Soaring Over Stress, Episode One ~ Introduction

This is the debut episode of a new podcast called "Soaring Over Stress". The host, Burt Marrin, is joined by Amy Rae, who shares her personal journey of dealing with severe depression and PTSD. The podcast aims to provide tools and techniques to help people navigate stress and anxiety in the workplace and beyond. They discuss the impact of mental health on workplace productivity and emphasize the importance of employers being more sensitive and understanding. Amy also offers customized public speaking engagements to address mental health issues in different settings. Hello and welcome to the debut episode of a brand-new podcast which we hope is going to have a very positive impact on the lives of many people who are dealing with stress, dealing with anxiety in the workplace, but it's not going to be limited to just that. My name is Burt Marrin. I'm a member of the New Jersey Broadcasters Association Radio Hall of Fame. I'm also the host and producer of the Be Inspired podcast, and I'm honored to be assisting a very good person and a good friend of mine who is the creator of this podcast, and we hope that you're going to be a regular listener, regular subscriber, and you'll be able to take away a little bit of information from us each week. The podcast is named Soaring Over Stress, an SOS for navigating stress and anxiety in the workplace and beyond, and I want to introduce you to the person that's going to bring this podcast to life, someone who has got some really important real-world and real-life experience and information to share with you. That would be Amy Rae who is with me here, and Amy, thank you. First of all, let me thank you for the privilege of giving me the opportunity to share this platform with you because I admire what you're doing. I admire what you have to say, and when I had the opportunity to help facilitate, get this information out to people, I couldn't say yes and agree fast enough. So, first of all, let me thank you for giving me the privilege of sharing this platform with you, so thank you for that. Absolutely. Well, I'm actually, I'm the one that feels honored that you would come help me, and I have no idea what I'm doing, but we've already seen. That's okay. Together, we're going to help people. We're going to help others, and that's what I think it's about, but at the same time, I want you to be able to find this as something that's going to be therapeutic and help you in your journey, too, because nobody lives on an island. You know that. We all need help. We all need help. Absolutely. So, I guess the first thing is, let's get to know Amy Rae. What do you want people to know about you? Well, it's a long journey. So, my own personal journey started, I mean, it started from when I was born, but about 10 years ago, I started experiencing severe depression and was soon diagnosed with PTSD, and that was its own trip because, you know, when I was told I had PTSD, I was like, no, that's only for, you know, war veterans and stuff like that, and then I started walking on a journey, learning about, first of all, all of my own stuff because I had, actually, three years after that, I had a sort of brain injury that kicked open my subconscious, and I started remembering all these things that I never knew happened to me. So, then I was dealing with all the trauma of that and learning how to navigate these really overwhelming amounts of stress, trauma, and more, and so over the last decade, I have learned so much about how to deal with these things, and I want people to know that, A, there are tools and techniques out there that can help you, and B, that you're not alone. So, I think that's really important for people to know and be able to tune in to a podcast because not everybody has access to therapy, so it's just something that I wanted to be able to bring out there to people. And I'm glad you mentioned the other aspect of this, too, Amy, of the fact that people aren't alone. There are countless people, and I over the years have encountered people that I wish I could just be more helpful for, but I guess if I can just remind them that, you know what, you're not alone in this battle, you're not alone in this struggle, people are understanding you. What you're going through as we move forward as a society, I'm kind of encouraged that it's not just swept under the rug anymore, because there was a time that you were just dismissed as whatever your problem is, you're a diva, you're high-maintenance, you're, you know, whatever, you're just a pain in the you-know-what. But I think we're coming to realize that, you know what, real people with real feelings and real needs, and you check all those boxes, I think are going to move this movement forward and get people like you good people, people that can contribute to the world, the help and the guidance and, if anything, just the assistance that you need, and someone just to be there just to hear you out. I think that's critical. Yeah, for someone to say, you know what, I'm going through stuff, or, you know, you've gone through stuff, so maybe I'm not so, you know, alone and by myself and crazy or whatever they want to say. Right, right. So this podcast is just a component of the work that you do, public speaking that we'll talk about, and also about the name. I gave the name of this at the beginning here, Soaring Over Stress, an SOS for navigating stress and anxiety in the workplace and beyond. But talk about how the whole Eagle Exercises and this whole thing kind of ties together. Yeah, sure. So back in March, not this March, but the one before, it was the first time I was, I had to take some time off from work, and I was thinking about, you know, starting a business, focusing on mental health, and I wasn't sure where exactly, how I wanted to put it together. And I was stuck in traffic, and it was a really cold day. And I remember it was like, almost like freezing rain. And I saw on a telephone pole, there was there was an eagle, and he was just sitting there like completely unbothered by the weather around him. It was almost as if it, you know, it was a summer day, but it was freezing rain, and it was disgusting out. And I went home, and I started researching eagles, and their life cycle, and their characteristics. And I was like, you know what, I want to create a speaking business that helps with, helps people with mental health issues, that kind of follows the life cycle of an eagle. And so we go through each step of their life cycle, and their characteristics, and kind of circle around that in order to find ways to deal with stress and anxiety, like I said, in the workplace and beyond. It's specifically for places where you cannot necessarily leave. So if you're stuck at work, and you're super stressed out or anxious, go in the bathroom and do these things. You know, you can you can go in another room, and this will help you kind of get through the day. To just be able to deal with, and I could see the imagery of this eagle just focused, not really bothered by what was going on around them, on the perched on this pole, proud, majestic, but at the same time has a daily mission of survival, I think, you know, and for you to be able to draw that parallel. And as we watch the life cycle of this beautiful, majestic