Regulate & Rewire: An Anxiety & Depression Podcast

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 foundation for approaching it without shame.
The nervous system underneath self-harm is physiologically dysregulated, not just psychologically. Healing has to target the nervous system itself, not just thoughts or behaviors in isolation.
Effective alternatives work when they do the same jobs as self-harm — building discharge pathways and widening the window of tolerance. That takes time and often professional support, and healing is genuinely possible.
CLICK HERE for the full show notes, resources, and 3 tangible takeaways!
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Resources:
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988
Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741
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Research referenced in this episode:
Cornell Research Program on Self-Injury and Recovery — The Neurobiology of NSSI
PMC/NIH — Self-harm and emotional regulation research
MedlinePlus — Self-harm overview
Nature Mental Health (2025) — Electrodermal activity and self-harm
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Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Website: https://www.regulatedliving.com/podcast

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @amandaontherise

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amandaontherise

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 systems that drive how we feel: bilateral movement, cortisol metabolism, blood sugar stabilization, and sleep regulation.
The right goal is a stretch from where you actually are, not where you think you should be. 
If you're already moving consistently and still struggling, something else needs your attention. 
CLICK HERE for the full show notes, resources, and 3 tangible takeaways!
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Looking for more personalized support?
 1:1 Coaching (RESTORE):  Learn more or book a free discovery call (HSA/FSA eligible & includes comprehensive bloodwork)
 Regulated Living Membership:  A mental health membership and nervous system healing space (sliding scale pricing available). Join here.
Order my book: Healing Through the Vagus Nerve
*Want me to talk about something specific on the podcast? Let me know HERE.
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Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Website: https://www.regulatedliving.com/podcast

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @amandaontherise

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amandaontherise

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 impulse to flush everything and start over, and what chronic consumption does to your inner knowing.
3 Takeaways:
When something you love starts to feel overwhelming, ask first: is this thing itself the trigger, or is it just the final drop in an already full bucket? Those two scenarios need different responses.
Your nervous system learned the associations it's operating from — which means it can unlearn them. But rewiring requires capacity first. Regulation before rewiring, every time.
That immediate felt sense of relief when you make the right edit is data. Your nervous system giving you real time feedback that you made a good call. Trust that signal.
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Looking for more personalized support?
 1:1 Coaching (RESTORE):  Learn more or book a free discovery call (HSA/FSA eligible & includes comprehensive bloodwork)
 Regulated Living Membership:  A mental health membership and nervous system healing space (sliding scale pricing available). Join here.
Order my book: Healing Through the Vagus Nerve
*Want me to talk about something specific on the podcast? Let me know HERE.
—
Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Website: https://www.regulatedliving.com/podcast

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @amandaontherise

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amandaontherise

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 support actually looks like inside RESTORE.
3 Takeaways:
Know the phase or season of healing you’re in and try to match you expectations and support to your actual capacity.
Healing has a general sequence. Education & awareness, regulation, rewiring, and resourcing.J umping ahead of the foundation, trying to do deep rewiring work before your nervous system has the capacity to hold it, is where people get stuck or sometimes get worse.
Knowing different is not the same as living different. The gap between understanding what needs to change and actually changing it is real — and it's not a willpower problem. It's a capacity and support problem. Strategic, personalized, whole-human support is what bridges that gap. And if you’re looking for that kind of support, we’re here.
Book a RESTORE Discovery Call — pressure-free conversation to explore if RESTORE is the right fit
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Looking for more personalized support?
 1:1 Coaching (RESTORE):  Learn more or book a free discovery call (HSA/FSA eligible & includes comprehensive bloodwork)
 Regulated Living Membership:  A mental health membership and nervous system healing space (sliding scale pricing available). Join here.
Order my book: Healing Through the Vagus Nerve
*Want me to talk about something specific on the podcast? Let me know HERE.
—
Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Website: https://www.regulatedliving.com/podcast

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @amandaontherise

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amandaontherise

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 thinking exercise — letting things go has a felt sense, and that response is normal.

3 Takeaways:
Poking holes — reactive regulation tools — matters, but it's not the same as editing. Editing is about changing what goes in your bucket, not just managing the overflow. That's a fundamentally different kind of work.
The 3 D's — delete, delegate, do differently — plus add on the supporter side give you a concrete framework for acting on what your filter revealed. They apply most directly to your daily stressors. Editing baseline stressors often requires deeper, more sustained support.
Move slow. Editing is a continuous pruning, not a one-time overhaul. Choose one thing, do it until it's your new normal, then choose one more. And when grief, guilt, or discomfort shows up in the process — that's not a sign you're doing it wrong. It means you're doing something real.
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Looking for more personalized support?
 1:1 Coaching (RESTORE):  Learn more or book a free discovery call (HSA/FSA eligible & includes comprehensive bloodwork)
 Regulated Living Membership:  A mental health membership and nervous system healing space (sliding scale pricing available). Join here.
Order my book: Healing Through the Vagus Nerve
*Want me to talk about something specific on the podcast? Let me know HERE.

Website: https://www.regulatedliving.com/podcast

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @amandaontherise

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amandaontherise