Kreatures Of Habit Podcast: Amanda Armstrong on Reframing Depression & Anxiety: How To Regulate & Rewire the Nervous System

Host: Michael Chernow
Guest: Amanda Armstrong
Release Date: March 26, 2025

Introduction

In this enlightening episode of the Kreatures of Habit podcast, host Michael Chernow welcomes Amanda Armstrong, a renowned neuroscience and trauma-informed mental health coach. The conversation delves deep into understanding anxiety and depression through the lens of the autonomic nervous system, offering listeners transformative insights and practical tools to regulate and rewire their nervous systems for improved mental well-being.

Guest Background and Journey

Amanda Armstrong shares her compelling journey from personal struggles to becoming a leading mental health coach. With a master's degree in kinesiology focusing on exercise psychology, Amanda's path was profoundly influenced by her sister's battle with depression and her own experiences as a college athlete and personal trainer.

• Turning Point:
  At [03:55], Amanda recounts a pivotal moment at Google where a client informed her that exercise had helped them discontinue antidepressants. This revelation shifted her career focus from international relations to mental health, driven by a desire to make a tangible difference.

• Personal Struggles:
  Amanda opened up about her long-term battle with anxiety, exacerbated by her mother's illness during her teenage years. She described a pattern of over-functioning and chronic undersleeping, leading to a misdiagnosis of ADHD and reliance on medication without addressing underlying stressors ([04:04] – [15:11]).

• Professional Evolution:
  Her work at Google allowed her to blend physical and mental health, conducting pilot studies that merged personal training with mental wellness. This unique approach laid the foundation for her current practice, emphasizing the physiological aspects of mental health.

Understanding Anxiety and Depression

Amanda redefines anxiety and depression not as disorders but as adaptive responses of the autonomic nervous system to overwhelming stressors.

• Adaptive Responses:
  "Anxiety is not a disorder. If you are under sleeping, undernourished, overstressed, you don't have good social connections, you are supposed to feel unsafe." ([00:00])
  These states are survival mechanisms, with anxiety representing an activated, alert state, and depression representing a shutdown or overwhelmed state.

• Spectrum of Survival Mode:
  Amanda introduces a ladder analogy to illustrate the spectrum of nervous system states:

  • Green Zone: Regulated and calm.
  • Yellow Zone: Activation (Anxiety) – Mobilization, fight or flight.
  • Red Zone: Shutdown (Depression) – Dissociation, disconnection.

  "Anxiety is physiology that's mobilized to flee... Depression is designed to disconnect you so that you don't have to feel further harm, emotional or physical." ([15:52] – [19:53])

• Quote Highlight:
  "Your symptoms aren't here to piss you off. They're here to communicate something to you that it's too much, too fast, too soon, too often." ([00:39])

Regulating and Rewiring the Nervous System

Amanda emphasizes the importance of understanding and working with one's physiology to navigate through anxiety and depression effectively.

• Human Connection:
  Genuine, safe human connections are paramount in mitigating shutdown states. Amanda advises finding spaces or communities where one can feel safe and understood. ([22:47])

• Breathwork Techniques:
  Amanda introduces various breathwork methods tailored to one's current state:

  • Double Breathing: Activates the nervous system for those feeling overly fatigued.
  • Diaphragmatic Breathing: Extends the exhale to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation.

  "Diaphragmatic breathing... turns on your body's relaxation response." ([37:38] – [40:32])

• Vision Therapy Drills:
  Amanda describes simple visualization exercises, like "color spotting," to engage the peripheral vision and provide cognitive distraction from stressors. ([33:29] – [35:39])

• Practical Application:
  During a panic attack, Amanda shares her personal technique of intentional hyperventilation followed by movement and social support to reset her nervous system ([42:03] – [46:26]).

Establishing Effective Habits and Routines

Amanda outlines her approach to building sustainable habits that support nervous system regulation, both in the morning and evening.

• Morning Routine:
  Although currently adapting due to pregnancy, Amanda's morning rituals include a glass of water, a protein-focused breakfast, morning sunlight, and breathwork combined with vision drills. ([30:54] – [37:36])

• Evening Routine and Sleep Hygiene:
  Amanda stresses the importance of winding down by reducing screen time gradually before bed, dimming home lights, and establishing calming pre-sleep rituals like candle book nights with her children.
  "Quit putting your phone on your nightstand... allow the lights in your home to dim as the sun goes down." ([47:04] – [53:50])

• Tiny Habits Approach:
  Inspired by BJ Fogg's "Tiny Habits" methodology, Amanda advocates for starting small to build momentum without self-judgment. She emphasizes adjusting motivation, ability, and prompts to create lasting behavioral changes. ([47:04] – [53:50])

Practical Tools and Takeaways

• Breathwork Tools:
  Amanda provides actionable breathwork techniques for both upregulating and downregulating the nervous system, tailored to individual needs.
  "With every breath you take, when you inhale, your heart rate speeds up just a little bit...extend your exhale to communicate safety." ([37:36] – [40:32])

• Visual Cues:
  Using a mala bracelet as a tangible reminder to practice breathing techniques, Amanda highlights the effectiveness of visual cues in habit formation. ([33:00] – [35:39])

• Movement as Medicine:
  Consistent walking is advocated as a powerful tool for those in depressive states, offering gentle mobilization and environmental change to foster connection and reduce stored stress.
  "Walking is one of the best things that we can do... It changes your environment and takes you from feeling hopeless to being active." ([27:02] – [28:03])

Conclusion and Resources

Amanda concludes by reiterating the non-pathologizing approach to mental health, emphasizing agency and the ability to navigate one's nervous system ladder with the right tools. She encourages listeners to start small, be compassionate with themselves, and seek connections that foster healing.

• Further Resources:

  • Podcast: Regulate and Rewire, an Anxiety and Depression Podcast
  • Book: Healing through the Vagus Nerve (available on Amazon)
  • Website: RiseAsWeRise.com – For one-on-one coaching and group memberships.

• Quote Highlight:
  "It doesn't matter how far gone you believe you are, everybody can change. And it's going to start with tiny little things that you do." ([56:09] – [57:20])

• Final Thoughts:
  Michael Chernow expresses profound gratitude for Amanda's insights, highlighting the actionable tools provided and the potential for listeners to implement these strategies in their own lives.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Adaptive Nature of Symptoms:
  "Your symptoms aren't here to piss you off. They're here to communicate something to you that it's too much, too fast, too soon, too often." ([00:39])

• Defining the Nervous System Spectrum:
  "Anxiety is physiology that's mobilized to flee... Depression is designed to disconnect you so that you don't have to feel further harm, emotional or physical." ([15:52])

• Human Connection as Healing:
  "Genuine, safe human connection is the number one mitigator to being in that shutdown state." ([22:47])

• Morning Routine Principles:
  "Your morning routine starts the night before because your morning routine starts with the quantity and the quality of rest that you got." ([30:54])

• Tiny Habits Philosophy:
  "Successful behavior is always a combination of your motivation, ability, how hard is the habit, and the prompt." ([47:04])

Final Encouragement

Amanda Armstrong's profound insights transform the conventional understanding of anxiety and depression, framing them as natural, adaptive responses rather than debilitating disorders. Her holistic approach, combining physiological understanding with practical habits, offers a roadmap for listeners to regain control and foster mental resilience. By embracing tiny habits, breathwork, and meaningful connections, individuals can navigate their nervous system ladder towards a more regulated and fulfilling life.

Subscribe to the Kreatures of Habit podcast to stay updated with transformative conversations that can potentially change your life. Share this episode with someone who could benefit from Amanda's expert guidance and tools for mental well-being.