bird progress, hopefully you and people who will listen to this content as you make it available going forward will also feel the same sort of almost a rebirth, and almost like a refocus on the life ahead of them. So I can see how that's just a very powerful image for people to kind of follow. Really cool. Let's talk about, as we move on, you want to talk about how depression and anxiety have the direct impact on workplace productivity. Did you want to cover that in our first episode? Sure. Well, you know, it's estimated that globally there's 12 billion working days a year that are lost every year to depression and anxiety at a cost of 1 trillion per year in lost productivity. In fact, one out of every seven people experience mental health problems in the workplace. So according to data supplied by the American Psychiatric Association, employees with unresolved depression experience a 35% reduction in productivity, contributing to a loss in the U.S. economy of 210 billion a year in absenteeism, reduced productivity, and more. So yeah, let that sink in. I hate that phrase, let that sink in. But when you mentioned that one in seven, I mean, think about a workplace of 70 people. So 10 people? Yeah. That's a big percentage. Yeah. That's a high ratio. Yeah. Just think about the impact that has. And like you said, this is a constant thing. This is a huge, and it's trillion with a T, by the way. Yeah. To make sure we clarify the number there that you said. Yeah. Which is pretty significant. So for someone in the workplace, what can we do? What can an employee do? What can an employer do? I would hope that an employer would be a little more sensitive, a little more open, a little more understanding for people that are going through issues like this. Yeah. And they have to step in the right direction. Yeah. And they, you know, somebody had said to me, actually, a few days ago, I ran into a guy at a coffee shop, and he said to me, you speak on mental health, who's going to pay you for that? And I said, they will, you know, and he said, you know, corporations, you know, employees aren't going to come forward, because they're going to have shame. And I said, you know, that's just not the same anymore. And even so, that's something wonderful about what I get to do is when companies, corporations, universities, whatever, whatever would have you would have me come to speak, I'm offering tools, and they don't necessarily have to put their hand up and say, hey, I'm going through stuff. It's just going to be there for them, so that they know, you know, that they are thought of and cared about. And plus, I like the fact, too, that you mentioned about the public speaking that you do. It's not just a cookie cutter, where you just come out and give the same dissertation. It's customized. If it's a Fortune 500 company, if it's just maybe a small company of just some very eager people, maybe a college classroom, we know how stressful and how much we're also starting to realize just the impact of stress and depression, mental illness on college universities and campuses and high schools nowadays, to be able to customize and talk in a real world sense to that crowd and that audience, I think really resonates with people. Yeah. I mean, I know since COVID, like depression has skyrocketed for I think, almost all genres and groups. So it's just a matter of, like I said earlier, having access to ways to deal with it and really process some stuff. I mean, I do go into not only just dealing within the moment, but real things that, real techniques that help people kind of wade through the stuff that they're going through, so that they can get to a better place. And that's what it's about. And you know what, I think as you go along, too, with this podcast series, stressing the importance of support systems. And you know what, there are good people around you. There are people that genuinely care and genuinely want to help. Don't be afraid to tap into those resources. You know, if someone can offer you some assistance, even if it's just, you know what, it's one in the morning, I got to talk to somebody, you know, be that somebody. Yeah, there's no shame. There's no stigma in wanting to make that call to somebody. And you realize how fortunate you are sometimes to have that person in your life that when the chips are down, I got somebody I can go to. Yeah, that's huge. And especially for people that may might not necessarily have that, now they've created the 988, which is like 9-1-1, you know, for mental health emergencies. And then if you're really struggling, but it's not necessarily emergency, you can, and you don't want to talk to somebody, you can text 741-741, and somebody will start texting with you, kind of help you work through your stuff. That's interesting. I was aware of the phone call one, but not the texting one. Yeah, so if you don't want to talk to somebody, you can, you can do the text line. And that's like around the clock? Yep. Wow. Yep. I mean, I can say from personal experience, I've had some good experiences with them. And I had one that was not so great. So with all things in life, you know, not everybody is trained to the utmost. But it's somebody that's responding to you, right, that has had some sort of training. And they are awake at one. You know, some people might not be awake at one. So at least you can have someone to talk to. Gotcha. Okay. Well, as well, I think we're nearing the end of episode one here. Let's leave some contact things where people if they want to maybe follow you online, you've got some social stuff, you've got a couple of other things. Anybody listening to this episode wants to connect a little bit more with you. Where can you send them? Okay, well, I have my Facebook and Instagram, Eagle Exercises. And then I also, I'm on LinkedIn under Amy Dorwang. And I'm trying to think where else. Oh, you could also check out my website, which is eagleexercises.com. So yeah, I mean, it's about it. Okay, well, we'll have some details where you can subscribe and download all the episodes. But you found this one. So you're on your way. And Amy, I think we're on our way to something that I think is going to be helpful and impactful to you and to other people. And it's going to help me also because it helps me develop an understanding of what other people are going through. So I think even for someone like me, I can take away and glean something from this too. So I think we're off to a good start. And we're going to update these regularly. We're going to do some regular episodes. Yeah, that's right. Okay. All right. Well, I'm Bert Barron. And I want to thank you for joining Amy and I for the first episode here. And just remember that help is available. Just reach out and there are people that are willing to listen and willing to help. And that's our little gift, I guess, to you here for episode one. So thanks for listening. Share this podcast with anyone who you think could benefit from it. And Amy, I guess we'll do this again soon. That sounds great, Bert. And just remember, everybody, I see you, you matter, and your story counts. Look forward to connecting with you more in the future and helping in any way that I can. Each one of us soar over our stress and anxiety so that we can take flight. Thanks again.