ReAudio: ReAssess Your Workers Comp Toolbox
Harnessing the Power of Mindfulness for Resilient Living
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we dive into the transformative power of perspective in our latest podcast episode, where we navigate the often-overlooked nuances of mental health. From the casual "I'm fine" to the deeper struggles beneath, we examine the importance of genuine dialogue. Coach Lynne Couchara, of Mindset Mental Coaching, joins us to share her expertise on the psychological hurdles athletes face, revealing the intricate dance between physical prowess and mental fortitude. Her insights into the dreaded 'yips' and her transition from IT to mental coaching underscore the universal nature of anxiety and stress, offering a relatable narrative for anyone seeking to strengthen their mental resilience.
Wrapping up the episode, we shift focus to the broader implications of mental health in the workplace and recovery. Secretary of the Board of Directors & Founding Member of Kind Souls Foundation, Colin Gallagher, illuminates the critical work being done to support those impacted by workplace injuries. Stressing the importance of purpose and ReEmployAbility in the healing process. We round out the discussion by underscoring the essence of Mental Health Awareness Month and the ongoing mission to remove the stigma surrounding mental health. Join us for a profound exploration of the mind and discover strategies that could reshape your approach to mental wellness.
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we dive into the transformative power of perspective in our latest podcast episode, where we navigate the often-overlooked nuances of mental health. From the casual "I'm fine" to the deeper struggles beneath, we examine the importance of genuine dialogue. Coach Lynne Couchara, of Mindset Mental Coaching, joins us to share her expertise on the psychological hurdles athletes face, revealing the intricate dance between physical prowess and mental fortitude. Her insights into the dreaded 'yips' and her transition from IT to mental coaching underscore the universal nature of anxiety and stress, offering a relatable narrative for anyone seeking to strengthen their mental resilience.
Wrapping up the episode, we shift focus to the broader implications of mental health in the workplace and recovery. Secretary of the Board of Directors & Founding Member of Kind Souls Foundation, Colin Gallagher, illuminates the critical work being done to support those impacted by workplace injuries. Stressing the importance of purpose and ReEmployAbility in the healing process. We round out the discussion by underscoring the essence of Mental Health Awareness Month and the ongoing mission to remove the stigma surrounding mental health. Join us for a profound exploration of the mind and discover strategies that could reshape your approach to mental wellness.
perspective. Perspective is spelled p e r, s, p e c t I v e. Perspective, the 30 000 foot view. Perspective put on someone else's shoes. Perspective can also refer to the state of existing in space or one's view of the world.
Speaker 2:Perspective rea audio face or one's view of the world Perspective REA Audio Reemployability hey there, how's it going? So how do you normally answer that question? It's usually pretty automatic, isn't it? Fine, good, not bad. Maybe you're creative. You say something like living the dream or slaying dragons and taking names. I've personally never said that one, but most of the time your answer isn't honest, is it? Truth is, many of us are not okay and it's important to recognize and address that.
Speaker 2:On January 29th of this year, Elmo, the character from Sesame Street, posted the question on X. Elmo's just checking in How's everybody doing? Well, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website, that question generated 217 million views and 45,000 responses, most of which weren't all that positive, which is why we're focusing on Mental Health Awareness Month on this episode of REA Audio. Since 1949, Mental Health Awareness Month has brought attention to not only mental illness but, most recently, helped lessen the stigma of mental struggles and help people become more proactive in caring for the mental side of their well-being. We're going to speak with Coach Lynn Kuchera, founder of Mindset Mental Coaching, and also with Colin Gallagher, secretary of the Board of Directors and founding member of Kind Souls Foundation, an organization dedicated to serving injured workers and their families.
Speaker 1:Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed in May in the United States since 1949. The month is observed with media, local events and film screenings.
Speaker 2:Coach Lynn Kuchara is the founder of Mindset Mental Coaching and I got to say I know Coach Lynn because of some personal experience and when we were putting together the idea of doing this podcast for Mental Health Awareness Month, coach Lynn was like the first person that came to my mind. Not only does Coach Lynn work with athletes elite athletes to help them to improve their performance, but also is kind of moving into more generalized help for folks, and so being able to talk to you, coach Lynn, is just a super treat and I really appreciate you taking some time out of your day to talk to us about mental health and mental awareness.
