A ballet dancer's life spirals out of control—to addiction, homelessness, and prison. But with the help of somebody who's walked the road before, Dino is finding his way home. Iris Bowen is a social worker at the Coming Home Program at Mount Sinai Morningside, which provides re-entry support to people returning from incarceration. The program is part of the Mount Sinai Institute for Advanced Medicine . Dino Rivera is a patient in the program. He lives in Brooklyn, NY. Since 2006, the Coming Home...
Oct 20, 2021•34 min•Ep. 71
There’s no shortage of tools in the resilience toolkit, and yet resilience remains something of a mystery. We still don’t fully understand why some people respond to challenging situations with resilience, or exactly how to prepare for hardship. In his new book, The End of Trauma , resilience researcher George Bonanno, PhD, argues that flexibility is the missing piece. On Road to Resilience , Dr. Bonanno explains how an adaptive response allows us to use the resilience toolkit to maximum effect....
Sep 15, 2021•32 min•Ep. 70
On the eve of the 20th anniversary of 9/11, psychiatrist Sandra Lowe, MD, talks about what she's learned about trauma and resilience from treating responders. Her answers have implications for COVID-19 and beyond. Dr. Lowe is Medical Director at the World Trade Center Mental Health Program Clinical Center of Excellence at Mount Sinai. Links: World Trade Center Health Program at Mount Sinai Mount Sinai Center for Stress, Resilience, and Personal Growth The Office of Well-Being and Resilience at t...
Sep 01, 2021•33 min•Ep. 69
Jordyn Feingold, MD, MSCR, MAPP, shares three evidenced-based techniques for harnessing the power of the positive in bleak times. Dr. Feingold is a PGY1 in psychiatry at Mount Sinai, working on research and interventions aimed at promoting the well-being of medical students, residents, and physicians. A version of this episode originally aired in June 2020. (Click here to view.) The Office of Well-Being and Resilience at the Icahn School of Medicine Mount Sinai Center for Stress, Resilience, and...
Aug 19, 2021•11 min•Ep. 68
Thema Bryant-Davis, PhD, is impossible to pigeonhole. She's a psychologist, professor, minister, poet, dancer, podcaster, and more. In every role, she brings a message of relief and empowerment to marginalized people. A trauma survivor and specialist, "Dr. Thema," as she's known, helped pioneer the study of racial trauma. In this conversation, she shares pearls of wisdom from her deep knowledge of science, faith, and art. Thema Bryant-Davis, PhD, is a Professor of Psychology and Director of the ...
Aug 03, 2021•43 min•Ep. 67
An alarming number of Americans are lonely. Recent estimates range from 22 percent to as high as 61 percent , and that was before the COVID-19 pandemic made "social distancing" a household term. According to Louise Hawkley, PhD , an expert on loneliness and social isolation, the loneliness "epidemic" has serious consequences for our health as individuals and as a society. On Road to Resilience, Dr. Hawkley explains what happens when our hardwired social "hunger" isn't satisfied, and how loneline...
Jul 22, 2021•30 min•Ep. 66
For the estimated 2.8 million Americans suffering from treatment-resistant depression (TRD), the arrival of esketamine nasal spray in 2019 couldn’t come soon enough. The FDA’s decision to approve the drug, the first ketamine-based antidepressant, was the latest chapter in ketamine’s journey from anesthetic to club drug to antidepressant. It was also the result of two decades of research, including by Dennis S. Charney*, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount S...
Jul 08, 2021•23 min•Ep. 65
Anu’s story begins with a pulse. She’s 12 years old, holding her grandmother’s wrist, feeling the heartbeat’s rhythm—bounding or thready, slow or fast. “I was so taken by how much you could learn from touching someone, feeling the rhythm of their life, literally,” she recalls. Now a cardiologist at Mount Sinai, Anu Lala, MD, cares for patients with heart failure. Her work often places her at the border between life and death, which has challenged her to think deeply about questions both clinical...
Jun 25, 2021•35 min•Ep. 64
Is it better to be self-critical or self-compassionate? Until 20 years ago, when Kristin Neff, PhD , began pioneering the empirical study of self-compassion, most high-achievers would likely have answered “self-critical.” Indeed, being hard on yourself can seem like the path to success. But Dr. Neff’s research has shown that self-compassion is actually the surer and healthier road. In this interview, Dr. Neff explains what self-compassion really means—hint: it’s not for the faint of heart—and ho...
Jun 10, 2021•42 min•Ep. 63
Like exercise and nutrition, sleep is central to good health. And yet, so many of us— Road to Resilience producers included—don’t get enough high-quality sleep. So we called sleep expert Rafael Pelayo, MD, for advice. Dr. Pelayo is the author of “How to Sleep: The New Science-Based Solutions for Sleeping through the Night." In this episode, he explains how sleep keeps us resilient and offers science-backed tips that go beyond “sleep hygiene.” We also talk about Ancient Egyptian dream chambers, d...
