Notes on Resilience 133: Invisible Wounds and the Workplace, from The Breakout podcast
When tested, we don't rise to the level of our aspirations. We fall back to the level of our training, habits, and policies.
This episode originally aired on The Breakout podcast, where I joined hosts Dr. Keri Ohlrich and Kelly Guenther to talk about trauma, recovery, resilience, and how society fails invisible victims of traumatic events.
For every physical injury in mass violence events, studies show between 5-40 people suffer psychological injuries—yet these survivors remain largely unacknowledged. "People openly told me my experience didn't count," she shares, revealing how this invalidation creates a secondary trauma that compounds suffering. This stigma drives many trauma survivors into silence, delaying treatment and deepening isolation.
Our workplace environments significantly impact healing—we spend approximately 90,000 hours at work over our lifetimes, and research shows managers influence our mental health as much as spouses and more than therapists. Yet most workplaces remain ill-equipped to support employees dealing with trauma.
Good intentions aren't enough. Organizations need embedded structures that support psychological safety regardless of who manages a team.
Listen to this powerful episode to understand how workplace cultures can either accelerate or hinder healing, and discover practical ways to create environments where everyone—including trauma survivors—can bring their best selves to work every day.
Go to https://betterhelp.com/resilience or click Notes on Resilience during sign up for 10% off your first month of therapy with my sponsor BetterHelp.
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Producer / Editor: Neel Panji
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