Regulate & Rewire: An Anxiety & Depression Podcast

In today's episode, Amanda shares something she's never shared publicly before — a little bedtime song she wrote for her kids that's become a nightly staple. What started as a spontaneous attempt to teach her children the things she wished she'd known earlier has turned into a fun family song teaching the fundamentals of mental and physical health. Amanda share the song with yo...

Morning sunlight might be the most underutilized free regulation tool available to us — and in this episode, Amanda breaks down exactly why getting outside within the first hour of waking is one of the highest-return things you can do for your nervous system. From circadian rhythm and cortisol to serotonin, sleep quality, and mood regulation, the science is clear — and the practice is simpler than...

In this episode, Amanda gets candid about what regulated living actually looks like when life gets hard — including the sleep deprivation, the skipped workouts, and the very human experience of teaching what you're currently struggling to practice. She walks through the two things that keep her grounded in chaotic seasons: flexibility and context. She also shares her five domains of healing a...

Today’s episode is a guided practice designed to help your nervous system settle and prepare for quality sleep. We’ll start by moving through a short discharging sequence to process any lingering stress from the day, then move into some gentle breathwork. This first part of the practice can be done standing beside your bed, sitting on the edge of it, or already lying down — whatever feels right fo...

In Part 2 of this sleep anxiety series, Amanda gets practical. She breaks down exactly what to do when you can't fall asleep, what to do when you wake up in the middle of the night, and offers a full toolkit of cognitive, environmental, and somatic practices that shift the conditions for sleep over time. If Part 1 was the understanding, this is the application. Click here to preorder at $50 o...

Sleep anxiety is one of the most common experiences for people living with chronic stress, anxiety, and dysregulation. In Part 1 of this three-part series, Amanda breaks down why the nervous system is at the center of sleep disruption, the difference between not being able to fall asleep and middle-of-the-night wake-ups, and the primary drivers behind nighttime anxiety. This is the understanding e...

Understanding self-harm through a nervous system lens changes everything — and in this episode, Amanda breaks down what's actually happening in the brain and body when this behavior shows up, why it works as a short-term regulation strategy even when it comes at a high cost, and what genuinely helps address the root of the pattern rather than just the behavior itself. 3 Takeaways: Self-harm i...

Walking for mental health goes deeper than most people realize — and in this episode, Amanda breaks down exactly why increasing your daily step count is one of the highest-return nervous system practices you're probably underutilizing. From bilateral movement and cortisol metabolism to blood sugar stability and sleep, the science behind a simple daily walk is more connected to your emotional...

In this listener response episode, Amanda answers three thoughtful follow-up questions from the five-part stress management series. She digs deepest into a question about reorienting to a baseline mindset stressor — using the trigger vs overwhelm distinction to help listeners diagnose what's actually happening before deciding what to do about it. She also honors a listener's real-life ed...

In the final episode of this stress management series, Amanda steps back from frameworks and talks about the gap between understanding what needs to change and actually changing it. She revisits the nervous system ladder as a way to help listeners locate themselves after five episodes of honest reflection, reads from her book Healing Through the Vagus Nerve on the four-phase healing process and he...

In part four of this stress series, Amanda moves from filtering into action — introducing the 3 D's framework for actually editing your stress bucket. She opens by distinguishing between poking holes (reactive regulation) and real editing, then walks through Delete, Delegate, and Do Differently with honest personal examples from her own life. She also introduces Add as the fourth move on the...

In part three of this stress series, Amanda introduces the important step that comes before editing your stress bucket — filtering it. She shares two practical filters to help you get clear on what actually belongs in your life: the rubber vs glass ball distinction and your personal core values. This episode is honest about the fact that this process is often countercultural and sometimes relation...

In part two of this stress series, Amanda walks you through a practical, honest assessment of your stress by examining both sides of the see-saw—your stressors and your supporters. She breaks stressors into baseline (chronic) and daily (variable) inputs, helping you identify where your load is actually coming from. This episode emphasizes that real change starts with awareness, and gives you a fra...

In this episode, Amanda introduces a new four-part series on stress by reframing what stress actually is, and why stress itself isn't really the problem. She explains how stress is a natural, necessary nervous system response, but becomes harmful when it remains unresolved and accumulates over time. Using the stress bucket and see-saw metaphors, she offers a more honest and actionable way to...

Amanda shares the nervous system framework behind a real family decision — getting a puppy with three kids under five — and why saying yes to something stressful can still be the regulated choice. Using the seesaw model (stress bucket on one side, supporter blocks on the other), she introduces a simple filter for everyday decisions: "D oes this give more than it takes?" She walks through...

In this episode, I'm breaking down the song "You'd Never Know" by Blu Eyes—a devastatingly honest look at what depression actually feels like from the inside, and why it so often goes unseen from the outside. We talk about what dorsal vagal shutdown really looks like, why the gap between "you look fine" and "I'm screaming inside" is so dangerous, what h...

In this episode, I'm breaking down the song "Dear Anxiety" by Blu Eyes—and why it might be the most accurate description of anxiety and nervous system regulation I've ever heard set to music. We explore why anxiety isn't a disorder or a malfunction but a protective response, what it actually looks like to be in relationship with your anxiety instead of at war with it, and...

Do you ever finish a conversation and realize you’ve just given a twenty-minute dissertation to justify a simple "no" or a basic need? In this episode, we’re peeling back the layers on chronic over-explaining. It turns out, this isn't just a quirky personality trait—it’s a sophisticated nervous system response. Whether you’re trying to preemptively defend yourself against being &quo...

When you witness suffering at scale, your capacity to care can feel like it’s running on empty. In this episode, we’re diving into the biological reality of compassion fatigue and the potent "antidote" found in moral elevation. We discuss why "looking for the helpers" isn’t just a sweet sentiment—it’s a vital nervous system intervention that activates the vagus nerve and restor...

When the world feels like it's falling apart, how do we stay connected to ourselves while still showing up for what matters? In this episode, we're talking about collective trauma, what it actually means to be "regulated" (hint: it doesn't mean calm), and the tangible nervous system tools that can help you stay resourced during ongoing crisis. This isn't about fixing...

New intro, repeat episode of one I published almost exactly a year ago. While the examples I offer are a year old, the suggestions offered apply just as much to some of the chaos we're all experiencing this week as well. Hit play on this episode again, see what resonates, and I'll be back next week with some new thoughts. - In this episode of Regulate & Rewire, we explore how to navi...

Why does “New Year, New You” feel so motivating… and then fall apart just weeks later? In this episode, we explore why New Year’s resolutions often backfire—not because you lack discipline or willpower, but because they ask your nervous system to do something it’s biologically wired to resist. Through a nervous-system and mental-health lens, we unpack why massive change feels threatening, how wint...

In Part 2 of our New Year mini-series, we’re moving beyond the "New Year, New You" hype to have a more honest conversation about what it actually looks like to let go. Following Amanda's annual NYE Circle event, she's sharing the raw, real list of patterns and beliefs that she is choosing to leave behind. From the "addiction to urgency" to the "shoulds" we p...

The calendar says the year is over, but has your nervous system caught up? In Part 1 of our New Year’s Mini Series, we’re moving away from high-pressure goal setting and "new year, new you" rhetoric. Instead, we are creating a "pocket of space" to let the previous year actually complete. Our bodies don’t experience time through dates; they experience it through processed or unp...

Sign up for the NYE Circle – Sunday, December 28th at 8 PM ET - CLICK HERE In this episode I yap about my dumpster fire day. Thought I had childcare, I didn't. My 2 year old had 47 meltdowns. My 4mo old joined me for the membership Q&A— cute but not ideal. I found out a full bag of Christmas gifts got accidentally taken out with the trash last night. My son pulled our fish tank down off t...