Anxiety Road Podcast
378 episodes - English - Latest episode: 6 days ago - ★★★★ - 31 ratingsThis is the Anxiety Road Podcast, the involuntary journey in finding treatment options for people that have anxiety and panics attacks with side trips into related mental health disorders.
This podcast is treatment agnostic.
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Episodes
ARP 312 What is Telehealth?
January 24, 2023 04:07 - 9 minutes - 8.78 MBThis is the start to a mini-series about telehealth and telemedicine options. Starting out with a definition of what telehealth is, types of provider services including a taste of virtual mental health care and recourses. The short version is, per the U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services, “Telehealth — sometimes called telemedicine — lets your health care provider care for you without an in-person office visit. Telehealth is done primarily online with internet access on your c...
ARP Pebble in the Road - One More Thing About CBD Oil
January 17, 2023 04:02 - 5 minutes - 5.7 MBTrying to finish up on my science literacy class. It is a pip. It is very good and provides a lot information about how scientists evaluate questions and data. It is thumping my poor brain with all kinds of concepts. Once I finish the class, I should be back on a regular schedule. Going through my stuff and seeing if I forgot anything. Seems like I did forget a thing or two. I might have included this in an episode but just in case, I want to make sure that you know abou...
ARP 311 Kindness Grounding Practice - Pebble in the Road
January 08, 2023 18:49 - 5 minutes - 5.03 MBIn this episode, a look at a kindness inspired grounding practice you could do when you need to tame your internal little hater. Sometimes people come to the podcast intentionally. They see the album cover or up on a social media site and check it out. Or they might see a post on a social media place and happen to see the name of the show. Some entrepreneurial site owners will post a link to their blog or podcast, having nothing to do with anxiety or mental health. And then t...
ARP 310 No Resolutions 2023
December 28, 2022 04:29 - 9 minutes - 8.85 MBIt is the time when a bunch of people and advertisers want to encourage you to make changes to your existence and how you currently live your life. You might in fact want to do this because you do not feel good in your mind and body. Totally understandable. But you don't have to define you worth on promises you really don't want to do. There is a way to achieve your goals without imposing an artificial and non-valuable deadline. You can take small, measured steps. You dec...
ARP 309 Apps for Mindfulness and Meditation 2022
December 13, 2022 02:47 - 7 minutes - 7.66 MBThere are lots of apps for mindfulness and meditation. The advantage is just in time training, help and support and symptom relief. The disadvantage could be the continued separation from actual people, data harvesting by low lifers and the app not exactly meeting your needs. I would say that it is important you develop your skills as an informed health consumer. One way to do that is to visit the website One Mind Psyber Guide. In this episode, a lot as some of the apps ...
ARP 308 Mindfulness and Meditation 2022
November 28, 2022 03:20 - 12 minutes - 11.6 MBWhen I'm looking for viable resources, I can tell when I find a traditional approach to treatment. Listed are two options listed, medication and therapy. Sometime they will mention others as a lifestyle choice. That is slowly changing. I am seeing more traditional sites including mindfulness and meditation. There is increasing medical documentation that mindfulness and meditation work. Medical scientists are still trying to quantify how it works. But they aren't kicking up a fuss abo...
ARP 307 A Quick Look at Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction
November 17, 2022 04:49 - 8 minutes - 8.37 MBIn this episode, a quick look at mindfulness-based stress reduction. The end of the year stuff is coming up early this year so quick episodes are probably going to be in the mix for the next few weeks. If I can even get to an episode at all, it's that busy too much to do and not enough time. However, my news feed blew up with articles, about a study about mindfulness-based stress reduction, The headlines, in many of these new stories were something like mindfulness works just as w...
ARP 306 End of Amazon Care
November 09, 2022 04:01 - 8 minutes - 8.46 MBHi folks, I'm at high tide with work and symptoms acting like a three-year old. But I wanted to put this out to let folks know that the Amazon.Care service has closed. It is a little embarrassing for me. I had posted the episode in August and three weeks later the telehealth service began the process of shutting down. From what I can suss out, there were several reasons for the service going down, and I'm getting my information from the Washington Post newspaper, some of the in...
