ARP 393 - A Look at the FL-100 Headset for Depression

The FL-100 headset is a possible a treatment option for people that have moderate to severe depression. Well in Europe, UK and  Australia, that is true. Hopefully it is coming some time soon for folks in the U.S. 

I should mention that it is expensive and it will only be available via prescription from a doctor or medical provider. This is short episode that gives a brief overview of the product.

Resources Mentioned: 

I found the news story about the FL-100 on Reuter.com.

There is a video of a young woman giving her view about the product.  She only has one video on her YouTube page but it might give you a real world perspective about the device. 

If you would like to visit the Flow Neuroscience website, please be aware it is directed to the UK and European marketplace. You can learn about the product but they do not have a U.S. specific website set 

Emergency Resources

The Trevor Project: Provides crisis support specifically for LGBTQ+ youth through phone (1-866-488-7386), text (START to 678-678), and online chat. Available 24/7. They also provide peer support and community. 

Veterans Crisis Line: Call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or chat online. There are phone lines for those serving overseas. Visit the website to find the current status of the Veteran line and international calling options. 

National Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 for free, confidential support 24/7. This service operates independently of the 988 service. Users can use text, chat or WhatsApp as a means of contact.

Disclaimer: 

Links to other sites are provided for information purposes only and do not constitute endorsements. 

Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

ARP 392 - Quick Look at Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics

In the before times, I would have been hostile to meditation and mindfulness. I didn't have time for it, I wanted the quick cure, the fix and no B.S. I had stuff to do and no time for body symptom nonsense. I had to be karmically convinced to change my mind. 

Hard lessons. Embarrassing lessons. But I came to understand the lesson is repeated until you learn.

Meditation might work for you. It might not. But give it a fair chance.  You might not be ready for it now. That is okay. But take a moment to learn about it, understand the potential benefits and then decide. 

Resources Mentioned: 

At the Penguin Random House website you can listen to an audio sample or read the introduction chapter of the book to get a sense of if it is right for you.

Bear with me, this is a little confusing. The Harris newsletter is on Substack. There you can access links to his podcast, meditations from notables in the field and other do-dads that you might be interested in.

Mr. Harris also has a paid app called Happier Meditation. It is a subscription service starting at $99 a year.  For those that can afford the up front that come out to $10 a month or 27 cents per day. 

There may be an option for those that have money issues. You should check out the website for more info.

Co-author Jeff Warren has a page on Substack where you can find his views and teachings about meditation, access audio meditation on a wide variety of topics and meditations that focus on ADHD issues.

Emergency Resources

The Trevor Project: Provides crisis support specifically for LGBTQ+ youth through phone (1-866-488-7386), text (START to 678-678), and online chat. Available 24/7. They also provide peer support and community. 

Veterans Crisis Line: Call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or chat online. There are phone lines for those serving overseas. Visit the website to find the current status of the Veteran line and international calling options. 

National Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 for free, confidential support 24/7. This service operates independently of the 988 service. Users can use text, chat or WhatsApp as a means of contact.

Disclaimer: 

Links to other sites are provided for information purposes only and do not constitute endorsements. 

Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Rosemead Official Movie Trailer

No group of people, no culture is exempt from having a member of that culture having a mental health condition. Depending on how you were raised, you might have trouble accessing or receiving help. 

This is a trailer for the movie Rosemead. Per National Public Radio (NPR) it is based on a true story of a woman who has cancer and is dealing with her teenage son's schizophrenia. Dealing with cancer and 

schizophrenia is a challenge. 

Now put a cultural overlay of what your society accepts and denies about mental health treatment.

I want this film to be a blockbuster. It won't be but if you can find a way to see it, it would be a good thing. Make the effort.

I want accessible and affordable mental health treatment in the United States. 

Maybe someday. It is worth fighting for but it might take a while. 

Resources: 

NPR Morning Edition interview with Lucy Liu on her role in the film and cultural taboos about talking about hard topics.

Asian Mental Health Directory, a listing of therapists in the U.S. and Canada. You can filter by language, type of condition and other options.

