What Blood, Breath, and Belonging Have to do With Healing
Episode 47: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube
View transcript on Buzzsprout
If you’ve ever had anxiety or depression symptoms that didn’t respond to generic treatments, this conversation is for you. Amanda introduces three critical (and often overlooked) pillars of healing: bloodwork, breath, and belonging. She shares client stories, scientific insights, and a look at how Regulated Living is building programs that bridge biology with behavior change.
What We Cover in This Episode
- Why anxiety and depression don’t have a single cause—and why that matters
- How internal, external, and relational stressors show up in the body
- The power of bloodwork in assessing root causes
- Why your breath is your nervous system’s love language
- How belonging impacts mental health (and why it’s not a nice-to-have)
- What it means to heal through a whole human, whole life approach
Symptoms That Make Sense
Amanda opens by challenging outdated models of mental health that label people quickly without understanding their full context. She explains why anxiety and depression are natural physiological responses to a system stuck in survival mode, and why assessing stressors inside, outside, and in between is essential for true healing.
She shares that strategic healing starts with identifying what’s driving those survival signals. For many people, the key clues are hiding in plain sight: hormone imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, poor sleep, chronic stress, disconnection, or unresolved trauma.
Bloodwork: A Missing Piece in Mental Health Care
Amanda explains why she would now begin her healing journey with comprehensive lab testing. From hormones and cortisol to vitamin levels and thyroid function, your blood can reveal stress loads your nervous system is reacting to.
She shares client stories, including a powerful example of how a Celiac diagnosis shifted everything for one woman’s anxiety, and how a lack of exploration around bloodwork led others to years of therapy with little change.
Key message: You deserve data. Bloodwork should be standard practice before medication or deep therapy.
Breath: The Nervous System’s Love Language
Next, Amanda zooms in on breath—a powerful and accessible regulation tool. She shares why dysfunctional breathing patterns (like mouth breathing or shallow chest breaths) can add stress to the system and how intentional breathwork can reverse that.
She also introduces heart rate variability (HRV) as a trackable measure of nervous system health. Tools like the Oura Ring and Apple Watch can offer feedback on how lifestyle changes—like better sleep or regular breathwork—are improving regulation.
Belonging: A Biological Imperative
Belonging isn’t just emotional. It’s biological. Amanda reminds listeners that chronic disconnection is a powerful stressor. If your system doesn’t feel safe in your relationships or communities, it can keep you in a defensive, survival-based state.
Healing means nurturing safe connection—with others and within yourself. Amanda shares how this shows up in coaching and community spaces, and why this pillar is just as critical as diet, sleep, or supplements.
A New Kind of Mental Health Support
In this episode Amanda introduces Reset, a trial program she ran shortly after. This has since grown into a new arm of her business, Regulated Health where you can work with their primary practitioner to get support you in ordering labs, interpreting personal health data, and applying it through a trauma-informed lens, Reset combines bloodwork, breath, and lifestyle change into a strategic healing path.
She also breaks down the difference between the Regulated Living Membership (previously “Rise), and Restore (1:1 anxiety & depression coaching), and how each supports different parts of the journey.
Three Tangible Takeaways
- Get your labs. Advocate for bloodwork. A functional medicine doctor or naturopath can help you interpret it through a personalized lens.
- Watch your breath. Dysfunctional breathing adds stress. Start by noticing your patterns and experimenting with slower, deeper breaths.
- Seek belonging. Healing thrives in safe connection. Notice where you feel safe, supported, and seen—and where you don’t.
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 the Regulated Living Membership, a mental health membership and nervous system healing space (sliding scale pricing available)
- Join my Release Class – Monthly guided nervous system regulation class
- Order my book, Healing Through the Vagus Nerve today!
- Download free resources here
*Want me to talk about something specific on the podcast? Let me know HERE.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified mental health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
