Road to Resilience

As a teenager, figure skater Gracie Gold won two US National titles and an Olympic bronze medal. But then depression, anxiety, and an eating disorder forced her to withdraw from competition and seek treatment.In this interview, Gracie talks about the pitfalls of pursuing Olympic glory, and how the same qualities that made her an elite athlete also made it hard to spot red flags. “I will just keep going in a way that's admirable until it's destructive,” she says. After a life-threatening mental health crisis in 2017, Gold learned to reject toxic positivity and take a more balanced approach to life. As for her goal of competing in the 2022 Olympics, she says, “This time it's not the fear of failure driving me. It's the pursuit of excellence.”From the postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games, to social isolation and anxiety, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on elite athletes’ mental health. A recent HBO documentary film, “The Weight of Gold,” spotlights those struggles and features interviews with Gracie Gold, Michael Phelps, Lolo Jones, and other Olympians.Links: "The Weight of Gold" (HBO Sports Documentary) Behavioral Health at Mount SinaiAmerican Foundation for Suicide PreventionCrisis Text LineThe National Alliance On Mental IllnessIf you're enjoying Road to Resilience, please review us on Apple Podcasts. It helps new listeners discover the show. Thanks!Sign up for our monthly newsletter.Learn more about the podcast on our homepage.Feedback and guest suggestions welcome! Email us at podcasts@mountsinai.orgRoad to Resilience is a proud production of the Mount Sinai Health System.Check out more episodes of Road to Resilience —as well as guest pictures, transcripts, and more— on the Mount Sinai website.Road to Resilience brings you stories and insights to help you thrive in a challenging world. From fighting burnout and trauma to building resilient families, we explore what’s possible when science meets the human spirit.

Machismo almost killed Neil Carroll. Growing up in the Bronx in the 1970s, he was taught that when bad things happen, real men suck it up. So after experiencing trauma in the Air Force, instead of looking for help, Neil turned to drugs and alcohol. “I had all the wrong coping mechanisms,” he recalls. Then came 9/11 and a host of new challenges, including cancer. To survive, Neil would have to rethink what it means to be a man.Links World Trade Center (WTC) Health ProgramMount Sinai Selikoff Centers for Occupational HealthUmut Sarpel, MD (Neil’s Surgical Oncologist)Federal WTC Health ProgramFealGood FoundationIf you're enjoying Road to Resilience, please review us on Apple Podcasts. It helps new listeners discover the show. Thanks!Sign up for our monthly newsletter.Learn more about the podcast on our homepage.Feedback and guest suggestions welcome! Email us at podcasts@mountsinai.orgRoad to Resilience is a proud production of the Mount Sinai Health System.Check out more episodes of Road to Resilience —as well as guest pictures, transcripts, and more— on the Mount Sinai website.Road to Resilience brings you stories and insights to help you thrive in a challenging world. From fighting burnout and trauma to building resilient families, we explore what’s possible when science meets the human spirit.

Autism has always been a part of Alison Singer’s life. When she was a little girl in the 1970s, she would visit her older brother, who has non-verbal autism with a cognitive disability, at the now-infamous Willowbrook State School on Staten Island. “I just remember hearing a lot of screaming and moaning,” she recalls. “I hated it.” By the time Alison’s first daughter, Jodie, was born with severe disabilities in the late 1990s, society and autism science had evolved, thanks to parent-activists like Alison’s mother. But there was still so much work to be done. Alison quickly became an advocate in her own right. In 2009, she co-founded the Autism Science Foundation, which funds autism research. In this interview, Alison is joined by her daughter, Lauren, an undergraduate at Yale University, who has also devoted herself to improving our understanding of autism and designing interventions to help people with autism thrive. Together, they reflect on their family’s story, including how they’ve turned love and adversity into advocacy, and what they’ve learned along the way.Links: The Seaver Autism Center for Research & Treatment at Mount Sinai 24th Annual Advances in Autism Conference (Sept. 17, 2020)Alexander Kolevzon, MD (Jodie’s doctor)Autism Science FoundationIf you're enjoying Road to Resilience, please review us on Apple Podcasts. It helps new listeners discover the show. Thanks!Sign up for our monthly newsletter.Learn more about the podcast on our homepage.Feedback and guest suggestions welcome! Email us at podcasts@mountsinai.orgRoad to Resilience is a proud production of the Mount Sinai Health System.Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're eligible to enroll in a clinical trial with the Mount Sinai Health System.Check out more episodes of Road to Resilience —as well as guest pictures, transcripts, and more— on the Mount Sinai website.Road to Resilience brings you stories and insights to help you thrive in a challenging world. From fighting burnout and trauma to building resilient families, we explore what’s possible when science meets the human spirit.

In late March, while coronavirus cases surged in New York City, Shahonna Anderson, 40, was diagnosed with stage three cancer. She’d already had an orange-sized tumor removed from her chest, and now she faced daily radiation and two cycles of chemotherapy at the Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai. “After five minutes of crying, I said, ‘Alright, we gotta do what we gotta do. So let’s go!’” she recalls. A born optimist, Ms. Anderson found herself pushed to the limit. To beat cancer, she would have to rely on friends and family like never before—even when asking for help was uncomfortable. In this interview, she talks about how that and learning to accept chemo’s impact on her body helped her become cancer-free. LinksDong-Seok Daniel Lee, MD (Shahonna’s surgeon) Deborah B. Doroshow, MD, PhD (Shahonna’s oncologist) Kenneth Rosenzweig, MD (Shahonna’s radiation oncologist)The Tisch Cancer InstituteCancer Care at Mount SinaiEnsuring a Safe Mount SinaiIf you're enjoying Road to Resilience, please review us on Apple Podcasts. It helps new listeners discover the show. Thanks!Sign up for our monthly newsletter.Learn more about the podcast on our homepage.Feedback and guest suggestions welcome! Email us at podcasts@mountsinai.orgRoad to Resilience is a proud production of the Mount Sinai Health System.Check out more episodes of Road to Resilience —as well as guest pictures, transcripts, and more— on the Mount Sinai website.Road to Resilience brings you stories and insights to help you thrive in a challenging world. From fighting burnout and trauma to building resilient families, we explore what’s possible when science meets the human spirit.

After the most destructive earthquake in a century struck Puerto Rico on Jan. 7, Hansel Arroyo, MD, and Lyse Aybar, LCSW, joined a team of mental health workers headed for the island. With the ground still trembling, they went door to door, listening to survivors' stories and providing mental health assistance. In this interview, recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Arroyo and Ms. Aybar share strategies they used to boost survivors' resilience and reflected on how communities respond to natural disasters.Links Behavioral Health at Mount Sinai Emergency Behavioral Health ServicesThe Puerto Rico Administration of Mental Health and Anti-Addiction ServicesVisit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're eligible to enroll in a clinical trial with the Mount Sinai Health System.Check out more episodes of Road to Resilience —as well as guest pictures, transcripts, and more— on the Mount Sinai website.Road to Resilience brings you stories and insights to help you thrive in a challenging world. From fighting burnout and trauma to building resilient families, we explore what’s possible when science meets the human spirit.

Neuroscientist Daniela Schiller, PhD, grew up in the shadow of the Holocaust. Her father was a survivor, but he refused to talk about his experiences. Propelled by his silence, Dr. Schiller became an expert on how the brain stores fear memories. In 2010, she published a landmark paper in Nature that shed light on a neurological process called “reconsolidation,” in which memories become subject to change when they are recalled. In recent years, she has explored the power of imagination and mindfulness to alter the intense emotions associated with painful memories. Her research may point the way to new treatments for a range of anxiety disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this interview she talks about how learning to see memories as malleable is liberating and about how her research changed her understanding of her father.Links:Schiller Laboratory Friedman Brain InstituteNash Family Department of NeuroscienceISMMS Department of PsychiatryVisit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're eligible to enroll in a clinical trial with the Mount Sinai Health System.Check out more episodes of Road to Resilience —as well as guest pictures, transcripts, and more— on the Mount Sinai website.Road to Resilience brings you stories and insights to help you thrive in a challenging world. From fighting burnout and trauma to building resilient families, we explore what’s possible when science meets the human spirit.

Lynne Richardson, MD, wanted to become a doctor ever since she was a kid. But society had other ideas for a black girl born in Harlem in the 1950s. "I remember the first time I told my family physician. He said, 'Don't be ridiculous. You'll get married and have children,'" she recalls. Dr. Richardson went on to become an emergency medicine physician and renowned health equity researcher. On this episode, she talks about how rewriting society's "script" helped her build resilience, and explains why she's hopeful that COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement will lead to progress on health care inequities. Dr. Richardson is co-Director of the Institute for Health Equity Research, Professor, Emergency Medicine, and Population Health Science and Policy, and Vice Chair for Academic, Research, and Community Programs, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai This episode also features Ernest J. Barthelemy, MD, MA, MPH, Chief Resident, Department of Neurosurgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.Links:Institute for Health Equity Research at Mount SinaiUnited In Solidarity at the Mount Sinai Health SystemAnti-racism resources Mount Sinai’s Office for Diversity & InclusionDr. Richardson’s FemInEM lectureGet Road to Resilience in your inboxCheck out more episodes of Road to Resilience —as well as guest pictures, transcripts, and more— on the Mount Sinai website.Road to Resilience brings you stories and insights to help you thrive in a challenging world. From fighting burnout and trauma to building resilient families, we explore what’s possible when science meets the human spirit.

Emergency physician Erik Blutinger, MD, was in his first year out of residency when the pandemic hit. As COVID-19 patients flooded Mount Sinai Queens, Dr. Blutinger strained to apply his training in an unprecedented situation, where split-second decisions had to be made with an evolving understanding of the virus. Two months after the virus peaked in New York City, and with the number of patients with COVID-19 at Mount Sinai Queens near zero, he reflects on what getting back to “normal” means for him and his patients.LinksErik Blutinger, MD (bio)Emergency Medicine at Mount Sinai QueensFrom the Front-Lines: Video Diary of Dr. BlutingerMental Health & Psychosocial Support During COVID-19 (for Mount Sinai staff)Get Road to Resilience in your inboxCheck out more episodes of Road to Resilience —as well as guest pictures, transcripts, and more— on the Mount Sinai website.Road to Resilience brings you stories and insights to help you thrive in a challenging world. From fighting burnout and trauma to building resilient families, we explore what’s possible when science meets the human spirit.

Jordyn Feingold, MAPP, shares three evidenced-based techniques for harnessing the power of the positive in bleak times. Jordyn is a Positive Psychology Practitioner and a Medical Student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.REVAMP: A Novel Approach to Well-Being in Medical SchoolPEERS ProgramThe Office of Well-Being and Resilience@REVAMP_CoV2 on InstagramREVAMP_CoV2 on Facebook  Well-Being Staff Resources During COVID-19Character Strengths SurveyPositive Medicine, a program designed to help physicians live betterGet Road to Resilience in your inboxCheck out more episodes of Road to Resilience —as well as guest pictures, transcripts, and more— on the Mount Sinai website.Road to Resilience brings you stories and insights to help you thrive in a challenging world. From fighting burnout and trauma to building resilient families, we explore what’s possible when science meets the human spirit.

When COVID-19 hit New York City, David Putrino, PhD, Director of Rehabilitation Innovation at the Mount Sinai Health System, converted his lab into recharge rooms for front-line healthcare workers. Informed by the latest research on the connection between natural environments and stress-reduction, Dr. Putrino and his team created multi-sensory experiences that can reduce stress in just 15 minutes. In this interview, Dr. Putrino talks about the science behind the recharge room and shares tips for creating relaxing spaces at home. Drawing on his work in high-performance sports, he also explains why resilience is best viewed as a social resource. “You may not be the most resilient person on the planet, but if you’re part of a highly resilient team, it elevates you,” Dr. Putrino says.The recharge rooms were conceived by Studio Elsewhere and the Abilities Research Center, part of the Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, with support from The Office of Well-Being and Resilience.The immersive audio content in the recharge rooms was created by EMBC studio composer Jacob Marshall and violinist Tim Fain. Their music appears at the beginning of this episode. Follow @the_embc on Instagram and Facebook to hear more of their work.Links:A doctor visits the recharge rooms (YouTube)More about David Putrino, PhDAbilities Research Center at Mount SinaiDepartment of Rehabilitation & Human Performance at Mount SinaiThe Office of Well-Being & ResilienceStudio Elsewhere - Front-line Strong ReliefEMBC StudioCoronavirus (COVID-19) Facts & ResourcesWays to Help Get Road to Resilience in your inboxVisit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're eligible to enroll in a clinical trial with the Mount Sinai Health System.Check out more episodes of Road to Resilience —as well as guest pictures, transcripts, and more— on the Mount Sinai website.Road to Resilience brings you stories and insights to help you thrive in a challenging world. From fighting burnout and trauma to building resilient families, we explore what’s possible when science meets the human spirit.