Speaker 3:Yeah, thank you, I really appreciate the opportunity.
Speaker 2:So we met originally when you helped my son who was playing baseball had a serious capes of the yips and if anybody listening doesn't know what the yips are, can you explain what the yips are?
Speaker 3:Sure, the yips are basically in a nutshell when an athlete is able to do something without thinking about it let's say hitting a golf ball or chipping a ball or throwing a baseball that suddenly they are unable to do and they don't know why. There's no particular event that happened or anything that they can think of typically to cause it, but they just find themselves suddenly unable to do it and it can be quite devastating for an athlete when that happens.
Speaker 2:And it's the craziest thing.
Speaker 2:He was in high school and he must have thrown a baseball from second base to first base thousands of times and then all of a sudden, one game he overthrew first and he could not make that throw and it was frustrating to me as a dad.
Speaker 2:I'm like dude, not make that throw, and it was. It was frustrating to me as a dad. I'm like dude, just throw it like you, do it Right. And and we tried so many different things and I and I understand that it is a real thing, and you and I were talking before we started recording this, about Jose Altuve, the second baseman for Houston, for the Astros, who a couple of years ago in the world series actually had the yips and it was the exact same thing, and he's probably made that throw a million times. So in your experience, coach Lynn, actually let's step back a second. Tell us what mindset mental coaching is and what pushed you into the direction of this type of work, and then we'll talk a little bit about kind of the things that happen to make people get into that kind of mindset.
Speaker 3:Sure, sure. Well, my professional life started with a different career in computer programming and IT like corporate project management and during that time I was working a lot on the computer and I actually ended up with a ironically a repetitive stress injury which led to some nerve damage and carpal tunnel and that led to a worker's comp claim. And I was fortunate because my company at the time was quite supportive of this. I know not everybody in that type of situation, not everyone has that same type of support from their employers, but generally the corporate world was full of stress and impossible deadlines. Many people in that environment become burnt out and quite unhappy.
Speaker 3:So I became, I guess maybe I was always interested in the mental aspect of stress, psychology and just generally matters of the mind. I was also interested in what allows or enables some people to perform at high levels and achieve incredible outcomes and results, but not other people, even if they seem to have the same capabilities. So I started to study things like yoga, meditation, hypnosis and in those early days I would lead like lunchtime sessions for my work colleagues and it was really helping them. And you know I realized over time that these methods would be quite well suited to elite athletes. So eventually I left the corporate world and went full time with my business, which started out as I called it, elite sports hypnosis. But I was also getting calls from non-athletes, so and I also wanted to offer some other techniques, even though I still always use hypnosis, but I changed the name to mindset mental coaching.
Speaker 3:So I generally help athletes and other people overcome mental obstacles. The athletes are usually at the elite or professional level high school, college, professional, even amateur golfers and other people who can play their sport, you know, into older age. Again, I also have non-athlete clients. So I also recently received my master's degree in social work and I'm focusing on mental health outside of just sports. So you know, really the bottom line, the common denominator is I love delving into and helping people with their mindsets. You know what makes them tick, you know, helping them to overcome habits, habits of mind or behavior, basically.
Speaker 2:And that kind of leads me to my next question. So you know everybody's different, obviously, right, human beings? That's the fundamental thing about being human is everybody's a little bit different, but I also believe that everybody is inherently similar in a lot of ways. So when you're working with elite athletes, are you finding that the issues that are affecting their ability to play at their highest level, from a mental standpoint, are there a lot of similarities as to what's holding them back?
Speaker 3:Across the athletes. Yes, yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no doubt yes, and just with people, like you said in general, even people who aren't athletes, yes, there are lots of parallels. Really, people are people, so we all have the same range of emotions. We all have the ability to feel anxiety, fear and other challenging. We all have the ability to feel more positive feelings. We all have challenges in our lives. So you know, I would say, across athletes or across sports, some common issues are anxiety, that maybe you know, the person feels more anxious in a competitive situation than in a practice situation, which is very typical and normal. But they might perceive that as a problem and it's stopping them right when it doesn't have to be a problem. It doesn't have to stop them.