ARP Pebble in the Road on Generalized Anxiety Disorder
October 26, 2022 04:06 - 3 minutes - 3.87 MBGeneralized Anxiety Disorder is a pesky bugger. It is worry on steroids. You worry about money; you worry about every ache or pain and worry about things in the past and the future. There is nothing that you don't worry about, in excess. And the amount of worrying you are doing can impacting your life. Or keep you from doing things you want to do because of the fear of the unknown is going to happen. In this short episode, the symptoms of GAD and what you can ...
ARP 303 - Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners
October 23, 2022 18:30 - 11 minutes - 10.7 MBIn the introduction to this episode, I mention the financial bum rush of companies providing mental health apps to clients, patients and customers. Still working on that tact thing. There is a small but growing segment of entrepreneurs that see gold in them there mental health hills. Some of those entrepreneurs have honest intentions about making mental health accessible. They have hired psychologists and psychiatrists to help shape their product. Others vendors are more ...
ARP Pebble in the Road - Medication Considerations 2022
October 11, 2022 02:58 - 2 minutes - 2.31 MBDeciding on taking medication is a choice and a responsibility. If you have been diagnosed with an anxiety condition or disorder, you probably have been told that one of the treatment options is medication. As I mentioned in ARP 169, It is ok to decide if medication is right for you. It is equally ok that you don't want to take medications. First step is to get a through checkup to make sure it isn’t a physical health problem. Many anxiety symptoms are similar to a physical ...
ARP 301 Self-Medication Pro and Con
October 05, 2022 02:46 - 9 minutes - 9.23 MBHaving to live with anxiety symptoms is not easy. I can't speak for you but I have sometimes been shamed, embarrassed or felt hopeless after a bad bout with those rascals. My self-medication of choice is food. I kinda have to deal with that because it isn't an effective way to deal with the problem. I've been around this bend before so I know I can do it. Will I? Probably. You see my symptoms are flaring up again. Big time. And yes, I do breathe. Go out side and wa...
ARP 300 Buying Hemp Seed Oil Safely
September 28, 2022 02:11 - 13 minutes - 13 MBThere is a lot to learn about Hemp Seed Oil (HSO). The main reason why I wanted to cover it was that there is a lot of misinformation about the product. It is not hard to find hemp in food products. It is dang easy to find claims or promises of calm or relaxation. People that have an anxiety condition are prime suckers for dark side entrepreneurs. Ignorance helps them to take advantage and money. Or worse, place your health at risk. If you know the core basics, you might still...
ARP 299 Buying CBD Oil via Retail Supermarkets
September 19, 2022 03:53 - 10 minutes - 9.91 MBOne of the things that I have learned about considering using hemp seed oil and CBD oil is that you need a lot of information. Information about the laws in your states. Is cannabis legal where I live? What do I want it for? Physical pain relief, a sleep aid or something to chill the anxiety symptoms down? Where do I go for credible, factual information? This has been one of the hardest aspect of putting these episodes together. So, being a birth frugalista, I looked at it...
ARP 298 Uses of Hemp Seed Oil and CBD Oil
September 12, 2022 03:33 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBAs I mention in the show, it is easy to get sucker-fied when it comes to purchasing hemp seed oil or CBD oil. There is a lot of flim-flam operators in the marketplace. We have a vulnerability to want to find anything that can help us cope. If you are seeking for alternatives for traditional opiate medication it seems like it is an option. But if you don’t know the basics, you can lose time, money and an possible effective treatment source. My intention is to find a way to get ...
ARP 297 What is Hemp Seed Oil and CBD Oil?
September 04, 2022 18:21 - 8 minutes - 8.18 MBI want folks to make an informed decision. Before you can make a decision you need facts, research and resources. There is a lot of hokum about hemp seed oil and CBD oil. Both are oils that come from the hemp plant. They are not the same. They service different populations and purposes. In this episode, a look at what is hemp seed oil and CBD oil. There was an interesting conversation about the original 2005 formulation of Four Loco. It was a fortified beer that had a lot of ca...
