EPISODE 44 Do you struggle staying regulated this time of year? Maybe you have more anxiety around holiday events? Feel high expectations from others and have a hard time setting boundaries? Juggling real life and the “magic” of the season can feel exhausting. The financial pressures and pressure to make new goals as the new year approaches is a lot. I address all of this and more in today’s episode. This is part 2 of a mini series more candidly answering 10 listener submissions to the...

EPISODE 43 The holidays can be a lot — a lot of joy and a lot of hard. I asked you all what you struggle with most in the winter or around the holidays so I could offer some more personalized support for my listeners. This and next week I’ll work through more candidly answering 10 of the submissions. I’ll list all 10 here, but not before I invite you to join me at the end of this month for my biggest community event of the year (& it’s totally free). Join me for my annual NYE circle...

EPISODE 42 Join me for a conversation about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), more commonly referred to as Seasonal Depression. What makes SAD unique is its timing, it has a distinct seasonal onset, typically in winter, and a spontaneous remission of symptoms sometime in spring. In short, it’s just normal depression with a seasonal pattern.  In this conversation I'll unpack more on what it is, what might be contributing to it and some research supported things you can do to alleviate...

EPISODE 41 One thing I hear a lot from people who come to work with us are, “I’m tired of just talking about how I feel, I want to actually DO something about it.” Talking is a really important and special part of healing and it’s not enough if your underlying physiology is depleted, hypersensitive, or packed with unprocessed trauma. Getting into the DOING alongside the talking, processing, and space holding is something my coaching methodology specializes in. It’s not always a sexy to say,...

EPISODE 40 Feeling overwhelmed by the endless to-do and a life that feels mostly stressful most of the time? It's time to take control and edit your stress bucket. Think of it as a gentle dance of self-awareness and adjustments, not a one-time fix. Now, the fun part (IMO): the "Delete, Delegate, Different" method. Delete stressors that drain you and are unnecessary. Delegate tasks that others can handle, freeing up your time and energy. For stressors that can't be deleted or delegated, find...

EPISODE 39 In this episode, we're diving into the 3rd step of the Stress Bucket Exercise, which is all about managing your stress bucket. You'll learn three ways to increase your "buffer zone" and manage our stress bucket: poking holes in the bucket, "scooping" out, and making your bucket bigger. 🪣 We also discuss the difference between baseline stressors and daily stressors - this distinction matter because the way that you manage those particular stressors can look different from the...

EPISODE 38 In this episode I admit that as a thirty-something year old I currently have the average heart rate variability of a healthy 60 year old. I've significantly decreased the chronic stress load on my nervous system, but unfortunately not before it took a really and measurable toll. The good new is that there are ways to improve HRV, things I'm actively doing in my life today. The bottom line though is that we HAVE to, and I'm speaking as much to myself as I am to you right now, we...

We’ve all heard the saying you can’t pour from an empty cup, but I’d also like to put a twist on it today and say you can’t add to a full one. Join me for part 1 in a 4 part series unpacking the steps to the Stress Bucket Exercise. Todays conversation is all about step 1: Assess - this answers the question of, "What is in my stress bucket?" Until you can get it out of your head and onto paper you'll likely stay mostly stressed most of the time - and that's no way to live! Join me while I walk...

None of us will ever be a perfect friend, parent, partner, or self-healer – so one of the most valuable skills we can learn is how to repair. In the last two episodes I’ve shared pretty openly that my default survival mode is FIGHT, I’m someone who’s nervous system is still pretty primed for quick activation and as a result I’ve often shown up in relationship with other people in way’s I'm less proud of. Join me for a conversation on how to return and repair, first with yourself and then with...

Episode 35 Last week we talked about default survival responses and I invited you to see if you could identify yours – if you haven’t listened to that episode yet I recommend starting there because today’s conversation is a natural extension of that chat where I’ll expand on reasons why it might be helpful to identify your partner’s default way of responding when their sense of self or safety feels at all threatened and how even if they never consciously acknowledge their default survival...

EPISODE 34 When you're in an argument or when something doesn't go according to plan - do you face it head on? Avoid conflict? Say sorry when it wasn't your fault? Shut down? We all have a default way of responding when our sense of self or safety is threatened, and that default response looks different for each of us based on biology, our past lived experiences, and the percieved intensity of the threat. In this episode I unpack identifying what your default survival mode ore response is...

Episode 33 It can feel important and go undone if your capacity isn’t there. For me right now sitting on the porch with my kid is more important than a lot of the house projects I’d like to get done. And getting to bed by 9:30pm is more important to me than any shows I want to watch or DM’s I want to get caught up on. Ask yourself, what takes care of me so that I can better take care of my kids? Choose that.  If you’re a parent to young kids, the most important thing you can do is model for...

