Summer Slowdown or How Two Computers Got Me on the Ropes

I hate giving up but sometimes a retreat is necessary. Wish I could go to a retreat but that ain't happening. I know when I'm licked and I'm licked. 

Not one but two computers have me on the ropes ducking punches.

So this is just a brief update of what's going on with me. 

And what's going to be happening for the next couple of weeks. So in housekeeping news, I'm on summer slowdown mode until September.  Probably one or two episodes a month.

Between my old computer dying on me and my new computer not recognizing my microphone the way I needed to recognize my microphone. 

And it sounds like I have a sore throat. It's only because I've recorded the same episode on hoarding 10 times and gotten really progressively bad results. I am going to take a break and give up the fight and really figure out how I'm going to make this work. 

So, I plan to come back. Fairly soon to put up a proper episode, but for right now, I'm stumped. 

 I'm going to go do something nice for myself and get out of this chair. I'll talk to you sometime in the future. Not too far away, I do wanna put up a proper episode, but today's not going to be that day. I'll catch you next time on the anxiety road.

If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

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.

Show 221 Pebble in the Road Being Out of Order

On one of the BBC web pages is an video about a man who started walking to control his panic attacks. it turned into a mission and career. 

I admire his determination and his ultimate goal of doing that in other countries of the world. 

I'm trying to hold my space in the here and now. Not as easy as it sound. But it is important. Find your peace where you can.  In this episode a quick look at burnout resources. 

We all need a helping hand but some of us need just a bit more in dark times. If times are that bad contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

Resources Mentioned: 

Burnout Prevention and Treatment by Helpguide.org

Psychology Today article by Sherrie Bourg Carter Psy.D. gives an overview of what burnout is and what are some of the symptoms.

There is a podcast called Hurry Slowly where Jocelyn Giel looks at the power of slowing down.

2017 Slate article Therapy Is Great, but I Still Need Medication

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.

Show 214 Decision Fatigue

Hi folks, I'm going into virtual vacation mode. This episode is the inspiration I need to take a break. The brain is mush. And not the good kind either. 

I'll either skip a couple of weeks or make short episodes. If you are new to the podcast, there is plenty of topics in the archives for you to check out.

Decision Fatigue is about thinking exhaustion. At some point you can't make a decision or you make one to get people out of your face. Make the wrong decision and they will be back to remind you of it. 

Decision Fatigue is when your brain has made too many decisions in a period of time. Your reasoning, quality of the decisions and what you are willing to do not to make a decision is in play.

Do I want ice cream, sorbet or water ice? That is too complicated for me right now. 

In many of the pages of the Internet there is advice about fighting, overcoming and how to guard against having it affect you.

Some of the sources are linked below.

But why does everything have to be a fight? Or stomped to the ground?  Check out the resources below and see if they help make the concept clear. 

If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

Resources Mentioned: 

Therapist Joe Borders page on Anxiety and Decision Fatigue.

The Center for Anxiety in New York has a page about Overcoming Decision Fatigue.

Four Remedies for Decision Fatigue from University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business

Melody Wilding's post about Stressed? Try This 1 Minute Self-Care Practice To Regain Control. 

2018 article on How to Prevent Decision Fatigue at Verywell Mind.

How To Beat Decision Fatigue With Better Brain Habits a 2018 blog post at Trello.

The Complexities of Decision Making from the Human Factor Blog.

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.

Show 184 - Finding My Way Back and KWOL

As I like to mention in the podcast, I have a long list of things that I am not. At the top of the list is not being perfect. I got lost inside of my head. Anger and depression can do that to you.

KWOL is an adaptation of an educational outline used for K-12 students known as KWL, knowledge, want to learn and learned.

The O in my version stands for option, what are my options going forward.
So yeah I got lost on the road a bit but I found a way to help me get back.




If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

Resources Mentioned: 

December 2019 NPR story about thousands of Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Care workers are picketing due to the overwhelming demand of patient work loads and wait times for seeing patients.


The FCC Proposes 988 for Suicide Prevention & Mental Health Hotline, currently the national number is 1-800-273-TALK but the goal is to have one centralized easy to remember number for assistance.

Kansas has a mental health assistance site for Kansas farmers and their families; from what I can see it is a collection of financial resources, existing governmental health sites and articles on mental health issues.

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.

Show 149 - Five Things to Know About Serotonin

Lots to talk about in this episode, doctors getting burned out, more resources for managing stress and five things to know about the chemical Serotonin.






If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

Resources Mentioned: 

From Reuters.com article about physicians burnout.  The Happy MD has more resources for those docs who need some help and speaks to them on their wave length

Medscape article on physician burnout, depression and suicide report for 2019.

The National Alliance On Mental Illness (NAMI) has a post on 7 Tools for Managing Traumatic Stress.

For iOS and Apple Watch users, Stepz App for charting your movement and steps throughout your day.

Health Harvard Blog on Nutritional Psychiatry Your brain on food and how the foods you eat can have an effect on your mind and body.

Dana Foundation Neurotransmitters of the brain.

Dr Alex Korb article on How to Strengthen Your Brain's Happiness Circuitry and his post on Psychology Today on Boosting Your Serotonin Activity.

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.

Show 125 Short Introduction to Grit

It starts with irritation. You try to do something, it doesn't work out. What do you do? For some of us, our anxiety, our phobias and panic attacks are our grit. It forces us to take action.

This is a short introduction to one kind of grit. The kind that makes you uncomfortable.






Please step away from the deep six. If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

Resources Mentioned: 

Wil Wheaton's Medium article on having depression and generalized anxiety.
The Sassy Psychologist: Stop being an a**hole to yourself in The Suburban (Quebec,CA)

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith talks about what he knew about Coach Lue's condition in March 2018.

ESPN full interview with Kevin Love, where he talks not only about basketball but also about having panic attacks. The linked version starts at the point where he talks about panic attacks.

The Sassy Psychologist website where there are more articles about mental health and socialization issues.

The Anxy Magazine. Issue #1 was about anger. Issue #2 was about workaholism and #3 is about boundaries. 

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.

Show 124 Tips for Dealing with Anxiety and Burnout - Pebble In the Road

How do you know that you are in burn out mode? And what can you do about it?

This is a quickie episode as I continue to face the pile of salt that I have to remove grain by grain from my life. You get snow blind after a while. Taking a break is important.

Really important.




If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

Resources (Not) Mentioned: 

The States of Burnout - you don't want to get to #3 if you can help it.

Trent Lapinski - How I Overcame Burnout, he uses meditation, exercise and cutting back on energy drinks.

Anxiety at Work - The Road to Burnout- from the honeymoon to full burnout.

Delilah Helton Eliminate Burnout – A Guided Meditation To Avoid Burnout

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.