Award-Winning Producer Jody Allison on Mental Health Recovery & Resilience in Advertising

In this episode of the emPOWER Breakfast Podcast, Athene Parker is joined by award-winning Producer and Heads Up Production co-founder Jody Allison for a deeply honest and uplifting conversation about mental health, trauma, resilience and rebuilding life after breakdown.Jody speaks candidly about experiencing a major mental health crisis in her early thirties and reflects on the rehabilitation journey that followed, a turning point that forced her to confront unresolved experiences from childhood and ultimately reshape the direction of her life.With warmth, humour and honesty, Jody shares how what initially felt like devastation became an opportunity for profound personal growth, healing and self-understanding.In more recent years, Jody has also navigated breast cancer with the same courage, positivity and perspective that have come to define her approach to life’s challenges. Throughout the conversation, she reflects on resilience, recovery and the importance of slowing down, reconnecting with joy and finding meaning in everyday moments.Together, Athene and Jody discuss:Mental health and emotional wellbeingBreakdown, recovery and rehabilitationChildhood trauma and personal growthBreast cancer and resilienceWomen in production and advertisingEmotional honesty and healingCreativity, perspective and self-awarenessFinding joy and gratitude through adversityThis is a moving, funny and deeply human conversation about survival, healing and learning to rebuild life with greater clarity, compassion and authenticity.The chat is woven around a trip down a musical memory lane. Sit back, relax and enjoy. 🎧✨Tracks:Second Hand News - Fleetwood Mac - Rumours Roxanne - The Police - Outlandos d'AmourShe Talks To Angels - The Black Crowes - Shake Your Money Maker Unwell - Matchbox Twenty - More Than You Think You Are.Strong - Romy and Fred Again The emPOWER Breakfast - Jody Allison Spotify PlaylistJody Mentions:CBT - Cognitive Behavioural TherapyCBT is based on the idea that thoughts, feelings, and actions are connected, and that changing one can change the others. CBT helps people identify negative or inaccurate thinking patterns, and then teaches them strategies to respond to challenging situations more effectively. It is most commonly used to treat anxiety and depression.Mental Health - https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/Positivity - We talk about the power of positivity and not a toxic ‘everything is fine’ kind of positivity but a ‘trusting of the path’, and your instincts, and facing the hard stuff head on that creates a sense of positive progress, despite having to go through the difficult ‘stuff’ - positive people tend to be better at managing stress, bounce back more quickly after setbacks, and are more adaptable to change. Cultivating a practice of gratitude can do wonders for the mindset.If you are experiencing mental wellness challenges, please don’t battle through it on your own. There are organisations you can reach out to like the Samaritans - and although you might not feel like it, in fact it could be the last thing you want to do, please consider reaching out to a friend or family member and let them know how you are feeling. A challenge shared is a challenge halved. There really is help out there, and you are worthy of it.Jody Allison, Heads Up Production, mental health, mental health recovery, breakdown and recovery, breast cancer survivor, emotional wellbeing, trauma recovery, women in production, advertising industry, emotional resilience, rehabilitation, authentic leadership, personal growth, women in media, empowerment podcast, healing journey, creativity and resilience, emotional honesty, recovery and wellbeing Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.