Regulate & Rewire: An Anxiety & Depression Podcast

Epizodai

• My Family Song: The Nervous System Lessons I'm Teaching My Kids (and Still Learning Myself) 30.06.2026 21min

  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 you, invites you to make it your own, and then breaks down each line of the song and what it means not just for the lit...
• Morning Sunlight & Your Mental Health 23.06.2026 28min

  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 you think. 3 Takeaways: Your morning sets the stage for your night. Getting outside for 5–15 min...
• When Life Gets in the Way of Healing 16.06.2026 30min

  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 and the Daily Five as a framework for strategic, adaptable healing that meets you where you actually ar...
• A Guided Wind-Down Practice for Sleep 09.06.2026 14min

  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 for where you are tonight. There's nothing you need to do to prepare, just be here as you are, hit ...
• Sleep Anxiety: What To Actually Do About It (Part 2) 02.06.2026 36min

  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 off (or learn more about) the Ohm Breathing Lamp. ps. this is *not* an affiliate link, I just genuinely...
• Sleep Anxiety: Why Your Nervous System Won't Let You Sleep (Part 1) 26.05.2026 29min

  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 episode — Part 2 brings the tools, and Part 3 is a guided wind-down practice. 3 Takeaways: Sleep r...
• Understanding Self-Harm from a Nervous System Perspective 19.05.2026 37min

  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 is a nervous system regulation attempt. Understanding this is not permission to continue it — it's the ...
• Why Walking Is Actually a Nervous System Practice 12.05.2026 28min

  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 wellbeing than you might think. 3 Takeaways: Walking touches many of the underlying physiological syst...
• Listener Q&A — Your Questions from the Stress Management Series 28.04.2026 32min

  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 editing win in the middle of profound grief, and offers a few grounding thoughts on going it alone, the impul...
• From Knowing Different to Living Different (Part 5) 21.04.2026 30min

  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 her strategic healing philosophy, and closes with a direct look at what personalized, whole-human s...
• Editing Your Stress Bucket (Part 4) 14.04.2026 33min

  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 supporter side of the see-saw, and closes with an important reminder that editing isn't just a thinkin...
• Filter Your Stress Bucket: How to Know What Actually Belongs (Part 3) 07.04.2026 29min

  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 relational, and Amanda shares her own experience of what it cost — and ultimately gave — when she first s...
• Assess Your Stressors & Supporters (Part 2) 31.03.2026 38min

  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 framework to understand whether your reactions are coming from accumulated stress (overflow) or deep...
• Understanding Stress (Part 1) 24.03.2026 34min

  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 understand and work with stress in modern life. In this episode you'll learn: What stress actu...
• Does This Give More Than It Takes? 10.03.2026 18min

  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: "Does this give more than it takes?" She walks through two examples, the puppy she said yes to and the ceramics class she said no to, and names the two hardest di...
• "You'd Never Know": A Song About What Depression Actually Looks Like 03.03.2026 26min

  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 happens when a doctor says "everything looks good" and you turn that into self-blame, and why healing isn't a straight line—even when you're fu...
• "Dear Anxiety": What This Song Gets Right About Healing 24.02.2026 17min

  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 how this one song captures the entire arc of regulation work—from somatic awareness to sending signals of safety to lettin...
• Why You Keep Over-Explaining Yourself (And How to Stop) 17.02.2026 35min

  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 "the bad guy" or you learned early on that your needs weren't valid unless you built a legal case for them, this epi...
• Look for the Helpers 10.02.2026 28min

  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 restores our ability to hope. This conversation is an invitation to honor your personal capacity, embrace complexity, and f...
• Regulated Activism 03.02.2026 25min

  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 everything—it's about staying grounded enough to keep going. In this episode, you'll learn: What collective and vicarious traum...