Content advisory: This episode discusses brain injury, anxiety, seizures, and depression, and it may be distressing for some listeners.
Note: This episode shares personal reflections and is not a substitute for professional advice.
The Support and Kindness Podcast with Greg and Rich launches with a brief, practical conversation about those sudden moments when your mind goes blank. Drawing on lived experience with brain injury, anxiety, seizures, and depression, the hosts share simple strategies to reorient, calm the nervous system, and move forward with self-compassion.
Hosts: Greg and Rich.
Greg and Rich open by framing blank moments not as personal failures but as common human experiences.
Rich emphasizes perspective:
“It happens to us. It’s the human condition. Minds go blank.”
He notes this affects people across ages and conditions — teens, aging parents, and people with traumatic brain injuries alike — and urges listeners to avoid harsh self-judgment.
Greg echoes that reassurance:
“It really does happen to everybody,”
and reminds listeners that blank moments often stem from stress or overload, not necessarily deterioration of health.
Both hosts offer fast, practical steps to regain context when you freeze.
“The toughest thing to do but the most helpful thing to do is to just ask what's going on.”
Use self-orienting questions.
Greg suggests asking yourself:
“What was I doing?”
“Where am I?”
Use tech-based refresh moves.
Greg also recommends using tech-based refresh moves — for example:
tapping back 15 seconds in a video, or
checking browsing history —
to recover the thread:
“Go back and get the context—what was I doing, and where was I?” (Greg).
Rich describes relying on context clues — the subject matter of a conversation, what’s on the screen, or the paper in front of you — to piece the moment back together:
“I pick it up through the subject matter, the conversation around me or the program that I'm watching.”
Greg gives practical examples like checking recent tabs or notes and hitting the browser back button to retrace steps.
They also endorse simple social scripts to reduce awkwardness:
“It’s okay to use, ‘My mind went blank—can you catch me up?’” (Rich).
To calm anxiety when a blank moment triggers panic, Greg guides a short sensory grounding exercise:
Breathe in through the nose.
Hold briefly.
Exhale slowly while imagining a safe place.
Engage all your senses in that safe place — sight, sound, touch, smell, taste — to re-anchor the body and mind.
Greg adds an important physiological observation:
“Sometimes anxiety makes us clamp down. Softening and breathing helps more than gripping tighter.”
He also advises noticing and relaxing clenched muscles rather than tightening them.
Both hosts validate taking a break when needed.
Rich suggests that leaving the room is a legitimate option to avoid humiliation or tension:
“You can leave and excuse yourself when your mind goes blank.”
Greg affirms that a brief pause — stepping away to reset — can be a simple, effective strategy to regain composure and context.
Minds go blank for many reasons; it’s common and not a personal failure.
Ask orienting questions:
“What’s going on?”
“Where am I?”
“What was I doing?”
Use context clues (screen, conversation, notes) or quick tech moves (15-second rewind, back button) to retrace your steps.
Use grounding breath and sensory visualization to calm anxiety and relax muscles.
Release the urge to “grip harder” when anxious — softening often helps more.
It’s okay to ask for a quick summary or to excuse yourself briefly to reset.
Compassion toward yourself is more helpful than harsh self-judgment.
This short episode reminds listeners that blank moments happen to everyone and that simple, compassionate strategies — asking for context, using cues, grounding breath, and giving yourself permission to pause — can help you recover. We invite Hive readers to share their experiences or tips in the comments and to support one another with kindness.
We host free online support groups every week. Each group offers a safe, confidential space to connect with people who understand similar struggles and to find practical, emotional, and peer support.
Brain Injury Support Group
Life after a brain injury can affect memory, mood, physical ability, and relationships. Whether you’re newly diagnosed or have lived with it for years, recovery is often slow and complicated. Our online Brain Injury Support Group offers a caring community where members share experiences, give practical tips, and support each other through the ups and downs.
Chronic Pain Support Group
Living with chronic pain can be lonely and tiring. This group offers support, understanding, and practical tips to reduce isolation, build strength, and improve daily life.
Mental Health Support Group
Our Mental Health Support Group provides a welcoming space to talk about depression, anxiety, and emotional wellness. Through open conversation and peer support, members work to reduce stigma and find practical ways to heal and connect.
To sign up, visit our Luma Calendar:
https://luma.com/calendar/cal-oyT0VPlVTKCPxBw
Listen to the episode here:
https://podopshost.com/68bb1f4767d04/48431
#kindness, #CWH, #podcast, #mentalhealth, #anxiety, #depression, #braininjury, #tbi, #chronicillness, #neurodivergent
Edited with the help of GPT-5 and Image GPT-5, for which I hold a license.
