In today’s episode, Shannan Mondor interviews Jeff Higgins, who addresses stress, anxiety, and depression in both personal and professional settings. Jeff shares his journey through personal tragedy and lessons learned, highlighting the significant impact of mental health struggles on American businesses. He discusses innovative solutions from his company, such as employing a chaplain, a mental wellness coach, and a "Dream Manager" program. Jeff's story of resilience includes overcoming family tragedies, personal loss, and alcoholism, and his journey to summiting Mount Rainier and raising $25,000 for a school in Guatemala.

Listeners will gain insights into the importance of meaning, connection, gratitude, and forgiveness in achieving mental well-being.

Main Discussion Points or Key Takeaways:

• Understanding the Crisis: These mental health issues affect productivity, morale, and overall well-being.     
• Innovative Workplace Solutions: The importance of helping employees find purpose and achieve their life dreams.    
• Personal Story of Resilience: Jeff's early life challenges, including family abuse and loss. His transformative journey through the death of his mother, brother, and sister, and overcoming a car accident that claimed a close friend's life.
• Climbing Mount Rainier: Jeff’s achievement of summiting Mount Rainier in 2016. Raising $25,000 to build a school for special needs children in Guatemala.
• Lessons Learned: Key areas vital to mental well-being: finding meaning, building connections, practicing gratitude, and embracing forgiveness.

Guest Bio:

I want to speak to the broken, and to the brokenness in each of us.  I do this for you.  Our levels of stress, anxiety, and depression are at all-time highs, and it is taking its toll on our professional and personal lives.  I think there are some things every human on this planet shares, and struggle is one of them.  Little and big our life challenges pile up and can keep us from our best selves. Unfortunately I have seen so many people losing the battle.

It’s estimated that stress, anxiety, and depression costs American business$384 billion annually in lost productivity, health costs, low morale, poor performance, tardiness, and absenteeism; I can’t imagine what it is costing us personally.

That is why I share that our company of 25 has a chaplain, and a mental wellness coach as well as a “Dream Manager” program where our company will offer our knowledge resources to help employees navigate the complexities of achieving a life “dream”; we think it is important to help people find purpose and meaning in life. 

In 2016 I summited Mount Rainier and raised $25,000 to build a school for special needs children in rural Guatemala.  Everyone who works at our company gets a carabiner as a reminder we make it epic when we do it with purpose. 

I am also transparent about my own struggles and what I have learned coming back from the deepest of places, the types of places that breed purpose and meaning.  My mother was an alcoholic, and my brother and sister from her first marriage physically abused me, especially when Dad was often out of town.  When I was eleven, mom died in a drunken car accident.  She drove the wrong way on the highway.  I was fourteen when my older brother had a beer in his hand which he crushed on impact as he drove under a merging truck and died.  My sister subsequently lived a life of “why me” and despite my pleas ‘not to make me burry her too’, she died from alcoholism after my consent to remove life support.  Four months after my sister’s death I had a single car accident, and my close friend did not survive.  I was tried in the press as well as the courtroom and sentenced to three months in jail.  After release my own “high functioning” alcoholism became a rage that almost consumed me.   People want to know how I did not become the fourth headstone in my family.

What I have learned fighting stress, anxiety, depression and addiction:

Focus on these areas are vital to a healthy mental wellbeing:

• o Meaning- finding it and why it is important
• o Connection- your #1 health factor
• o Gratitude
• o Forgiveness- for peace

No matter your challenges these concepts are scientifically proven to improve our mental wellbeing; understanding them prevented me from becoming the fourth headstone in my family.

Connect with Jeff Higgins:

https://www.facebook.com/strugglesandsummits/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-higgins-professional-speaker-0bb830173/

 

CONNECT WITH SHANNAN KYM:

Website: shannankym.com

Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fulfillment-in-faith/id1653165886

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SHANNANKYM

Book: https://www.amazon.ca/How-Hell-Did-Get-Here/dp/0228871220

Email: [email protected]

When you have faith in yourself you will have fulfilment in all areas of your life!

See you next week and blessing to all!!!