South Asian Sexual and Mental Health Alliance (SASMHA) via their website "offer virtual and in-person community workshops, a resource hub, a podcast, and share community voices through our blog." 

The website Asian Do Therapy is trying to break the stigma of talking about a problem and seeking treatment. There is a podcast, how to find a therapist and you probably should check out the About Us page. It touches on some of the concerns folks have about getting treatment.

Emergency Resources

The Trevor Project: Provides crisis support specifically for LGBTQ+ youth through phone (1-866-488-7386), text (START to 678-678), and online chat. Available 24/7. They also provide peer support and community. 

Veterans Crisis Line: Call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or chat online. There are phone lines for those serving overseas. Visit the website to find the current status of the Veteran line and international calling options. 

National Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 for free, confidential support 24/7. This service operates independently of the 988 service. Users can use text, chat or WhatsApp as a means of contact.

Disclaimer: 

Links to other sites are provided for information purposes only and do not constitute endorsements. 

Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

ARP 391 Mindful Walking Without Your Phone

In this episode I talk about what is a mindful walking meditation, the difference between meditation and mindfulness and a few resources to help you get more information about it.

I know that in some places in the world you cannot walk freely or without consciousness of your immediate area. Some places in the U.S. do not have sidewalks. Other cities are actively hostile to pedestrians. 

The good news is that you can walk at home, in the back yard or visually in your mind.

It is okay, main thing is moving your body or your spirit.

Resources Mentioned: 

Serene Madani article on the Woman's Health Magazine website about walking outside phoneless.

Duke Health has an infographic called Mastering Box Breathing: A Simple Technique to Relieve Stress. It shows you visually and in text how to do it.

Mindful.org has a page on A Guided Walking Meditation for Daily Life. There is an audio recording as well as text to help you reconnect with the existing world.

If you really, truly cannot leave home without your phone then you do have the option of adding a meditative podcast or download one of the many guided meditations. These are some examples.

The Centre for Mindfulness Studies in Canada has a 10 minute guided walking meditation in a .m4a audio format. Android users might have problems opening this audio format.

And from Michigan State University  Extension Mindfulness for Better Living is an audio .mp3 recording by Dr. Roxane Chan with more of a emphasis on mindfulness walking.

On the Jack Kornfield website, he has an audio walking meditation you could use as you walk and it might be challenging if you are new to meditation, but if you are further along the path and struggle with wondering attention, this is a good one.

Emergency Resources

The Trevor Project: Provides crisis support specifically for LGBTQ+ youth through phone (1-866-488-7386), text (START to 678-678), and online chat. Available 24/7. They also provide peer support and community. 

Veterans Crisis Line: Call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or chat online. There are phone lines for those serving overseas. Visit the website to find the current status of the Veteran line and international calling options. 

National Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 for free, confidential support 24/7. This service operates independently of the 988 service. Users can use text, chat or WhatsApp as a means of contact.

Disclaimer: 

Links to other sites are provided for information purposes only and do not constitute endorsements. 

Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

ARP 390 A Look at the Opera Air Browser

Well, I have a new to me and probably to you do-dad to help with anxiety symptoms. It is the Opera Air Mindfulness browser. In addition to the standard browsing features it has tools to help you breath and relax, guided meditations and a musical audio mode that can help you focus. Is this a good or bad thing?

The TLDR: Some of the tech bros say it is a gimmick and who in their right mind would use it? In my bad times, I would have glommed on to it because I was looking for help. Lots of people are looking for mental health support and aren't too picky where they find it. (we should be but when a person is in pain they are going to do what they think they need to do.)

I like many of the features but there is a cost. Free ain't free especially online.

Opera Air, like many other browsers is ad supported or allow third party extensions to be used in the browser. Many browser allow ads and cookie tracking to be passed onto those third party data collectors. 

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) can hide your location and computer. You generally need to tell it what you want. A free VPN can be problematic. Who is operating it, where is the data passing through and what if it is down and you don't know it? Or it is blocking you from seeing certain web sites?

