Today is extra special. My daughter Caiti Riden, NP (mental health nurse practitioner, lifelong learner, and absolute light) finally sat in the House of Joy chair. She opens up about her panic attacks in nursing school, a long season of depression and brain fog, and how faith, science, movement, and mentorship helped her rebuild a grounded, hope-filled life—one she now pours into her patients.

This conversation ran long (because it’s just that good!), so this is Part 1. Part 2 drops next week.

In this episode:

• Growing up with grit: failing an early exam → learning how to really study
  
  
• The first panic attacks, the “haze,” and why depression can feel like isolation in a crowded room
  
  
• The role of faith in the dark: clinging to Psalm 40 and praying through brain fog
  
  
• ICU nights, compassion fatigue, and how environment impacts mental health
  
  
• Why Caiti chose integrative psychiatry and the power of a humble mentor
  
  
• Exercise as medicine: why 3–4 moderate/intense workouts per week can rival an antidepressant
  
  
• Whole-person care: meds + mindset + lifestyle + spiritual support (no one lever fixes everything)
  
  
• Agency vs. overwhelm: what The Body Keeps the Score taught us about healing
  
  
  

If you’re in a tough season

You’re not broken and you’re not alone. This episode is your reminder that healing is possible, help is real, and hope is not naive—it’s fuel.

Don’t miss Part 2

Next week, Caiti and I go deeper on practical tools, boundaries that heal (not harden), and how she cares for her patients and herself without burning out.

— With so much love,
Edie

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