The Bar is Ankle High

Episode 40: There’s Fuckery Afoot

CONTENT WARNING: This episode continues our discussion last week on topics related to dieting including specific calorie counts, disordered eating habits, and specific weights. If you are not in a place where you feel comfortable listening to that, we still love you and you are always able to relisten to our older episodes instead. We will see you here next week!
Welcome back to the conclusion of our introductory episodes discussing our personal experiences with diet culture, dieting, weight loss programs, extreme exercise regimens, and disordered eating habits. We delve into the new WW (Weight Watchers) purchase of a telehealth company called Sequence, whether that is dystopian or just capitalism, baby! We also discuss various hang-ups we used to have about anything from real sugar to drinking flavored water or a latte. As ladies who grew up in the 1990's and early 2000's, we're just proud we made it this far and managed to learn (the hard way, sometimes) how to love our bodies and take care of them in a healthy and safe way...even if sometimes we're still trying to learn a good balance. 
If you're not yet following us on Instagram what are you waiting for? Go check us out @thebarisanklehigh. If you want your own special shout out in a future episode, join our Patreon as an Anklet or Limbo Champion at www.patreon.com/thebarisanklehigh 
 
Sources: 
As with last week, our sources for today's episode were our own brains and lived experiences. And sometimes the first page of google results. 

Episode 39: Monkey Bar Bullshit

Because this topic isn't for everyone - MAJOR CONTENT WARNING right at the top - we will be discussing disordered eating habits, specific calorie counts, specific weights, and extreme exercising habits. If you're not in a safe place to hear about that, just know that we love you anyway and that you can safely re-listen to our older episodes instead of this episode OR next week's episode. That's right - this is going to be a two-parter. 
We've been promising you this episode topic since we started the podcast. We've been promising ourselves this topic since we dared to germinate the idea for this podcast. The day is finally here where Katie & Garet delve into their own experiences with dieting, diet culture, and extreme exercising trends. 
Join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/thebarisanklehigh and make sure you're following us on Instagram @thebarisanklehigh
 
Sources: 
As noted in the episode, we have no sources for these episodes as they are purely anecdotal in nature. Any additional statements made were found on wikipedia and the first page of google results. 

Episode 38: The Mayor of Kick City

Welcome back to our ongoing series about hormones. Today we're discussing a HEAVILY requested topic - PMDD and PMS - that's pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder and pre-menstrual syndrome for the uninitiated. Garet takes over this hormone-centric research again and teaches Katie quite a bit about PMS - did you know it's not universal? It's almost universal, but not quite, and it actually has distinguishable symptoms that explain why you might be feeling (physically AND mentally) a certain way leading up to your menstrual period. Also - it gets worse when you're in your 30's and 40's because LIFE IS MISERY apparently! Garet also teaches us about PMDD, a condition that can be truly debilitating for people with periods and can be exacerbated by co-morbidities like pre-existing depression, bipolar disorder, and other mood disorders. 
 
Make sure you're following us on Instagram @thebarisanklehigh - check out our merch at bit.ly/anklehighmerch and if you want to get bonus episodes, ad free episodes, and free horoscopes every month - join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/thebarisanklehigh
 
Sources: 
https://www.health.com/condition/menstruation/period-changes-age
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/premenstrual-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20376780
https://www.womenshealth.gov/menstrual-cycle/premenstrual-syndrome
https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/premenstrual-syndrome
https://www.womenshealth.gov/menstrual-cycle/premenstrual-syndrome/premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-pmdd
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-pmdd
https://www.psychiatrist.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/24797_history-evolution-diagnosis-premenstrual-dysphoric.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premenstrual_dysphoric_disorder
 

Episode 37: The Smurfening

Welcome back to the conclusion of our series on Essential Oils! This week we learn about different health claims made by various essential oil companies including some companies that promise to help you lose weight by eating essential oils, and we delve into the rat-infested waters that are made up by predatory claims about using essential oils to treat or even "cure" ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder in children. Don't worry though - we also finish by telling you what to look for on the label when shopping for your own essential oils, best practices, and different trade unions and international organizations that you can use to verify whether your aromatherapist or essential oil product is safe, vetted, and not the result of a pyramid scheme. 
If you loved this week's episode & want to hear more stuff like this & support the pod - join our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/thebarisanklehigh 
To keep up with us during the week, make sure you're following us on Instagram, too! And don't forget that writing out a review for us on Apple Podcasts and leaving reviews everywhere you find us is the best way to support us!

Episode 36: Emelems? No, M-L-Ms

Oh boy we sure hope you're ready to tumble down the absolute sunken gravy train of a disaster that the world of Essential Oils brings us to this week! Katie takes a lead on research and she's teaching us all about what an essential oil is - Why are they essential? Can I eat them? Why does the girl who was mean to me in high school keep trying to get me to "join her team" in order to sell them? We have answers, but you're not going to like them. Part 1 of our series on Essential Oils teaches us what these things are and the man behind the founding of one of the most notorious essential oil pyramid-style-marketing businesses in the world - Donald Gary Young (a/k/a D. Gary Young) and the business he founded: Young Living. Make sure you're following us on Instagram @thebarisanklehigh because the comments on our posts this week are sure to be EXTRA spicy with a side of cinnamon bark oil!
Join us on Patreon and get access to monthly horoscopes, bonus episodes, and even ad-free episodes depending on what membership tier you choose! 
 
Sources (for Episode 36 & 37): 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Living
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_oil
https://www.businessinsider.com/young-living-gary-young-founder-essential-oils-2020-7
https://podtail.com/en/podcast/lie-cheat-steal/episode-27-young-living-the-essential-oils-scam/
https://www.businessinsider.com/brought-to-you-by-podcast-btyb-young-living-essential-oils
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/aromatherapy-do-essential-oils-really-work#:~:text=Aromatherapy%20is%20the%20practice%20of,emotional%20center%20of%20the%20brain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBvvwYAhBfA
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/an-essential-oils-investigation/id1413374332?i=1000486466107
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-essential-oils-work-heres-what-science-says/
https://thesnappingpoint.com/gary-young-young-living-essential-oils/
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-10-23-mn-10747-story.html
https://asatonline.org/for-parents/learn-more-about-specific-treatments/essential-oils/
https://www.iaama.org.au/about-aromatherapy.html#essential-oil-safety
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/essential-oils-are-potent-risky-and-promising-heres-what-you-need-to-know/2019/12/10/1470d7c4-1623-11ea-8406-df3c54b3253e_story.html
https://naha.org/explore-aromatherapy/regulations/
https://www.ahpa.org/mission_and_vision
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2015/06/26/when-it-comes-to-essential-oils-do-your-research/

Episode 35: Small Scale Prizes

A few weeks ago, we discussed ADHD & Stimming -- and in that episode Katie gave us a hint as to a future episode. Well, this is that episode! This week we are discussing Sensory Processing Disorder. SPD is not a separate and distinct diagnosis but it is something that, surprisingly, exists on a spectrum, and can effect everything from being thrill-seeking to having such severe texture aversions to food that you can't eat. We also dip our toe into the apraxia pool but will stay in the shallow end for now because that will be it's own entire episode eventually. As usual, we take some side quests into our Xena fangirling in the 90's, confusing all superheroes as "the man in the cape," and fight the patriarchy at the end of the episode. 
The best way to support us is to share our episodes with your friends and family and write us a review on your favorite podcast streaming platform. You can also follow us on Instagram at @TheBarisAnkleHigh and participate in our weekly episode title polls. 
If you want to support us even more and get access to bonus episodes and ad free episodes - join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/thebarisanklehigh 
 
Sources: 
https://familydoctor.org/condition/sensory-processing-disorder-spd/#:~:text=Sensory%20processing%20disorder%20(SPD)%20is,that%20other%20people%20are%20not.
https://www.webmd.com/children/sensory-processing-disorder
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/sensory-processing-disorder
https://www.understood.org/en/articles/understanding-sensory-processing-issues
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/apraxia#:~:text=Liepmann%20discussed%20three%20types%20of,)%2C%20ideomotor%2C%20and%20ideational

Episode 34: You Know, the Girl Meat

There's an extra dose of dysfunction in this episode but we think it fits since we're talking about how the computers are all trying to take our jobs and the best way to fight back! Okay not really - but we are talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Algorithmic Bias in Healthcare today. Piggybacking on our episodes about Medical Bias (#29 and #30, in case you want to re-listen real quick), this episode was recommended to us by a listener and we take a look at what AI in Healthcare looks like, what it is used for, and why it can be a problem. Hospitals and doctors use AI every day to help diagnose and treat patients - but what happens when the mathematic equation (a/k/a ALGORITHM) used to get those diagnoses was written by someone who is biased? Or what happens when the data we used to create that algorithm is all skewed in the first place? We also talk about ways to combat those problems, so don't worry - it's not the worst thing to ever happen, unless you ask Garet, in which case, the world is ending. 
 
Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/thebarisanklehigh or look us up @thebarisanklehigh and consider joining our Patreon at www.patreon.com/thebarisanklehigh. You can also check out our merch at bit.ly/anklehighmerch if you want to put us on your body!
 
Sources: 
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6875681/
https://nihcm.org/publications/artificial-intelligences-racial-bias-in-health-care
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aax2342
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Huiwen-Loh/publication/360001378_Automated_detection_of_ADHD_Current_trends_and_future_perspective/links/625b57eaa279ec5dd7fd6e8c/Automated-detection-of-ADHD-Current-trends-and-future-perspective.pdf
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41746-020-0288-5
https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/health-a-z/h/heart-attack-symptoms-womens/
 

Episode 33: The Poophole Loophole

Welcome back for Part 2 of Garet's deep dive in PCOS -- this week we're delving into PCOS and infertility issues. Garet shares with us what she had to go through to conceive little baby Gandalf Shrek Junior and everything that entailed -- if you've never tried to get pregnant before this is a must listen because we learned even more about how things are NOT the size of cheerios. If you have gone through infertility or are currently in it, our hearts go out to you and we would love to hear your stories, so head on over to our Instagram @thebarisanklehigh to share with us if you want!
 
You can join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/thebarisanklehigh and check out our sweet sweet poophole loophole merch at bit.ly/anklehighmerch. 
 
All sources for this week's episode were included in the show notes for Episode 32.

Episode 32: Dewy Side Effects

We're going back to the hormone monsters for part 1 of our exploration of Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and what having that actually does to your body (and your hormones). Coming off four hormone episodes and our medical bias episodes, we think you'll really enjoy this deep dive into reproductive health and how our reproductive organs can actually maybe cause diabetes??? That's right we also take a dip into the insulin pool but don't worry we stay in the shallow end -- this time. 
 
To stay in the loop during the week and between episodes - make sure you follow us on Instagram @thebarisanklehigh
You can join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/thebarisanklehigh and check out our merch at bit.ly/anklehighmerch 
 
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/pcos.htmlhttps://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pcos/symptoms-causes/syc-20353439
https://www.healthline.com/health/polycystic-ovary-disease
https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/diabetes.html
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ovarian-cysts/symptoms-causes/syc-20353405
https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/anti-mullerian-hormone-test/
https://www.everydayhealth.com/pcos/affects-womens-mental-health-babys-risk-adhd-autism/

Episode 31: Yogi Bear’s Survivalist School

Welcome to our episode on PTSD -- you may think it has nothing to do with ADHD, but you'd be wrong! It turns out, the amount of overlap between PTSD and ADHD is alarming and frequently leads to misdiagnosis, especially in children. Katie takes us on a deep dive into brain chemistry and surviving mayhem, we gene splice ourselves with fainting goats, and Garet did her best to trip us and run away faster so the bears would eat us first. Nice, Garet. Real nice. But at least now we know how to introduce yourself to a bear in the wild and that you should probably not feed toddlers to bears. Maybe.
 
If you or someone you know is in a dangerous relationship you can visit thehotline.org without leaving a digital footprint at any time or text START to 88788. You can also call 800-799-7233.
 
You can also call 988 to be put in touch with a trained crisis counselor if you are struggling with thoughts of hurting yourself or others.
 
Sources:
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd#:~:text=Post%2Dtraumatic%20stress%20disorder%20(PTSD,danger%20or%20to%20avoid%20it.
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/fight-or-flight-response/#:~:text=The%20fight%20or%20flight%20response,body%20to%20fight%20or%20flee.
Schauer, M., & Elbert, T. (2010). Dissociation following traumatic stress. Journal of Psychology
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight-or-flight_response
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response
https://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/adult-adhd-ptsd
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23561240/
https://chadd.org/adhd-weekly/life-can-be-filled-with-trauma-can-that-affect-your-adhd/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0925492716301561
The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker