Right now in the United States 19% of the population is experiencing depression, with 28.8% experiencing anxiety or depression, according to the CDC Household Pulse Survey. We need to talk about depression and normalize conversations about reaching out for help and experiencing thoughts of suicide.

This post below was originally published on CarolRoth.com here.

September is Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month. From a dhs.gov press release:

By starting the conversation, providing support, and directing help to those who need it, we can help prevent suicides and save lives. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. You are not alone.

Among the most popular posts on this site are the ones where I cover the shadow side of owning a business, including anxiety, depression, and thoughts of suicide. It seems like we only talk about it when we lose one of our own, and that is a shame. 

We need to take away the stigma around mental health struggles and normalize asking for help. It is pretty much guaranteed that you will have some tough days – or weeks or years – if you run your own business. 

According to the 7th Edition of the Startup Snapshot released this year, “The startup grind takes a major toll on founder mental health – 44% high stress, 36% burnout, 37% anxiety, 13% depression, 10% panic attacks.”

Have you ever seen a moonrise? Up until August 30 of this year, I had not – and I didn’t realize it was something that I should have had on my bucket list. 

A photographer friend reached out and said we should go watch the full moon supermoon. I immediately came up with the idea to go to the Waterfront Cafe, which is right on Lake Michigan, and would give us an unobstructed view. 

A delightful bonus was the fact that my friend, Brazilian jazz guitarist and singer Luciano Antonio, was playing that night. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I had read that the moon was going to appear much bigger and brighter than usual. 

What I got was an experience I won’t soon forget. 

This Isn’t Working! Evolving the Way We Work to Decrease Stress, Anxiety, and Depression was published by Indigo River Publishing on January 30, 2023. It achieved the launch success I hoped for on Amazon. The print book and the eBook reached #1 in different categories.

And I got an author page on Simon & Schuster, who is the book’s distributor. 

I was able to get great blurbs from some well-known authors and other thought leaders, and also endorsements from HR and DEI professionals.

In addition, I got myself booked on national and international podcasts. 

I hit a cadence of social media posts and created compelling video content, which my PR colleagues praised. 

As I write this, it’s September 8, 2023 and my book has a 4.8 rating on Amazon with 25 five-star reviews and one two-star review with no text, so I have no idea what that person didn’t like. 

Financially, the book has been successful. I have gotten several clients from it and people have told me the content is extremely helpful. Several have said they have referred back to certain sections, which is an author’s dream.

I need to make a big PR push because this book is needed even more now. 

Coming out of the pandemic, things haven’t gotten better. In fact, some aspects of the workplace have gotten worse. 

Given my professional focus on mental and physical health, how did I not know that August is Wellness Awareness Month? 

I found out because my publisher tagged my company on LinkedIn, recommending my book as a good resource on this topic. (Thanks, Indigo River Publishing!) 

Some things are working well in your life – but they could be even better.

Some things are not working in your life and they need to change.

Or, maybe you have come to a point where you are considering a big change like a career reinvention or retirement.

You need to recalibrate. 

Small change, big difference 

A very small change when steering a boat can take it to a completely different place. This is the same in your life. 

You may not need to make a big change to change your life for the better. 

Or, you may want to completely reboot your life.

That’s fine – you get to choose! 

But thought won’t get you anywhere without action. What you need is a plan. 

That is exactly what we will help you create – a plan.

For many years I owned the domain “betterthanoutplacement” and it redirected to my career transition coaching landing page. I am not worried when professionals tell me that their former employer gave them outplacement assistance as part of their severance package. 

To be clear, outplacement is fine if you are looking for a similar job in a similar industry. It may be all you need if overall your life is pretty good and you just want to find a new job. In this case, you don’t need to hire us and that is totally fine. This post isn’t for you.

However, professionals who want to make a big change, have a perfect storm of icky stuff going on in their lives, experienced a toxic work environment or bad business breakup, or are at financial risk need the focused, concierge-level attention of our VIP Coaching. 

I tell prospects or clients to take advantage of the outplacement firm’s information and meet with their coach. Most of the time, people report back that they learned a few things, but it was, in their words, “mostly worthless.”

Why is this? 

Experiencing a layoff or bad business breakup is jarring and heartbreaking. While it is tempting to try to power through it or tell yourself you’re making too big a deal out of it, that is not helpful for moving forward – or healing. 

Many professionals have experienced a toxic work environment or have been bullied in the workplace. When this happens, you may experience symptoms similar to PTSD. Your mental and physical health may be severely impacted. It is not uncommon to experience anxiety, sleep disorders, migraines, and stomach issues. 

You also may struggle with limiting beliefs around whether you will be able to get back to work, to get paid what you want, and to find work that doesn’t crush you. 

This is why we are partnering with Shweta Shyamani to offer a group RTT hypnotherapy session for Point A to Point B Transitions clients and their friends on Wednesday, July 26.

Some things are working well in your life – but they could be even better.

Some things are not working in your life and they need to change.

Or, maybe you have come to a point where you are considering a big change like a career reinvention or retirement.

You need to recalibrate. 

Small change, big difference 

A very small change when steering a boat can take it to a completely different place. This is the same in your life. 

You may not need to make a big change to change your life for the better. 

Or, you may want to completely reboot your life.

That’s fine – you get to choose! 

But thought won’t get you anywhere without action. What you need is a plan. 

That is exactly what we will help you create – a plan.

Some things are working well in your life – but they could be even better.

Some things are not working in your life and they need to change.

Or, maybe you have come to a point where you are considering a big change like a career reinvention or retirement.

You need to recalibrate. 

My book was published on January 31, 2023. Woot! 

You haven’t ordered your copy yet? You can do that here on Amazon www.tinyurl.com/TIWbook. You also can buy it wherever you buy books.

This is a small book with a big mission to evolve working so it works better for everyone. To that end, I am trying to get as much publicity as possible this year, because if people don’t know about the book, it can’t help them. 

Here is what I have booked so far: