't know whether it's helpful because little rigorous research has be...

It has been a hard couple of weeks. Last week I had a public panic attack. If you are looking for a how to do it episode then I invite you to check out some of my prior episodes.   The short version is that sometimes you think you get it but then you find out that you don't have it.   That something from long ago can jack you up. The good news is that you can learn from it and get about making cha...

One of the suggested treatment options is medication. Traditionally in the U.S. that meant going to the drug store/pharmacy.  Now, that X=the unknown is catching up with us, very soon you will be able to make a tele-heath appointment with a mental health provider. That person will provide you a prescription for medication.    You log onto Amazon.com and request delivery of your meds, which are del...

The dictionary says that feeling numb is a lack of sensation.  Those of us with anxiety disorders are usually feeling something. Until we don't.   Let's say something big happened and everybody around you is celebrating. But you are not a part of it. Even if it is something that you really wanted. You are separated from the experience. There are a couple of names for this but the easy way to expre...