ARP Pebble in the Road - Magnesium Resources
August 14, 2022 17:42 - 2 minutes - 2.68 MBStill on my summer slowdown. This is the seventh year of the podcast. Yeah, seven whole years of the show. The good, bad and WTF? There are new things that are going to be happening behind the curtain, like creating shorter more focused episodes on a specific topic, concept or resource. Which means I can take my time on the longer one and not try to jam everything into one episode. I can tell you that in the mental health space change is coming as fast as a Japanese...
ARP 296 What is the Deal with Amazon Care?
August 03, 2022 04:01 - 9 minutes - 8.78 MBNovember 2022 Update: Amazon Care telehealth service will shut down on December 31, 2022. Pulled the plug on it due to large corporations not signing on and the cost of running a commercial health service is expensive. I've have more in a future episode. I'll keep the episode up but it is gone, as in history. It is late and I typed out a long passage about how entrepreneurs and corporation looking to boost revenue are looking at the U.S. dysfunctional health system. And that page go...
ARP Pebble in the Road - Book The Body Keeps the Score
July 28, 2022 03:10 - 4 minutes - 4.16 MBThis is an Anxiety Road Podcast pebble in the road with a quick look at the book called The Body Keeps the Score Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of trauma by By Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. Published by Penguin Random House. This book is about how trauma affects the body and mind. I know many of you don’t believe that your anxiety is trauma based. And you are telling the truth. If that is the case for you, skip this recommendation and be on your way. However, if you suspect or flat ou...
ARP Summer Slowdown or How Two Computers Got Me on the Ropes
July 06, 2022 03:16 - 2 minutes - 2.24 MBI hate giving up but sometimes a retreat is necessary. Wish I could go to a retreat but that ain't happening. I know when I'm licked and I'm licked. Not one but two computers have me on the ropes ducking punches. So this is just a brief update of what's going on with me. And what's going to be happening for the next couple of weeks. So in housekeeping news, I'm on summer slowdown mode until September. Between my old computer dying on me and my new computer not recognizing...
ARP Pebble in the Road - TSA Air Traveling with Medication
June 22, 2022 03:40 - 3 minutes - 3.94 MBI'm having some technical difficulties and having trouble getting a full episode out. So I just thought I'd do this little quick episode. This is just a quick informational post on traveling with your medications. There is some concern that allegedly there are some agents that are confiscating medication. Below is the link to the official TSA.gov webpage where they publicly states that you are allowed to bring your pill medication on board either in your carry-on or luggage. There ...
ARP 293 Defining Collecting, Clutter, Hoarding and Squalor
June 16, 2022 02:01 - 12 minutes - 12.1 MBIn this episode, a look at some of the words that get confused with hoarding. I mentioned that there are U.S.and UK television programs about hoarding. Also, there are multiple Youtube channels where a young person buys a the contents or acquires a hoarders property to find hidden treasures and money. There is also a sub-genre of professional housekeepers being paid to clean the home. I can't forget that there is or was a person attached to their possessions. Sure, if t...
ARP 292 Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
June 08, 2022 01:51 - 9 minutes - 9.26 MBI think when I was starting out, I probably would not have considered Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. I was really focused on stopping my symptoms and I was not the introspective person. More bullheaded and introspective. I was much more focused on making my symptoms stop. While doing the things that caused them in the first place. I can tell you, that's probably not the way to go, but I had to learn from experience as opposed to from intellect. It was a rough road....
ARP 291 What is DBT?
June 01, 2022 01:38 - 7 minutes - 7.39 MBBefore talking about Dialectical Behavior Therapy, I want to give a brief reminder of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy aka CBT. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a short term treatment that provides skills on how to transform negative thoughts and behaviors. Traditionally, CBT is offered to people with an anxiety disorder, depression and other mental health conditions. There are a number ways to do this but the general format is to: Assess where you are right now. What is your...
ARP 290 Hydrate Your Brain
May 25, 2022 03:09 - 10 minutes - 9.68 MBSometimes we look for the thing to deal with our symptoms. The thing that is hard to get, access or is expensive. Or requires another person for delivery. Not that kind of delivery, the whole structural system of good, services, materials and processing type of delivery. Not to mention that we all another person to do something. Anyway, We are looking for the thing that knocks some sense into our symptoms. We look but we don't always see the thing right in our homes or refr...