Speaker 3:You know also, just you know, if it's a professional athlete or college, you know somebody who's under more pressure, the pressure alone from peers, from coaches, from family members, from you know if they're making their living doing this. You know there's all these pressures that can impact their ability to just play at their, you know, have fun with their sport kind of. You know, when the pressure's on, the fun tends to go away for them. So we want to bring the fun back into the sport. And then there's also things like the yips, right, I have many clients, mostly in baseball and golf, who get the yips.
Speaker 3:For some reason those sports tend to be the ones where that shows up most, and you know the work I do. Particularly hypnosis helps a lot to get them back to just it's. You know, it's all about going back to their just non-thinking state, right, to help them be in a flow state when they're playing. That's the bottom line. Whether it's that they're experiencing the yips or they've had an injury they're having, even though the doctor cleared them to go back to the sport, they can't overcome the mental part of recovery, right? Or if it's the pressure, whatever the underlying, you know thing that is that's inhibiting their performance. We want to get them back to that flow state where they're. It's a non-thinking state. That's the essence of it with athletes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it sounds like it's people that tend to overthink things and play out negative scenarios in their minds. Those are the types of things but I had imagined that anxiety. You know anxiety. There's different levels of anxiety, right. There's where your heart, you know, goes really really fast and you can feel the tingling in your body type of anxiety. But then there's also that just ongoing emotional stress and strain that we all feel for from the day to day things, and it might be a combination of something at work and something at home and something in the future, and and that anxiety I think is is something that affects everybody at different levels, even if they don't acknowledge it on the forefront, right? So what are some things? If you take us through kind of a a session, or or you know, if you can kind of walk us through some of the strategies that you use with people to help lower that anxiety and get them into a flow state, even outside of sports.
Speaker 3:Sure, yeah, absolutely so. You know anxiety is a natural, natural feeling. You know it's basically a future. It's future oriented, when you know, when we are thinking about or, like you said, telling ourselves a story about a future event in a way that's negative, so that creates the feeling of anxiety, which, again, is a natural feeling. But when it becomes too intense, it can stop us in our tracks. Whether we're athletes or not, it doesn't matter, like you said. So to pull back or to ease that anxiety, there are some methods that can help.
Speaker 3:One is breathing. That's a known technique. Why? Because our breathing is directly connected to our nervous system. It's part of our nervous system. So when we breathe or, let me do the reverse when we feel stress or anxious, it is reflected in our breathing. So we can go the other way too. If we can learn to control our breath and take deeper breaths, just for a few moments, it calms the nervous system, which will calm down our mind. It's, by nature, right. It's great that we have this ability. It's the only part of us, only part of our nervous system that we can control is our breathing. We can't say, oh, I'm going to slow down my heart rate right now, like no, like yeah, but our breathing is so if we take deep inhales and then let's say to a count of three, and then exhale to a count of six or so, like making the exhale longer, maybe for three or four breaths, that will automatically take down that feeling of anxiety a few notches.
Speaker 3:Another technique is reframing, which means rethinking of things, looking at things, perceiving things in a way that's more helpful. So it's our thoughts about things that makes us feel anxious. So reframing how we think of a future situation in a different way helps to take away the anxiety about it. So it's really about kind of like replacing negative thoughts with more helpful thoughts. And thought reframing is a skill in a therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy, but really anybody can learn it. It's basically first we have to become aware of what the thoughts are Like.
Speaker 3:Let's say somebody's really anxious about public speaking. Their thought might be I will faint when I go in front of people, I'm going to faint. That might be the thought. So then we want to. The next thing to do is challenge it. Is this thought accurate? Is it true? Is there proof of this? Oftentimes, even if there is some truth, it's a spectrum of likelihood. So this person might faint, but there's a small chance of this actually happening, but it might, it could happen, right? And then we want to change the thought. That's the next step to something more neutral, like in this example, something like it's unlikely that I will faint, but if I do, I'll have support around me to help me and I'll be able to manage the situation. So, you know, when we analyze the thoughts that create the anxiety, challenge them and create more helpful thinking that can help.
