Using a personal story about a difficult uphill walk versus an easy downhill one, this episode offers a powerful and validating analogy for the healing journey. Amanda explores why life and healing can feel so hard when you're dealing with anxiety or depression, diving into the real physiological and biological reasons your body is working overtime. This episode is a compassionate reminder that your struggle is not a personal failing and that the hard "uphill" work you're doing now is what creates the conditions for life to feel easier later.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why a dysregulated nervous system is "physiologically expensive" and makes daily life feel objectively harder.
• The reasons the healing process itself—confronting the past, feeling new emotions, and changing habits—also feels uphill at first.
• How underlying physiological issues, like hormone imbalances or nutrient deficiencies, can make the healing journey feel even steeper.
• Practical strategies for navigating the "uphill" phase of healing without getting discouraged.
• What the "downhill" phase of healing looks and feels like, and the hope that it is possible.

3 Takeaways:

1. Life with anxiety or depression feels uphill because it literally IS harder. 
2. Healing feels uphill because you're investing energy to create new conditions. 
3. The uphill phase is temporary and necessary. 

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Looking for more personalized support?

• Book a FREE discovery call for RESTORE, our 1:1 anxiety & depression coaching program (HSA/FSA eligible & includes comprehensive bloodwork)
• Join me inside Regulated Living, a mental health membership and nervous system healing space (sliding scale pricing available)
• Order my book, Healing Through the Vagus Nerve today!

*Want me to talk about something specific on the podcast? Let me know HERE.

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