ARP 289 We Are Here
May 16, 2022 23:28 - 4 minutes - 4.15 MBThe verbal poison for profit business that is coursing through the system is killing people. Both passively and in actuality. And I can tell you from experience that the let’s pretend balm of dismissing this as a mental health issue has been put into play. Or a one-off action of a lonely man. Sometimes all you can do is state the obvious. We are alive. And you can take pride that being alive pisses the hell out of a bunch of people. We have a purpose. ...
ARP 288 Two Books with Different Paths to Healing
May 09, 2022 03:29 - 11 minutes - 10.4 MBThere isn't one path to healing. There can be dozens but when you are in the thick of it you only care about what works now. So you might decide, you have stuff to do, you don't have time for introspections, give me the pill. And it might work for you. Until it doesn't. Or your symptoms change. Or your anxiety expresses itself as anger. Or overeating. Or hording. It can happen that you do meditation. You monitor your nutrition. You run a mile a day. And your symptoms...
ARP 287 Risk Factors for the Big Dip
May 02, 2022 04:05 - 10 minutes - 10.2 MBIt is May it is U.S. version of Mental Health Awareness Month. Treating mental health concerns is just as important to treat as conditions for physical health. The need for mental health care is needed across all levels of society. Neither poverty nor wealth should be a barrier to access quality mental health treatment. Suicide is not something I want to talk about. I always want to focus on what you can do. Finding resources and keep putting that foot in front of the other. Rest whe...
ARP 286 Using Time to Mange Anxiety Symptoms
April 24, 2022 22:02 - 6 minutes - 6.5 MBAnxiety symptoms are pesky. We spend a lot of time trying to deal with them. In addition to our daily task duties and responsibilities. In this episode, I want to share a few tips that can restore a sense of stability and calm. I don't want to turn anyone into a time robot. There are some evil time technological oppressors that are rising in the workforce or the corporate marketplace. Those buggers are trying to find ways to micro manage folks working from ...
ARP 285 Anxiety Symptoms and Dreams
April 16, 2022 01:45 - 8 minutes - 8.3 MBThis is a pebble in the road about the definitions of dreams, bad dreams and nightmares. If you are an highly anxious person this is one of many possible symptoms of stress and anxiety that you might experienced. Vivid dreams and nightmares can be a sign of anxiety symptom. Or not. It could be just your brains way of taking out the neural trash floating around the joint. But you might have a different cultural or social way of understanding dreams. That is ok. It ...
ARP 284 Self Directed Anxiety Workbooks
April 07, 2022 23:33 - 7 minutes - 7.47 MBNot all anxiety, workbooks are created equal or even readable. Many of them are designed to be used with a therapist or our therapist directed. If you flip to a random page and can't figure out or understand what the heck they're talking about, that might not be the right workbook. There are a number self-directed anxiety workbook that are specifically designed so that you, as the consumer can work through your issue without a therapist. You can gain similar information as i...
ARP 283 Anxiety Information Brochures
April 01, 2022 04:21 - 4 minutes - 4.52 MBThis is a pebble in the road about some of the free resources that are out there for people that have an anxiety condition or disorder. While we're trying to obtain services and hopefully work our way through the process sometimes the people that we encountered don't have the kind of information that we need. There are resources that we can take advantage of from the anxiety and mental health websites via brochures and tips sheets. You can download these docs on your phone or ta...
ARP 282 A Rock and Health Literacy
March 25, 2022 01:53 - 10 minutes - 10.3 MBThis episode is about a rock, actually a crystal, that caused me to think about the multiple times a day someone is trying to sell me something. A thing they think I want. Or need. And if I am vulnerable, like I might just want that scoop of designer ice cream as an adventure in tasting, I'll go along with the bit. Men's shaving and grooming kits. Not so much. That happens if I'm watching a wood crafting or male garden videos. Or non-political preppers. There are such people and wh...
ARP 281 Wee Bit of Grounding
March 17, 2022 05:12 - 6 minutes - 5.86 MBThere are a lot of grounding techniques but one of the most accessible is to breathe. Specifically deep breathing. Breathing is a I went to the eye doctor to get my eyes checked. Unlike the dentist, I'm much more calm about the examination. I want my eyes taken care of and make sure they get what they need. I'm an active participant. I can gamify the target test. It doesn't mean I'm not anxious, but I don't have as many triggers to set off an alarm. And I can use some grounding...
ARP 280 Quick Look at Skin Picking Disorder
March 10, 2022 04:28 - 5 minutes - 5.2 MBSome symptoms are hidden inside the body. And some symptoms are very visible. There are different reasons why people pick at their skin and not everyone that does. This has an anxiety condition. There are some skin conditions like acne that causes folks to pick at it. They shouldn't, but their skin condition is caused by an organic physical problem with. And then there are those that cannot be ignored. It is a self-inflicted visualization of a problem. This is a quick pebble ...
ARP 279 Licensing is a Bumpy Road
March 03, 2022 05:05 - 9 minutes - 9.04 MBIt happens that I start in on an idea and think I've done my research. Only to get whacked in the head about a question I did not ask. Like how to find the specific vendor on a state website. For example, I start to think about the episode and then a thought came into my head. "How are they supposed to do that?" And because I'm hardheaded and I don't listen to the spirits from up on high, I respond that they should go to their mental health or behavioral health board in...
ARP 278 Therapy - What Can I Do?
February 24, 2022 05:16 - 9 minutes - 8.59 MBThere is a lot of craptastical thinking about therapy. Everything from religion is therapy to “put this device on your wrist and use our app and bingo-bango, you are cured. Fear and confusion running amuck, and that is mainly from the people who don’t have the medical form of an anxiety condition or disorder giving advice. An episode or so ago I wrote about the treatment option of medication. The choice and responsibility of using it or not using medication. In this episode...
Pebble in the Road About Burnout
February 17, 2022 05:23 - 4 minutes - 4.51 MBBurnout is when it is really hard to put two sentences together and have them make sense. Burnout is all you want to do is stay in bed under the covers. Because it is safe. They can't get to you there. Except that you can't. You have to go to work, do that thing. Complete the task. Make nice to people who may or may not deserve it. Dr. Candance Good in a post on Psychology Today states: "Burnout was common before the pandemic. But now pile on two years of uncertainty,...
ARP 276 Medical - What Can I Do?
February 10, 2022 04:29 - 9 minutes - 9.23 MBThere is an attempt, a progress or reintegration taking place found in small pockets of modern medicine. Some of our national health systems are looking at it, but not near enough now. Sure. There are things that don't require a mental health therapist. You accidentally break your leg and you need a cast and maybe physical therapy. No mental health professional required. But for mind and body problems, maybe there should be a stronger connection and support system. This w...
Pebble in the Road - In the News
February 02, 2022 06:05 - 5 minutes - 5.25 MBOk, I talk to much and then frustrated when I have to edit. Trying to think with an exhausted brain. I pulled out the section on this new fangled service and will post it as quickly as I can. Still working on chopping the main topic down. I have a mental block about it. Like I so want to get it right that I'm mucking it up. Resources Mentioned: To find out the best practices for selecting an U.S. online pharmacy the Food and Drug Administration has a page on Considering an Onlin...
ARP 274 A Few Words About Symptom Control
January 26, 2022 04:01 - 6 minutes - 5.87 MBThe headline version for 2022 is medication, therapy, nutrition, body support and environment. Yes, I’ve changed things up just a bit. But before we can get to that, I feel that we need to have an understanding about symptoms. Most people tend to think of treatment as getting rid of their symptoms. Totally valid. And understandable. I know I felt that way, if I could just get rid of the bug-a-boos, I could get back to normal. It reflects we have been taught about h...
ARP 273 The WTH Phase
January 20, 2022 04:46 - 8 minutes - 7.84 MBNot all treatment plans are the same. What works for Betty will not work for Veronica before I can do that. I need to start at a place. Many people won't start a treatment unless they recognize that they need to make a change. I like to refer to this as the, "What The Hell phase." In this episode, more about the What the Hell phase and the Oh, Snap phase that happens before you start your healing journey. If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-8...
ARP 272 Be Cautious with OTC Medications
January 17, 2022 03:57 - 11 minutes - 10.7 MBI know that some of you are in a really bad spot. You're looking for an answer, a short way out of your problems and, and your predicaments. Some of you openly declare that you don't have time for this thing and what it dealt with quick, fast, and in a hurry. I do understand. I was in your shoes too. There was so much, I didn't know about having a mental health. There are people and companies that want to take advantage of that ignorance. There are others tha...
Wise men don't need advice. Fools don't take it.
January 13, 2022 03:23Sorry folks, having technical computer problems. Working on resolving them. The next episode will be about Over the Counter medication, and one in particular that is making the rounds as a way to deal with symptoms. The short version is just because you can stick in your mouth doesn't mean you should. Probably will be the weekend before I can fix this rascal.
ARP 271 Moving Past Denial and Doing the Work
January 05, 2022 04:24 - 8 minutes - 7.67 MBDenial is not good or bad. It is a defense mechanism. When you don't want to deal with the scary or hard thing. Especially when it seems that thing is so big. So dangerous. Humans will do all kinds of things to avoid pain. Including accepting a small amount of pain to delay the bigger potential pain. Doesn't have to be real. Doesn't even have to have a direct connection to you. In this episode, a look at denial. Resources Mentioned: The ABCS of Coping with Anxiety: Using CBT t...
ARP 270 Bad News But We Can Deal With It
December 22, 2021 05:43 - 8 minutes - 8.34 MBThis podcast has always talked about treatment options and resources. I always will. And sometimes that includes talking about uncomfortable things. Or boring things, things so boring they make your eyes glaze over. This is definitely true cuz I have been known to go long winded. But if this helps you in your treatment process or understand possible resources process, I'll do it. Because that episode that you cut off after four minutes might be the one you come back to ...
ARP 269 You Don't Choose Depression
December 15, 2021 04:44 - 4 minutes - 4.34 MBNo sane or crazy person would. But that doesn't stop the market place and the uninformed from saying stupid stuff. This is a pebble in the road about what is depression. I'm thinking if I make enough pebbles, I'll get an episode out. It is hard when you have to fight for every single word. There are people writing articles, books and podcasts. Many of those people want you to spend money on thinking yourself out of the diagnosed version of depression. It doesn't work like tha...
ARP 268 Not in a Grateful Mood
November 30, 2021 04:08 - 7 minutes - 7.18 MBThere are going to be a lot of tips, suggestions and survival posts about dealing with mental health problems the holidays. I don't normally do it because everyday to me is a struggle. Some days it is very minor. Other days, it is a big deal. And then there is navigating life problems during a time of enforced hypocritical joy and happiness. The episode is about acknowledging the feelings. It is looking at what we can do even if there isn't anything we can do about the trigger...
ARP 267 Misdiagnosis Physical Symptoms
November 17, 2021 03:27 - 13 minutes - 12.6 MBLast time I gave a very brief description of misdiagnosis and an example or two. This is a follow-up to last week’s pebble in the road. If you have a health, medical phobia or descriptions of medical conditions make you anxious, you might want to skip this episode. If you have cardiophobia, stop, do not go on, this is not the episode for you. Honestly, I got overwhelmed with the number of similarities between mental and physical health issues. Talk about information overlo...
ARP 266 Misdiagnosis - Pebble in the Road
November 10, 2021 03:48 - 3 minutes - 3.98 MBThis is a quick pebble in the road about misdiagnosis. Ran out of time and have too much to talk about to do a half ass job. So think of this is just a short introduction to the topic of misdiagnosis. Misdiagnosis can mean a couple of things. Like having a physical health problem but your doctor thinks it is an anxiety condition. Or you are treated for a physical problem and it really is an anxiety condition. Or you hit the trifecta of having a physical problem and you also ha...