Speaker 3:Another technique that helps is meditation, because there are various techniques of meditation, but generally meditation gives us distance from our thoughts. So, instead of our thoughts being like there, you know, right in front of us, like driving us nuts, you know, make really making us feel challenged. Meditation puts thoughts kind of like over there, like, and where we're more observing the thought rather than being, you know so, attached to it. So, you know, ongoing, regular meditation can help to generally lower anxiety. Visualization can help like, in other words, imagining or seeing ourselves in a stressful or anxiety provoking situation and staying calm through it, in other words, like living it before it actually happens.
Speaker 3:I use this with a lot of my athlete clients. I use this a lot with them in conjunction with hypnosis and, of course, hypnosis can help. Even self-hypnosis can be effective but it's important to first learn this technique. There are some books, videos on how to do this, but hypnosis works well because it gets to the subconscious level, which is where all of our beliefs and automatic ways of thinking and behaving exist. So it's really the subconscious that's in control and it's the level that we need to work on to make lasting change, because our perceptions and subsequent behavior is rooted under the surface of our consciousness. So we need to get to that level to make change.
Speaker 2:Have you ever read I'm sorry to interrupt you have you ever read the book the Power of Now? Have you ever heard?
Speaker 2:of that book, oh yeah, oh my gosh, I listened to the audio book and you have to have an open mind, I think, to first start listening to it or reading it. But I had an epiphany when I heard that book and it was the fact that your mind and your body are really two different entities, like there's the me and there's my mind. And it's so true because when you say the way you even talk about things like I thought to myself. Well, just by saying I thought to myself indicates that there's two things there, right, and to be able to separate yourself from your mind, it's so freeing and it's amazing how utilizing some techniques that way can help you live in the current moment and not constantly look to the future or look behind you. So I'm glad you brought that up, because that was that. That was a mind opening experience for me.
Speaker 3:Yeah, there's another one similar to that. Yeah, the Untethered Soul. That whole book is also about, like you know, you're here and your thinking is over there, or your mind is over there. Yeah, that's very helpful. That's a similar sort of ability, I guess, that you develop with meditation particularly.
Speaker 2:It doesn't come naturally, that's for sure.
Speaker 3:Oh right, we identify with our thoughts and think they are us. Right that we are our thoughts or that our thoughts are always true? They're not always. In fact, they're often not true, right? There's no objective reality, it's all subjective, really.
Speaker 2:Yeah yeah, it's crazy. So you mentioned the breathing and some of the other techniques that are kind of reactive, you know, the changing of the thoughts, meditation. Would you consider that kind of a proactive approach to mental health? I guess what I'm asking is so yeah, how do we keep ourselves mentally healthy so that we don't have to be reactive?
Speaker 3:Oh, that's, yeah, that's a great question, you know. You know just like it's important to be aware of our physical health. It's aware it's important that we are aware of our mental states, you know, like knowing when we're not in a in a very resourceful state, and that's natural. But you know, it's like anything, our daily habits create our experience of life. So it's really about noticing when things kind of aren't feeling quite right and, to you know, know what to do when that happens. So the mental aspect of our lives is a critical component of our experience. The mental aspect of our lives is a critical component of our experience. So, to you know, build daily habits, just like we do physically right. When we want to be physically healthy, we automatically think, oh, I need to eat more healthy food. Or, you know, exercise, get more sleeps. Similarly, you know, we can build in little techniques during the day check-ins how am I feeling mentally? Because the mental state is really right. If you're not feeling mentally great, even if you're physically healthy, it's kind of going to kind of ruin your day. Right, it can ruin the day. So maybe you know taking on a practice of meditation five to ten minutes a day, or you know making sure that you check in with yourself in the morning, like, hmm, how am I feeling? Right, mentally right?
Speaker 3:Maybe doing some breathing exercises, maybe doing a thought log, like you know, not feeling so good. What are my thoughts right now? Like, am I, you know, focusing on something that I have no control over, you know? Am I overthinking something? Am I, you know, do I need to address something that's bugging? What's bugging me? Right? You know, journaling can help to shed some light on where our thoughts are in any particular moment in time and to decide if there's some action that we need to take or not, right or not meaning. Am I, you know, ruminating? Am I just analyzing something that I can't do anything about? Right, so, getting it out and of course, there's always therapy, right, some people are counseling, some people benefit greatly from that can be very helpful. It's nothing to be ashamed of, I think. Personally, I think everybody should would benefit from going to counseling here and there. I do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, of course. Of course. I mean people go to an athletic trainer like it's nothing, right, exactly, it's almost the same thing. So, speaking of that line of work, so tell us, you had mentioned you had gotten your master's in social work. So where does mindset, mental coaching go from here? And if people are interested in learning more about what you do, how do they get in touch with you?
Speaker 3:Oh, okay, yeah, I am actually working toward a licensure in social work counseling. So I'm working at a nonprofit agency that offers free counseling to community members, but for my business then that's a separate thing from my, you know, mindset mental coaching. I is more. I use hypnosis with that business and which is a separate, you know, a different technique from counseling, although I do bring some of those techniques into my work. So my website is wwwmindsetmentalcoachingcom and on there is my contact information and ways to reach me and there are some articles on there that some people might find helpful for different aspects of life various aspects of life and some techniques on the blog.
Speaker 2:I am so happy that you know May is Mental Health Awareness Month. I think it's so good for people to well, it's so important to be aware that that is such an aspect of your life and I think you know, with athletes, especially when they get to that elite level I mean, technique is technique right. I know I have to swing a golf club this way. I've done it a thousand times it's the mental aspect that makes people great and I think it's the mental aspect of life that makes people great and makes people happy. And I'm so glad that this month is here to make people more aware of that and that you do what you do, coach Lynn, because I know that you help people out above and beyond probably what you think, and your work is very important and I appreciate you very much thank you.
Speaker 3:Thank you very much.
Speaker 1:I appreciate you as well hang out with your friends, tell your loved ones you care about them and push back against negative thoughts. Exercising and eating well are a good idea too, since you're more likely to feel mentally and emotionally well if you're physically fit. If you find yourself struggling, talk to a counselor or therapist about the issues you're going through. The capacity to handle difficult circumstances in life and return to normalcy quickly is known as resilience. It entails utilizing one's strengths to confront and overcome challenges. Resilience is a valuable skill that can be acquired and developed with practice. It involves being adaptable, optimistic and persistent in the face of adversity. Colin.
Speaker 2:Gallagher is the Secretary of the Board of Directors and a founding member of Kind Souls Foundation. Now, what is Kind Souls Foundation and how does it relate to mental wellness? Well, we're going to find that out from Colin right now. Colin, welcome to REA Audio. It's nice to see you and talk to you.
Speaker 4:Nice to see you.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me. So what's the story behind?
Speaker 4:Kind Souls Foundation. Tell us what your mission is of the business partner of the founder, teresa Collian, and Teresa and her were both trying to build a company, a for-profit company. They started to really see that there weren't a ton of resources in any regard, whether it was emotional support, whether it was tangible resources, financial or otherwise. You're kind of left to your own devices in the world. What we are is a national nonprofit with the goal of fostering positive mental wellness in employees. We work to ensure that employers have the information and education available to offer their employees resources, reinsurance, empathy and comfort, while connecting to a kind soul through a warm line service. So you know our, our mission and vision was really born out of the fact that both comp and disability, you know are, are narrow in their function. Right, workers' compensation is there to pay for an injury, injury, to pay for an injury related to a work-related accident, work-related injury, and then to replace any wages. Right, that's its goal. Disability is a benefit that we have as Americans. It's minor, though, again, it's narrow in its ability. No judgment to either. That is what they're there to do. Outside of that, that there's very little help or support for people navigating what it means to be out of work or navigating, the fact the example we use recently is, you know, they can't reach the cup on the top shelf. Life has changed. Like Life has changed. Maybe it's not permanent, it's changed though, you know, and we need to talk about that. So we work through a warm line right? So we engage with employers and employees to offer a warm line service. So a warm line is like a touch point. It's a safe space for an employee to call and talk about this reality. Right Now that they've been injured, now that they maybe aren't earning, the dynamics in their household have changed. The dynamics in their relationships with friends, family, coworkers has all changed for a variety of different reasons.
Speaker 4:So we act as that central line of support. We say call us, let's talk, let's listen, more importantly, to what you're going through and let's see if there's some way in which we can help. And it's rarely the same way that we can help, except for the fact that a listening ear has always been an aid to the people we talk to. Sometimes just getting your thoughts out on a sounding board is enough. However, from there we really highlight the positive aspects of what they're going through. We try and reinforce the positive energy. There's always something right. It's impossible to not find some positive in life. I refuse to believe that I have yet to find one right. So by highlighting those pieces, reinforcing that, we're acting as a light, you know, a light at the end of the tunnel, knowing that there is an end of the tunnel. And it really is as simple as that support.
Speaker 4:And then from there we navigate resources. So, you know, we connect with all these nonprofits across the country, from food banks to emergency shelter, to grief loss support. What was the other one? This is a recent one Utility bills, right? You know, your check hasn't kicked in. It's been four weeks, your bills are still due.
Speaker 4:So there's all these nonprofits that we'll vet and connect people with and say, all right, this is what we've identified, we can take this off your plate, connect with this resource, and then from there we follow up. So three days after that call, we provide them with the resources and then, three weeks after that call, we reach out again and we say how are those working? How are you doing, you know, if the event that they didn't decide to schedule a follow-up already, most of the times they do by the end of the call so, and then from there three months, right. And so we come back and we say how are you doing? How's everything going? Has anything worked for you? You know, and we've really seen A surprising level of efficacy in just the kindness of strangers.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know it's funny. You say just being a sounding board. So with what we do at reemployability by putting injured workers into not for profits to get them to do doing their modified duty Right, so it's, it's getting them off the couch and going to get them to do something that they are able to do Right. We, when we talk to new employers that are new to this program, we always stress the simple fact that many times it's just a weekly text, it's a weekly phone call, it's an email to your employee saying hey, we were thinking about you, how's it going? Those little human steps can make a world of difference in whether the employee participates in the program, whether the employee has a desirable outcome from the program by actually returning to work faster, or if that employee says, heck, with this, you're punishing me, I'm going to go get a lawyer right, and so just human communication and I think you guys are a level up from that and being a sounding board and being able to show you know, be able to offer those resources. But what a great way to really put an exclamation point at the end of that is just be a human being right and listen to people right.
Speaker 2:Now, you were. You were an injured worker. That kind of got you involved into what it is that you do. Can you tell us your story?
Speaker 4:Yeah, you know, um, it's one of those things that it got me here. I don't talk about it a ton, you know. Simply I don't love to dwell, right, but in service of how it got me here today, I herniated a disc in my back. I was working in a retail environment and I herniated my disc in a management position actually, and as a manager at this company for several years. I knew nothing about workers' compensation whatsoever. Right, I was like I mean, I'm what, 27 at the time, 28. I have health insurance. Like isn't, isn't that the whole thing in America? Like you have health insurance or you don't. So I have health insurance, so I'm going to go in America. You have health insurance or you don't. So I have health insurance. I'm going to go to the doctor because I hurt myself and things continued to worsen.
Speaker 4:And then, as that happened, I identified, I learned a little bit more as I was talking with the company about what I should be doing, and it set me on a trajectory for about six months where I was out of work, couldn't return to work on late duty because I was a fall risk, couldn't really do anything, right, I was frozen in time here and that's never been me. I've worked since I was 15 years old, if not earlier, with my father, because he was a carpenter, he had a shop from home. I've been working my whole life. It doesn't feel like work, right, it's what we do. And then all of a sudden, nothing. After six months you're just stuck alone with your thoughts and I've always had very positive thoughts and all of a sudden they start to turn and you're like, oh, this can't be it.
