Allison Kugel author Journaling Fame: A Memoir of a Life Unhinged and on the Record

PAN8: Journaling Fame with Allison Kugel

Posted on Posted in Podcast

At 3 AM on a July 2012 morning, I lay helpless on an emergency room cot, unable to experience any emotion other than fear and the physical sensations that racked my body. My extreme levels of anxiety did not cease; my body showed me no mercy, perhaps because my racing mind did not extend that courtesy to my body. I was wrapped in a backless hospital gown and meagerly strewn blanket that had been nuked in a microwave to keep me warm. I was uncontrollably shaking and shivering from the inside out. I felt aches and pains and my eyes bulged with fright and confusion. “What is happening to me?” thought Allison Kugel, noted entertainment and pop culture journalist and now author of the memoir, Journaling Fame: A Memoir of a Life Unhinged and on the Record.

Allison tackled interviews with the likes of Kristin Chenoweth, Nancy Sinatra, Joe Pantoliano, Kim Kardashian, Dr. Deepak Chopra, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and Dr. Andrew Weil, to name a few. While outwardly Allison was very successful as a journalist, inwardly she was battling a very serious depression, panic attacks and anxiety. Allison is not alone. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), 40 million Americans over the age of 18 are affected by anxiety — roughly 18 percent of the nation’s population. On this podcast, Allison shares her courageous battle and how it has shaped the person she is today.

About Allison Kugel

Allison spent ten years as Senior Editor of the online newswire, PR.com, and then several more years as a syndicated entertainment and pop culture journalist. As a lifelong anxiety sufferer, Allison has also studied and consulted with clinical psychologists, social workers, and best-selling self-help authors who have aided her on her journey with anxiety and panic disorder, teaching her extensively about the merits of meditation, deep diaphragmatic breathing, creative visualization, nutrition, journaling, earthing and spirituality which have helped her to heal and thrive.Journaling Fame: A Memoir of a Life Unhinged and on the Record by Allison Kugel

About Journaling Fame: A Memoir of a Life Unhinged and on the Record

Journaling Fame covers a convergence of her intimate and life-altering experiences living with anxiety, panic and OCD, and her detailed behind-the-scenes account of profiling the rich and famous. Her memoir merges the two aspects of her life at points where her personal emotional struggles and professional triumphs intersect in profound, ironic and humorous ways. “Journaling Fame is a self-help book in pop culture wrapping paper,” describes Allison.

Episode Outline

  • About Allison Kugel
  • Allison’s interviews
  • Fear, anxiety and professional journalism
  • The toll depression, panic attacks and anxiety took on Allison’s health
  • About Journaling Fame: A Memoir of a Life Unhinged and on the Record
  • Getting back on the horse
  • Closing Thoughts

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