Breath of Air: Recent Episodes
Z Johnson & Adam Jolley
Back and still trying to get better - Z and Adam talk about how they took a few months off and how taking a break can have a huge impact on your mental health
We've all had to give and receive bad news. Lately, scrolling through LinkedIn can seem like an influx of bad news in the atmosphere. This week, Z and Adam talk about how we cope with receiving bad news and the mental health experience of preparing to give it as well.
We've used this phrase a lot - "go ahead, this is a safe place." While it typically comes with a smirk, it is a natural communication tool we all use to let people know they can trust us and there is no need to fear. But increasingly, "safe places" are becoming rare. And fear attacks us from all around. This week, we talk about the desire to feel safe and how hard that can be.
This week, we're back at IIEX in Austin with special guest host Adam Dietrich to discuss the competition at conferences and what are the best conference swag items.
This week, we're live from IIEX in Austin talking and getting meta as we talk about the mental health hurdles of being at an in-person conference.
As conference season ramps up, Z and Adam talk about how it feels to not be at the conference, in the club, or on the list. What impact does "the fear of missing out" have on our mental health and sometimes - is it real?
This week, Z and Adam talk about communicating with others through empathy. We talk about how company culture is often affected by the lack of thinking about who is on the other end of the line and re-think our episode about communication test.
This week, Z and Adam talk about dealing with PTSD, triggers, changing the narrative, and more as Adam begins a new therapy.
Warning - this episode talks about triggers, suicide, and mental health treatment.
We couldn't record at the same time this week so we improvised and did a call and response about the mental health hurdles we're facing as covid restrictions start to lift.
This week, Z and Adam talk about support groups and how diversifying them and putting seasons on them can help on your mental health journey.
This week, Z and Adam are joined by Z's husband Rich as they discuss fatherhood, masculinity, and the evolution of the male role and its effect on mental health
This week we look at the use of calendars in both managing to control and perhaps elevating the stress of our daily lives.
This week, Z and Adam talk about how hard it can be to stand up for yourself personally or at work, especially when compared to standing up for the works of a group.
As we start the new year, Z and Adam talk about the concept of new year resolutions, setting intentions, words of the year, and the disconnect often in professional vs personal goal setting.
This week, Z and Adam talk about Emotional Intelligence - what it is, how to build it, why it's so importance in the workplace, and how we get it wrong so often.
Do you ever feel like your care for the success of your company outshoots your pay grade? Or maybe you fully grasp the idea of being an "individual contributor" and leave all the stress at the office.
This week, we talk about the gift and the curse of caring too much about your job and company, finding a "what's in it for me", and how to survive by wearing fewer hats.
This week we're joined by Kai Fuentes, President and CEO of Ebony Marketing Systems.
Ebony talks with us about mental health from the perspective of leadership and the impact it has on her and qualitative market research. We also spend a large amount of time talking about the impact of mental health and having conversations about it in the black community.
It is the 4th quarter and the busiest time of the year in market research. Along with that, we're planning for next year after a year of growth for nearly every company in the space. Also - sprinkle in some family time!
This week we talk about the seasonality of stress and anxiety and keeping as a temporary instead of a mindset.
This week, Z and Adam take a step back and look at the authenticity and vulnerability that sparked the existence of this podcast and if that same type of behavior is acutally rewarded, wanted, or needed in the workplace.
As we end head into the end of the year and Linkedin is littered with new roles and titles, we wanted to tackle the mental health rollercoaster that often comes when starting a new job or responsibility.
This week, Adam Jolley returns to talk with Z about the stresses and anxieties of changing roles in organizations. This includes the common Peter Principle where someone is promoted enough to achieve a role beyond their capabilities.
This week, Dietrich and Z start the mash-up with The RIDE by discussing current market research news and public opinion polling.
Then the conversation shifts to the idea of labels and stereotypes that we fall into and how hard that can be to break both externally and internally with our own mental health journey.
This week, Z is joined by guest host Adam Dietrich to talk about market research news, polling, and the mental health of major life events.
This week, Z and Adam look at the advice of living in the moment and the paradox of market research in that. We also talk about the phrase "either growing or dying" and what it means to just "be."
After talking about the fears of CEOs last week, Z and Adam talk about how bad bosses can impact the mental health of employees. Along with that, they break down a bad boss by those that just are incompetent to those that just are not a fit for certain employees. Adam also shares his moments of being a bad boss himself and that mental health impact.
This week, Z and Adam look at an article from Vistage that lists the 6 main fears of a CEO and how they should deal with them. We then look from the perspective of employees and leaders and what these fears and how they are suggested to be handled, impact mental health at work.
This week - Z and Adam break down a recent Fast Company article that touches on the subject of "work family" and its impact on mental health.
Fresh off her first business travel since the pandemic started, Z talks with Adam about the fears and uncertainties of traveling and social interactions that lacked over the past 18 months.
Spoiler alert - Simone Biles isn't on this episode
2nd Spoiler Alert - Neither of us have withdrawn from the Olympics are been remotely athletically talented enough to be on a stage because of those abilities
That being said, we all at some point have not been mentally prepared or fit to go through something and either taken the out, our soldiered on - only to increase the multiplier of risk and what failure would mean. This week we talk about the importance of mental health commitment and toughness both to keep going and bow out using the recent Simone Biles situation as a backdrop.
Z and Adam dive into the world of self-help books. We talk about the different types of self-help books, the pedestals we put their authors on, and how much impact do they really have on mental health, business, and communication journeys.
This week, Z and Adam look at the impact surrounding and environment have on mental health while trying to decide if "getting some fresh air" is really a thing.
This week, Z shares a new meditation app from the 10% Happier folks and its approach to dealing with stress by leaning into it. Its a different approach to not just meditation, but how we deal with stress and anxiety.
This week, Z and Adam finally get around to talking about the topic of procrastination. There are many reasons why we put things off aside from just not wanting to do it or laziness and this week we approach everything from perfectionism to overwhelming feelings.
This week, Z and Adam take the other side of the perceptions argument and look inward at how we perceive ourselves and want others to view us.
This week, Z and Adam talk about how we build perceptions in our minds and how those veer from the truth of reality to impact our mental health.
Sometimes at work, it's amazing to have someone to talk to. They're the support system that also challenges you. And when you hit your goals, that friend is there to celebrate with. Other times, we are connected to fellow employees because they're a sympathizer to the annoyance of the job and you're bonded in commiseration. This week, Z and Adam talk about the topic of Friends at Work and if it is really a good idea to have a social relationship with co-workers.
This week, Z and Adam talk about how sometimes, things from the past can pop back up into our lives and trigger anxiety and depression. Whether it's work or personal related, there are ways to approach triggers and minimize their impact on mental health.
In this week's episode, Z and Adam are joined by Katja Cahoon. Katja is a private practice psychotherapist working with professionals who experience burn-out, anxiety, depression, and other aspects of mental health. Before this career, Katja spent over a decade in market research. In this episode, we focus on showing and monitoring emotions at work, getting away from labeling emotions as good vs. bad, and how leadership can mold the culture of acceptance with emotions at the workplace.
In this episode, Z and Adam talk about the feeling of fleeting happiness and how sometimes, we get so wrapped in waiting for the other shoe to drop with anxiety, it is hard to smell the roses.
This week, Adam Dietrich comes onto the pod for a special crossover episode between The RIDE and the Breath of Air Podcast. We start off with news and polling before jumping into a conversation about the anxieties of growth in business.
Finally, we play a halftime show where the three of us come up with fake names for fake #restech companies.
This week, Z and Adam talk about the anxieties of taking vacations from leaving work, what's greeting you when you get back, and what leadership's role is in "leading by example" when turning off.
This week, Z and Adam both have a humbling experience of being left off a "top" list and it sends them both scrambling in anxiety induced by their own competitive natures. They talk about the good of competition but how if not kept in check, the anxiety, and the negativity that spawns.
Also, Z and Adam talk about the upcoming webinar on 4/29 by Pure Spectrum that dives into the topic of post-covid workplace anxiety.
This week, Z and Adam welcome the new President of Esomar Kristin Luck to share her mental health journey. Kristin talks about how she has handled anxiety throughout her career, advice to leaders on handling workplace anxiety, and how her relationship with her mental health has changed throughout her career.
This week, Z and Adam talk about the concept of "always being on" and how that affects work, life, and burnout. Along the way, we also touch on drivers or love languages in what success and failure can mean to so many different people with mental health.
This week, Z and Adam talk about the differences between anxiety and depression. Often they are interchangeable or viewed as an escalation. Z and Adam talk about their experiences with each and how they have coped.
This week, Z and Adam do a quick check-in on each other's mental health a year into the pandemic. We talk about changes we've made to routines, tools we've started to use more of, and what optimism looks like in the future.
Whether it is a Myers Briggs, DiSC, Birkman, or what character from Ducktales you are - we all have probably taken some sort of personality test. For those with mental health issues, tests often can give definitions and answers to questions we have. This week, Z and Adam talk about what tools of personality tests they have used in the past and why they are good and bad for the long haul.
Z and Adam finally discuss one of the initial topics they wanted to approach when they first started the podcast - Faith in Mental Health.
Both Z and Adam share their experiences, how faith has been used as a tool in their journey, and how sometimes faith and mental health have worked against each other.
At some point, the emotional and mental states in stress and anxiety give way to physical triggers that something is wrong. For some it is a panic attack, it could be a lack of sleep, and for others it impacts diets.
This week, Z and Adam talk about their own physical triggers with mental health and how they've learned to cope.
In Episode 7, Z and Adam talk about how work cultures can support mental health. This especially goes into leadership and their support of all employees and how that job doesn't always fall squarely on HR.
This week, Z and Adam talk about the multiple-sided issue of parenting and mental health. From parenting with mental health issues, introducing children to coping with their own journey, and also how our own parents affected and molded our own mental health states.
This week, Z and Adam tackle one of the hardest first steps when addressing your mental health - finding a therapist. And not just any therapist but the one that your compatible with and will put you on the right journey to dealing with your mental health.
Z and Adam share some of the practices that have worked for them, some horror stories of therapist gone wrong, and some advice on what to look for from a potential therapists.
Turns out sharing our mental health journeys was more emotionally exhausting than either of us had expected it to be. Listen in as we share what we learned about what Adam termed the "therapy hangover" and how to work through it.
We also mention a couple of journals that we have found useful to help us. Links to each are found below.
Worry IV Nothing anxiety journal: https://www.fourprogress.com/product-page/worry-iv-nothing-journal
TROVI Designs: https://trovidesign.com/
This week, we learn about Z's mental health journey. She explains the path from first discovered she had mental health issues, a scar from her past she uncovered, and how her first experiences with therapy pushed her further away from starting to receive help.
This week, we begin to share our stories of mental health's effects on our lives and start with Adam.
Adam goes through his introduction of anxiety and depression, experiences with therapist and medication, and what ultimately led him to his lowest point. Adam then pivots to what tools and practices he has put in place to bounce back even stronger than he was.
Welcome to the first episode of the Breath of Air podcast with Z Johnson and Adam Jolley. Each episode, we'll dive into some aspect of mental health - not as experts - but as experiencers.
Our first episode dives into the topic of meditation. Why do we do it, what benefits can you achieve from it, and what are some tools that can get you started with this practice easily.