Speaker 4:And you know, remarkably, one of the connections that I have with Teresa the founder is that you know we had, we had met in this retail setting prior to me ever working for her, prior to me ever being injured special connection for sure, originally. And when I was out, she called me, probably about four months in, and I was like I'm really I'm not doing great. Just, truth be told, I don't see what's ahead. And she was like that's fine, there is stuff ahead, though you might not see it, but there's stuff ahead. So keep your chin, keep trucking on, because something's coming. And I'm just got goosebumps. Um, and she was right. And you know I, as I look back at the last four years, you know of that experience.
Speaker 4:That was a change, that was a moment of significant change in my journey, even just hearing again a stranger, all things considered, right, a former customer. I don't know this person for anything, right, but here she was saying, no, keep going, you have more ahead of you. And then, you know, things started to turn. A few months later she was like would you like to do some data entry for me? And I was like I would do anything you'd like me to do.
Speaker 4:And you know, fast forward, I'm the chief operating officer of her company. We've scaled it massively. At the same time, we've been running a nonprofit and building and scaling a non-profit in tandem, which is absolutely insane to anybody. Um, but here we are and we're doing it because it matters, right, so that gave me that purpose, right, I won't call it a vendetta, I won't say that I had something out to prove to the, to an industry, but could see, to your point, how much effect a little bit of humanity had on me. Right, like I was very much a drink, the Kool-Aid guy If that had been my adjuster who said that I would still be working at that company, because, oh, they care.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's crazy and I know sometimes it's difficult to talk about those types of things, and I do appreciate you sharing your story. It's amazing how sometimes you're telling your story might give somebody who might be listening to this some hope. Right, who's in the same situation that you were.
Speaker 3:So I certainly appreciate that very much.
Speaker 2:So when someone reaches out to kind souls for help or information, tell us about, like what I can't imagine. It's super easy to get people to talk Right, like, like you know, maybe there's some people that are're a resource. They know that you can hook them up with certain things that can help them financially, certain things that can help them with the maybe day-to-day issues that they're facing. But even you mentioned reaching to find a cup or to grab a cup at the top of a cabinet.
Speaker 2:When I think about having a house having to be modified because of an injury or something happening, I think about redoing the whole kitchen for somebody because now they're in a wheelchair. But it's a lot more than that. It's a lot more simple than that. It's it's it's a lot more minute than that and and I I would imagine that when people call you, they're looking for resources, maybe not always looking for mental health help, right. So how do you as an organization and I know you don't offer like professional mental health, but you mentioned having those conversations and just hearing somebody out Are there strategies or techniques that you use to help to get people to talk out about what it is that they're going through that ultimately helps them feel better. This might sound crazy but we listen.
Speaker 4:You know, I've been to my fair share of therapy. They've got their own agenda, but also that's what works well, right? I don't think therapists have their own agenda. They have their own agenda for us, right, like?
Speaker 4:they're trying to get you somewhere right, we're really just there to listen, right. So we have probing questions, we have training documents, we have you know, but at the end of it, when you give somebody enough time to just breathe and, like let out what they're thinking, it comes. It comes even in the shyest of us, like, people want to be heard. They do. I would also say that anybody who's using this resource in some way is either identified themselves or through a referral from their adjuster, from their employer, from whomever They've been identified as somebody who could benefit from this. Right, like we.
Speaker 4:I'm thinking that most of the people we've talked to are more inclined to talk because they're trying to get that out. I'd also say the majority of people that we've spoken to it wasn't all about resources, right, so, like when we first started Kind Souls, I was like this is all going to be about financial support. This is all going to be about, you know, I can't pay my rent, I'm going to be evicted next week. It's not, that's a part of it, that is a very real part of it. But most people are looking for some human connection, right, and because, again, their dynamic has changed dramatically in their household, you know, even if they are, because, again, disability money is coming in. It might not be your full salary, not everybody is in that place where they don't have the money to do it. Plenty of people are now just sort of adrift, right, navigating these new realities, right, and they don't know who to turn to right, which is why I will note, you know, re-employability.