The security features require users to turn them on. If you don't, oopsie? Also, if you use those third party vendors extensions, you are subject to their terms of service which might include things you in no way agree to. 

Again, I am not bashing the browser. I like the reminders about getting up and moving or taking a breathing breaks. But I do want folks to know what the benefits to you is versus the cost of your data and personal information. 

That will be up to you to decide.

Resources Mentioned: 

If you would like to see how Opera Air works, Brett in Tech has an overview video of the features of the software.

Before you download, I would suggest reading the Opera Help Page and read the FAQs so that you understand what you gain and give up when you use the browser.

If you are interested in giving it a try the address is https://www.opera.com/air

Emergency Resources

The Trevor Project: Provides crisis support specifically for LGBTQ+ youth through phone (1-866-488-7386), text (START to 678-678), and online chat. Available 24/7. They also provide peer support and community. 

Veterans Crisis Line: Call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or chat online. There are phone lines for those serving overseas. Visit the website to find the current status of the Veteran line and international calling options. 

National Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 for free, confidential support 24/7. This service operates independently of the 988 service. Users can use text, chat or WhatsApp as a means of contact.

Disclaimer: 

Links to other sites are provided for information purposes only and do not constitute endorsements. 

Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

ARP 389 What Is Situational Anxiety?

If your are an adult human being, you have experienced situational anxiety. It is when you know that this specific thing is making you upset or anxious. It could be about money, your job, the lack of prospects of getting a job. Housing insecurity. Your car breaks down and you do not have cash or credit for the repair bill.

In this episode, a look at situational anxiety.

Resources Mentioned: 

To learn more about situational anxiety you can take a look at the page on VeryWell Mind. They do tend to go long with their description on the condition, symptoms and treatment options.  VeryWell Mind is a commercial site. It is advertiser supported. If possible, I would suggest that you use a browser like Duck Duck Go in fire mode or Vivaldi in anonymous mode.

Dennis the Anxiety Guy has a video from six years ago about handling situational anxiety. 

Dr. Andrea Dinardo, Ph.D has an extract from a longer video on the experience. 

The University of Michigan on five red flags you are dealing with situational depression. 

Emergency Resources:

The Trevor Project: Provides crisis support specifically for LGBTQ+ youth through phone (1-866-488-7386), text (START to 678-678), and online chat. Available 24/7. They also provide peer support and community. 

Veterans Crisis Line: Call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or chat online. There are phone lines for those serving overseas. Visit the website to find the current status of the Veteran line and international calling options. 

National Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 for free, confidential support 24/7. This service operates independently of the 988 service. Users can use text, chat or WhatsApp as a means of contact.

Disclaimer: 

Links to other sites are provided for information purposes only and do not constitute endorsements. 

Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Mental Health Resources for Parents of Anxious Children

I primarily talk about adult resources for anxiety conditions. That is a hard enough nut to crack. But parents of anxious children need help too. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics doctors treat children and teens. They have a page on their website that has information PDFs about anxiety treatment and mental health issues in English and Spanish. 

Some of the topics include managing depression or sadness, managing inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity, and activities to help your child or adolescent manage anxiety.

The PDFs also list other resources that provide information about child mental health.

Then there is the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP).  The have multiple guides on childhood mental health conditions. 

The AACAP has a 17 page Anxiety Parents Medication Guide on what are the anxiety disorders, medication and psychosocial treatments for anxiety.

Emergency Resources

The Trevor Project: Provides crisis support specifically for LGBTQ+ youth through phone (1-866-488-7386), text (START to 678-678), and online chat. Available 24/7. They also provide peer support and community. 

Veterans Crisis Line: Call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or chat online. There are phone lines for those serving overseas. Visit the website to find the current status of the Veteran line and international calling options. 

National Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 for free, confidential support 24/7. This service operates independently of the 988 service. Users can use text, chat or WhatsApp as a means of contact.

Disclaimer: 

Links to other sites are provided for information purposes only and do not constitute endorsements. 

Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.