In this episode of The Job Security Podcast, host Dave Johnson sits down with Amanda Berlin, CEO and co-founder of Mental Health Hackers, to explore the mental health challenges facing cybersecurity professionals and what the community is doing to address them.

This conversation covers the unique stressors in cybersecurity work, the prevalence of neurodivergence in tech, practical strategies for combating burnout, and how Mental Health Hackers is creating safe spaces at conferences worldwide where hackers can support other hackers.

KEY TOPICS & TIMESTAMPS

4:00 How Mental Health Hackers got started 

5:22 What Mental Health Hackers does 

7:52 The challenge of finding mental health professionals who understand cybersecurity 

8:32 Practical strategies for preventing burnout 

12:08 Why polymaths have an advantage in mental health 

13:35 The most common mental health issues in cybersecurity 

16:10 The pressure of leadership and C-level mental health 

18:52 Finding therapists who can follow technical conversations 

20:43 Connecting mental health professionals with InfoSec practitioners 

22:50 Mental Health First Aid training—what is it is and why it matters

24:13 How to volunteer or sponsor Mental Health Hackers 

26:49 What businesses can do to support mental health 

29:17 The cultural evolution of the cybersecurity community 

32:05 How DEF CON has changed over the years 

35:26 The connection between physical and mental health

KEY QUOTES

 "Do something that is not security related, something that's not your day job related. For a long time I did not do that and burnt out." - Amanda Berlin

"There's actually a really high occurrence of general mental health issues in STEM fields, as well as neurodivergence. We see it all the time." - Amanda Berlin

"When my kids tell people what my nonprofit does, they describe it as sort of like a daycare for adults that are geeks. And it's pretty close to that." - Amanda Berlin

HELPFUL LINKS 

Mental Health Hackers - https://mentalhealthhackers.org 

CREDITS 

Host: Dave Johnson 

Producer: Ben Baker 

Sponsor: Expel Security

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The Job Security Podcast explores the unique perspectives and stories of the people who make the cybersecurity industry what it is, whether they realize it or not.