Once upon a time I had this guy call me on Thanksgiving day to sell his carpet cleaning service. He probably thought is was a good idea, everybody would be home. Probably had that 100 calls mentality.  I was not joyful or merry when I got that call. I did not curse him out. I reminded him that it was Thanksgiving day. The call ended shortly after that statement.   For some of us, this is the start of enforced joy and merriment. The imperative to buy, buy and buy some more.    I want for you a different imperative. To take care of yourself as best you can. Watch what you ..read more

In this episode, a look at adult people that grew up in an addictive or dysfunctional family. Because if you did, there is a good chance you might have an anxiety condition or a related mental health problem.   How do you get to be an adult child of a dysfunctional family. There are many pathways.    Many are raised in an abusive or addictive family. Others are raised in a generational trauma system.    Some people are raised by adults who do not have a clue about how to be a parent because they were never taught or exposed to a healthy, stable or loving environment ..read more

I did an episode about ACEs a long time ago. It was okay but I know a bit more now.    At the time I said something to the effect, "Childhood isn't easy even in the best of families, but what if your family of origin contributed to your current condition? I'm not saying that it has, but what if it did?"   That part was ok but listening to it now I did not fully define it or give examples.    When you know better, you do better. This is probably a three part series about childhood events that might have contributed to an anxiety condition.    If you need suppo ..read more

Worry is powerful, it can dishearten you and have you see nothing but shades of gray. There are techniques that even anxious people can use to reduce the amount of worry and get on with the business of the day.    I've been around a few spins around the sun. There have been very few times when things haven't been crazy on this planet. Especially with humans having access to weapons.   Gasses me up just to think about it. The only people and industries happy about current events are profiteers and weapon makers.    Which is why you have to be careful about making glob ..read more

I try to stay off of sites like Kickstarter and Indigogo. Too much temptation and even more disappointment. Back in the day, I use to support the up and coming companies.    But I got tired of waiting sometimes month before the product arrived. I have been burned by companies that found out it was hard to be an innovator.   Few days ago, I got an email that I was about to toss in the trash. Looked like spam. Anyway, I found out that it is an actual company that claims to treat anxiety, sleep problems and helping to focus attention.   Supposedly, this is a device that you pl ..read more

I'm on the summer slow down vibe, but there are lots of interesting ways to handle and reduce symptoms. One of those ways is combining a breathing practice with humming. To be clear, I'm talking about the sound that humans make with their mouths. Usually involves the sound "hum". Take the human body, the Vagus nerve and an open mind and you just might have an additional tool to tell the body to relax, there isn't a danger or problem. Might work for you. Might not.  I do know that it is a free, no risk, non-toxic option to try. This is a quick introduction to the topic and a few resources ..read more

As I mention in the podcast, it is the eight anniversary of the podcast. The need to connect people to the various mental health services  is still necessary. There have been times that my symptoms were stable and I could crank out an episode, no problem.   But there are times when I'm at high tide, the symptoms are showing themselves to the public and I can or cannot produce an episode.   Thing is, more often or not, I found a way. Making mistakes. Learning new ideas and concepts. Understanding that treatment is an ever expanding concept.   In 2015 I did not say anything a ..read more

It has been a while since I’ve mentioned this; the focus on the podcast is for folks that have been medically diagnosed with an anxiety condition or disorder.    However, all are welcome. The over-stressed, the somewhat anxious or those that are up against it and don’t know what to do.   Everybody has anxiety. That is normal and necessary. We need it for our personal safety and awareness that there is a possible problem or danger. Anxiety’s job is to bring awareness. Not a good thing or a bad thing.    For some of us, our anxiety alert system is out of whack. Our brain ..read more

EFT Tapping, that takes me back a couple of years. Back when there was limited 240x 120 size video on websites. My symptoms were really bad that that time. I tried to make sense of it. I couldn't. Not with a 56k modem.   I quickly moved on to other possible help sources. About a year ago, I saw a EFT Tapping video. I tried it out. It did work for me if I was on the edge of an attack. Not so much if I have a big hella whopper of one, but that might be just me.    This time, I went looking for answers.   I did find some. Not enough to satisfy folks on the medical evidence-ba ..read more

It has been a few days and some of us are struggling hard. I want to give just a few ideas on how to deal with Class A, what the heck kind of pain is this?   For this space in time, find a moment to just be. For some of us, disassociation is not a bad thing. I don't recommend it for a day-to-day experience but if it gets you to the store and back, score.   For other, you might have a crying jag or two. It is okay. I understand.    When you are ready, we will start again and work our way to better health. In the meantime, don't be ground down.    Don't give your ti ..read more