#55 With Michelle E. Dickinson

Episode #55 Welcome and thanks for listening. On this episode I talk to Michelle E. Dickinson about mental health, growing up with a mother who was bipolar, understanding the challenges of mental health issues in the workplace and the need to normalize the conversation around mental health. More from Michelle: 1 in 3 Americans are dealing with depression or anxiety due to COVID. The emotional impact of the pandemic is hitting many of us. The United Nations released a policy brief entitled COVID-19 and the Need for Action on Mental Health citing the deep toll the crisis has taken due to social isolation, losing a loved one, and the economic turmoil from lost income. Now, more than ever, we need to normalize the mental health conversation. Return to work anxiety is very real for so many people also. Setting up your home for harmony is also a challenge for many. Invite me to share tips and strategies to help ease anxiety and how to create a home environment and structure that will best support your family. I've experienced the "trifecta" of mental health. I grew up loving and caring for my bipolar mother. I helped build the largest mental health employee resource group at a fortune 500 company. I experienced depression due to a life event reminding me that nobody is immune to mental illness at any given point in their life. My book Breaking Into My Life was written to help myself—along with the rest of us—better understand the world of mental illness. My story of perseverance and triumph helps challenge and transform the "suffer in silence" dynamic, and makes mental illness more understood, treated and accepted. I am out to do my part to eliminate the stigma by normalizing the mental health conversation in workplaces and within the first responder community. I partner with innovative leaders to bring my programs and mental health strategies to help them cultivate cultures of compassion for those living with or caring for those with invisible disabilities. My Resilience webinar has made an impact with empowering hundreds of employees during COVID-19 quarantine. ​ Links: https://www.youtube.com/user/mdickinson1359/featured?view_as=subscriber Website: www.michelleedickinson.com. LinkedIn URL https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-e-dickinson-7882013 Facebook URL https://www.facebook.com/michelle.dickinson.146?ref=bookmarks Twitter URL https://twitter.com/mdickinson13 YouTube URL https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8Vt31TIEWh6dW_V2-qmtTQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michelledickinson71/ Music for all episodes by Jon Griffin. My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCugOLERePPuD4nwtZO-Zwnw?view_as=subscriber My Instagram: @joelyshmoley and @slideswithjohn FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/wereyoustilltalking/ Twitter: @JoelAAlbrecht