mental health

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Heroes Are Also Human: Mental Fitness and Culture Change in High Intensity Industries with Brandon Evans

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Heroes Are Also Human: Mental Fitness and Culture Change in High Intensity Industries with Brandon Evans

What if we trained for mental fitness the same way we train for physical fitness?

In high-intensity jobs like firefighting, healthcare, and construction, resilience is a survival skill. But the cultural story of “toughness” often silences the very people we count on to save lives.

In this powerful episode, I chat with retired firefighter and mental health researcher Brandon Evans, founder of Fire to Light, to explore what it really takes to turn workplace wellness from just awareness into daily action. Using lived experience and global best practices, Brandon helps us rethink what it means to be strong, how to build psychological safety, and why incorporating mental health into our training routine—rather than just reacting to crises—must become standard practice.

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Lorna Breen’s Legacy: Why Policy Change Saves Lives at Work with Corey Feist

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Lorna Breen’s Legacy: Why Policy Change Saves Lives at Work with Corey Feist

When it comes to workplace mental health, culture and self-care matter, but policy is the game-changer. In this episode, I sit down with Corey Feist, a healthcare leader who turned personal tragedy into national reform. After losing his sister-in-law, Dr. Lorna Breen, to suicide, Corey co-founded the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation, leading a movement to remove systemic barriers that keep workers from seeking mental health care.

Today, their advocacy has reached more than 1.5 million healthcare workers nationwide, influencing laws, licensing, credentialing, and insurance practices across the country. Corey shares why changing applications and legal protections is a matter of life and death.

Policy is prevention. Listen in as Corey Feist makes the case that changing systems saves lives and learn how your organization can take the first step this quarter to remove barriers and protect your workforce.

We discuss:

  • How do workplace policies impact employee mental health?

  • What is the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation, and what do they do?

  • Why do doctors and professionals fear seeking mental health care?

  • How can changing credentialing and licensing questions improve workplace wellbeing?

  • What lessons from healthcare can apply to mental health policies in other industries?

  • What are the most effective workplace mental health policy changes?

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Lost in Translation: Why Mental Health & Safety Resources Must Speak Everyone’s Language with Loretta Mulberry

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Lost in Translation: Why Mental Health & Safety Resources Must Speak Everyone’s Language with Loretta Mulberry

Imagine stepping onto a job site where you can’t fully understand your supervisor’s instructions, can’t ask questions without fear of embarrassment, and can’t connect with your coworkers because the language barrier feels like a brick wall. For many Spanish-speaking workers in high-risk industries like construction, this is reality. And the stakes impact mental health, safety, and survival.

In the U.S. construction industry—and many other high-risk sectors—Spanish is often the first language for a large part of the workforce. Yet too often, training, safety manuals, and mental health resources are only available in English. The result? A growing number of workers face avoidable risks of injury, fatality, and even suicide.

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Your Money and Your Mind -- Enhance Well-being with Financial Fitness: Interview with Robert Khachatryan | Ep 16

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Your Money and Your Mind -- Enhance Well-being with Financial Fitness: Interview with Robert Khachatryan | Ep 16

According to the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, people with debt are three times more likely to experience suicidal intensity because of the debt. A study by Northwestern Mutual found that 44% of Americans states that financial worries were their #1 stressor, with about one in four stating like they felt depressed about money at least once a month.

Sometimes improving your mental health looks like going to a therapist; sometimes it looks like going to a financial mentor. What most people don’t realize is that many Employee Assistance Programs (“EAP”) have financial counseling services for this reason.

In this episode, I speak with Robert Khachatryan about financial wellness and its connection to mental health. He shares these take-aways:

  1. Provide the tools for financial preventative care.

  2. Create a financially safe space.

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Assess Your Stress -- Tactics to Increase Performance by Taming Tension: Interview with Dena Ali | Ep 15

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Assess Your Stress -- Tactics to Increase Performance by Taming Tension: Interview with Dena Ali | Ep 15

Is “stress” all bad?

No.

In fact if you didn’t have any stress in your life you would be bored — and may even feel a little purposeless. Humans need to be challenged mentally and physically. The good side of stress — or Eustress — is what helps us grow and even reach peak performance. It’s where we are thriving.

But sometimes our stress levels tip from Eustress to Distress. Unchecked distress can lead to other mental health challenges like exhaustion, burnout, and crises.

In this episode, I speak with Battalion Chief of the Raleigh Fire Department and founding member of North Carolina’s Peer Support Program, Dena Ali . We talk about the stress continuum and its impact on work performance, and how a powerful antidote for stress is something we often forget to do: PLAY!