Speaker 4:One of the things that I think is really valuable is that it's giving somebody something to fill their time with, right. Not only as a nonprofit do I understand how important it is to have, you know, people working at your nonprofit. You're giving them something to do, which, again, when I look at my situation, I would have done anything to sit at a desk and organize an Excel spreadsheet, because I felt my mind was atrophied, right, I felt I'm not using any skills, I'm not communicating, I'm not doing anything at all, just sitting here watching, you know, hgtv, and so you know, getting up and having something to do is so vital in our mental wellness, right? So, so you know, kudos to you all, because I I know from experience and from kind souls, experience that you, you need to have purpose yeah, no doubt you need to have some purpose or you're just kind of a drift right.
Speaker 2:So, colin, if I love the fact that you do get referrals from employers, you know to me, when we ask employers to explain this program to their employees the reemployability program we always kind of guide them to take the position of this is a benefit, it's not a punishment, right? All the things that you just pointed out? Right? The things that are statistically proven that will help you get better, faster if you're doing something with purpose. That's the way we want it to be presented, and I love the fact that you have employers making referrals to your organization. If there's employers listening right now that are interested to learn more, or adjusters, anybody else that wants to learn more about your organization, what's the best way for them to get ahold of you and what sort of resources do you need as an organization that people could help with?
Speaker 4:Absolutely so. Just a cap might just be a soundbite for you. I think a positive attitude is the greatest influence on not only a person's ability to heal, but their ability to accept a new reality and, ultimately, their ability to return to work, especially if it's in a different type of work, a different category of work. That, a positive attitude, a little bit of purpose, I think is the key to any of that. So, as far as counsels, what do we need? Um, we're always looking to grow our audience, to spread the word. We connect with employers. Um, and your point, you know it's, it can be a challenge, can be a challenge to get the messaging across, right? Um, so we are always looking to grow our audience and grow our collar base. Um, we're looking for volunteers, not in an aggressive manner we have a pretty decent volunteer group right now that we're working with but as anything scales, everything has to scale. So we're always looking for volunteers and people to get engaged, for donations, always, and for creative fundraising ideas right, that's where innovation comes into play. So, on top of that, we do have an event that we do at some national conferences. It's called Cocktails and Connections. It's like one of our branded events. They're always a really great time of our branded events. They're always a really great time. We have one June 13th at the CCWC conference at Disneyland and then our next one will be at WCI in Orlando. So, you know, connect with those.
Speaker 4:We have a podcast called Compassion hosted by Sean Dean. There's a new episode dropping next week with Dr Tyrone Spears from LA County listening to that, engaging in that. And then, you know, get in touch with us. They can contact me, they can contact admin at kindsoulsfoundationorg. But as far as adjusters, as far as employers tell people, tell people there's a resource. We know people need it. We've, we've, we've seen that. We have proof of that now.
Speaker 2:Well, colin, I so appreciate you joining us on our podcast, rea Audio, to talk about mental health. Awareness month is may and um, I think there's so many parallels between what you do and and and the the the need for people to take that stigma away from that mental health that people I think every person can benefit from the positive attitude and the sense of purpose. And it's so funny, you know nothing that I ever hear about. Mental wellness is like a brand new, like it's all stuff that I feel like we've all heard before and so many times it just depends on who the source of that information is and if it's coming and hitting you at the right time. So hopefully we're providing a different source for people and we're providing it hitting at the right time, for just if one person is listening now. So really pleasure to have you, thank you so much, absolutely Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:Mental health awareness promotes understanding and support for mental well-being. It aims to raise consciousness about mental illnesses, reduce stigma and encourage seeking help for mental health challenges. Also, I can give you real-time notifications on NBA breaking news. Would you like me to do that?
Speaker 2:No, thank you. Are you mentally healthy? Hmm, I'm not sure. Thanks for listening to REA Audio. Please make sure to follow us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts. We appreciate you. Have a great rest of your week.