From Rock Star Dreams to Holy Dependence: Andrew Kitchen's Anxiety Journey

In this deeply honest conversation, musician and NDIS support worker Andrew Kitchen (Antiskeptic) sits down with host Justin to discuss his recent journey through chronic anxiety, the deconstruction of ego, and discovering what remains when achievement can no longer define you.

Andrew opens up about canceling his band's tour in November 2024 due to a severe anxiety episode, the wisdom his wife Katie offered about thirty years of buildup requiring more than twelve months to heal, and learning to recognize when his body was misinterpreting basic needs as anxiety. From his childhood as a pastor's kid to his work helping others write songs through the NDIS, Andrew reflects on the pastoral heart that runs through both his music and his mental health journey.

This episode explores the reality of middle-aged fatherhood, the challenge of "limping in public" as musician Ben Harper encouraged him to do, and the semicolon movement for those who've faced suicidal ideation. Andrew shares the tattoos on his arms written in Star Wars Aurebesh script—"beauty from brokenness" and "strength in dependence"—and how these themes have become the anchors of his life.

For fathers navigating their own mental health struggles, those supporting loved ones through anxiety, or anyone reconsidering what defines them beyond their achievements, this conversation offers hard-won wisdom, practical encouragement, and the reminder that sometimes "this is all I have left" is exactly where transformation begins.

Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of mental health challenges, anxiety, and suicidal ideation.

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