Regulate & Rewire: An Anxiety & Depression Podcast Amanda Armstrong

A quick intermission from our 8 part "Essential 8" series because my brain needed a break after juggling a lot the past few weeks. At the heart of this episode is a conversation about this quote, “When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.” In the context of your healing the quote can be rewritten as “when you’re struggling with anxiety or depression, you fix the environments in which you’re healing and growing, not you.”You are not broken, you do ...

Episode 63 - Essential 8 Series (Part 5)At the heart of understanding and healing anxiety or depression through a nervous system lens is stress management and understanding the basics of stress physiology. In this conversation I share with you (what I hope is) a refreshing perspective on navigating overwhelming stressors. I'll reintroduce the "stress bucket analogy" and unpack it in a bit of a different way than we have before providing you with a tangible framework for understanding stress l...

Episode 62 - Essential 8 Series (Part 4)📚 Pre-order my new book, Healing Through the Vagus Nerve today!🌏 International orders, click here!This isn't the first conversation we've had about the vagus nerve, and it won't be the last, but it's definitely worth a listen! In this episode I'll share again the basics of what the vagus nerve is, why it matters when healing anxiety & depression, and you'll get a few more sneak peak reads of my new book!What I want you to leave this episode hearing ...

Episode 61 - Essential 8 Series (Part 3)Breath can be used as a powerful proactive and reactive regulation tool. Your respiratory system (aka breath) is one of the most powerful physiological levers you can pull to shift the state of your nervous system. Did you know that every time you inhale your heart rate speeds up, and every time you exhale it slows down? Let's say you extend your exhale out longer than your inhale — well now your heat rate slowed down longer than it sped up. This sends ...

Episode 60 - Essential 8 Series (Part 2)I’m going to just come out with a pretty blunt to start today: there’s a set of minimal physical activity guidelines for a reason, if you’re not meeting them then you’re going to have problems (one of which is mental health).Second only to sleep, I think movement is one of the most fundamental and non-negotiable habits for brain health. Research shows that even just a daily walk of 30 minutes can decrease depression and anxiety symptoms in almost all cl...

Episode 59 - Essential 8 Series (Part 1)Sleep plays a vital role in our overall health and wellbeing, yet 1 in 3 adults aren’t getting the recommended amount. If you're not getting the recommended amount of sleep, your mental and physical health will suffer.In this episode we’re going to talk about – what happens when we sleep, why sleep matters for our mental and physical health, common struggles with sleep, and practical strategies for getting better shut-eye. If you're tired of feeling tir...