Episode 32 Have you ever felt like being a parent is simultaneously the best and hardest thing you'd ever done? In my opinion, it is both of those things. Today's conversation is guided by some incredible and vulnerable parents who submitted questions to my AMA form that I want to provide some support for today. We chat through navigating anxiety & depression, activation and shut down, as parents. I'll offer a simple way to audit your "load" as a means to increasing your capacity...

🗝️ In this special episode, I'm diving into questions submitted by our amazing listeners. I'll be sharing insights and offering thoughts on a variety of topics that you've been curious about. This format is something I'd love to do more of in the future, so keep those questions coming! Drop your questions or struggles in the form link below for future AMA episodes.⁠ ⁠🔍 In this episode, I covered three key questions: Question #1: How to communicate with our family/friends when something they...

EPISODE 30 If you’ve been trying to heal your health anxiety & haven’t been able to, it might be because you’re missing one of the 4 evidence-based approaches I discuss in today's episode. My hope is that this 2 part mini series on health anxiety gives you a really clear roadmap as to some possible next steps on your journey to overcoming health anxiety. We'll discuss the brains built in negativity bias and why some people can calmly float through health issues and other cannot before...

Episode 29 In this 2-episode mini series on health anxiety we'll discuss what it is and how to overcome it using an evidence based 4-pronged approach. Join me today to learn more about the anxiety response in your brain and body, how this applies to health anxiety, and an exercise to explore your unique experience of health anxiety symptoms, thoughts, and behaviors. Gaining understanding of the basic physiology of anxiety and how you uniquely experience it in a health related ways lays a...

Episode 28 The minute we are born we start to lay down patterns of protection and connection.  Join me for a reflective conversation on the piece of your healing that might be impacted by early patterns of protection and how vital laying down new patterns of connection are to your healing. I offer some suggestions in this episodes takeaways on how you might be able to do just that. Hit play to learn more! Join the next ATTUNEMENT CLASS mentioned in the podcast, use the code "ATTUNE" for 40%...

Have you felt like you've been checking a lot of the boxes but still don't feel like you're making much progress in your healing? Today's conversation discusses the difference between in-the-moment nervous system regulation tools vs having a more regulated nervous system overall. The reality is, there’s no amount of healthy living, reactive regulation, or vagal toning exercises that can take the place of setting boundaries in toxic relationships, putting people in your life who cherish you,...

Today you get another more candid conversation where I share with you some fundamental pieces that need to be in place on your healing journey. You will never be able to talk therapy, vagal tone, or meditate your way to healing anxiety or depression if you're sleeping 5 hours a night, eating crappy food, sitting too much, or hanging out with toxic people. Certain people who benefitted from the unhealed version of you will be frustrated by your efforts to heal, heal anyways. True healing takes...

The same way a professional athlete creates a game plan for specific scenarios they may find themself in during their next match – you too can create a game plan to guide your towards regulation when you find yourself dysregulated in states of activation or shut down, anxiety or depression. In today’s episode I walk you through creating a “Regulation Game Plan” which creates a map for how you can best move from states of dysregulation to regulation giving you quick access to the reactive...

CLICK HERE to submit a question for me to answer on our next "Ask Amanda" episode. Today I answered 3 questions from listeners just like you! We talked about how to build in self care as a parent, EMDR vs our 1:1 coaching, and a desire for advice and tangible tools for depression. Hit play to learn more! CLICK HERE for full show notes + 3 takeaways! - Want a free 7-day trial of RISE, my mental health membership and nervous system healing space? SUBMIT a screenshot of your rating/review...

ADHD is one of the most common overlapping diagnosis for people who struggle with anxiety or depression. Today I take you on a little trip down my personal exploration of whether my symptoms that were diagnosed as ADHD were actually ADHD or rather a natural result of the unsustainable life I was living at the time. I also invite you to muse about some of the same things if it applies to you. Hit play to hear the conclusion I came to for myself and to hear more details about my story. CLICK...

Episode 22 Join me for a less polished episode where I pull back the curtain a bit on this whole podcast thing and give you a peak into the juggling act that is my life as a business owner, mom, and podcast host. I also share my desire for you to play an active role in this podcast, here's the two links I mention: Have a question? Are you struggling with something you'd like feedback on? CLICK HERE Want a 7-day free trial of RISE, my monthly mental health membership and nervous system...

Episode 21 This is part 3 of a 3 episode mini series about depression. It's not enough to understand WHY you're struggling with depression, you also need to have tangible tools to regulate your nervous system and heal. In this episode we will build on the education and exploration from part 1 & 2 of this mini series. You'll learn that the secret to regulating your nervous system is to first meet it where it's at and then layer on various regulation tools to walk it towards feeling more...

This is part 2 of a 3 episode mini series about depression. Welcome to Part 2 of my 3-episode depression series. Today's conversations first discusses dissociation, what it is and why it happens. I then invite you into exploring how you uniquely experience this shut down state. Mapping this nervous system state involves exploring the different sesnation, emotions, thoughts, and behviors that you experience there. The more familiar you become with why and how you uniquely experience...