May 25, 2021•22 min•Ep. 62
Sociologist Monika Ardelt, PhD, has spent her career studying an ideal that’s as universal as it is elusive: wisdom. And like many wisdom researchers, she’s concluded that we don’t necessarily become wiser as we age. Many people even become less wise. It’s a troubling thought, not only because wisdom is associated with resilience and life satisfaction, but also because if we’re not becoming wiser, what exactly are we becoming? Dr. Ardelt explains why wisdom matters and offers thoughts on how to ...
May 13, 2021•25 min•Ep. 61
We’re in the midst of a fertility crisis. Worldwide fertility has dropped more than 50 percent in the past 50 years, and the decline shows no sign of slowing. Shanna H. Swan, PhD, a leading environmental and reproductive epidemiologist, has spent more than two decades studying the impact of environmental chemicals and pharmaceuticals on reproductive tract development and neurodevelopment. In this episode, she explains how endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), such as phthalates and BPA, are har...
Apr 28, 2021•29 min•Ep. 60
If you live in a WEIRD society—Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic—chances are you aren't getting enough exercise. And it's not because you're bad or lazy; it's because you're normal. On this episode, Harvard paleoanthropologist Daniel E. Lieberman, PhD, explains how evolution designed humans to avoid unnecessary physical activity, i.e. "exercise" in the Western sense. In his new book, "Exercised," he busts 10 common myths about sleep, sitting, and physical activity, using th...
Apr 13, 2021•33 min•Ep. 59
Ted Bunch is co-founder of A Call to Men, an organization dedicated to preventing violence against women and promoting healthy manhood. Mr. Bunch is also co-author of "The Book of Dares," which contains 100 challenges for boys based on the work of A Call to Men. Help shape the future of Road to Resilience by taking our listener survey . Links: A Call to Men "The Book of Dares" Mount Sinai Parenting Center Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're eligible to enroll in a c...
Mar 30, 2021•29 min•Ep. 58
Author, speaker and podcast host Luvvie Ajayi Jones shares tips for conquering fear and making good trouble. “Facing fear is absolutely a muscle,” Ms. Ajayi Jones says. “Being courageous is literally a moment-by-moment decision.” Her new book is "Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual." Help shape the future of Road to Resilience by taking our listener survey . For more on facing fears, check out Episode 24 "The Gospel of Curtis" with NFL legend Curtis Martin. Links: "Professional Tr...
Mar 16, 2021•23 min•Ep. 57
Yvette Calderon, MD, MS, understands why vaccine hesitancy remains stubbornly high in communities of color. Growing up in New York City public housing, she heard stories of forced sterilization in Puerto Rico and saw the medical system put other families first. Now Dr. Calderon finds herself on the flip side of the coin, trying to persuade reluctant colleagues and community members to take the COVID-19 vaccines. With the United States passing 500,000 pandemic deaths, including her father, Dr. Ca...
Mar 02, 2021•21 min•Ep. 56
Sharon Salzberg was one of the first to bring meditation and mindfulness into mainstream American culture beginning in the 1970s. She's a co-founder of The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and the author of eleven books, including the New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness . Her podcast The Metta Hour , features interviews with leaders in the mindfulness movement. She recently released “Care for Caregivers,” a series of eight guided meditations aimed at helping caregivers build resili...
Feb 16, 2021•37 min•Ep. 55
Rachel Yehuda, PhD, has been at the forefront of trauma research and treatment for three decades. Her pioneering work with populations including military veterans and Holocaust survivors has illuminated the biology of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite scientific advances, PTSD remains difficult to treat. Even “gold standard” cognitive-behavior approaches are ineffective for too many patients. In this interview, Dr. Yehuda talks about the therapeutic potential of psychedelic-assisted...
Dec 29, 2020•28 min•Ep. 54
When COVID-19 hit back in March, Brendan Carr, MD, MS, was the first person we turned to. He oversees emergency rooms at Mount Sinai's eight hospitals. And when we spoke, Dr. Carr was in battle-mode, facing a poorly understood virus that threatened to overwhelm the U.S. health care system. Nine months later, in the midst of a third wave and with vaccinations underway, we asked Dr. Carr for his reflections on fighting a once-in-a-century pandemic. Dr. Carr is System Chair of Emergency Medicine at...
Dec 17, 2020•22 min•Ep. 53
With COVID-19 vaccines providing light at the end of the tunnel, we catch up with ICU nurse Jessica Montanaro, MSN, RN, nine months after our first interview to find out how she's doing, what she's learned this year, and how she and her team are fighting the pandemic's third wave. Ms. Montanaro is Assistant Nursing Care Coordinator, Medical Surgical Trauma ICU at Mount Sinai Morningside. Get the latest on COVID-19 vaccines https://www.mountsinai.org/about/covid19/vaccine-information COVID-19 Fac...
Dec 16, 2020•22 min•Ep. 52
The real story of how medicine moves forward, one smart person at a time. A new podcast from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Listen and subscribe on your favorite podcast app. https://realsmartpeople.buzzsprout.com If you're enjoying Road to Resilience, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts . Sign up for our monthly newsletter . Learn more about Road to Resilience on our website . Feedback and guest suggestions welcome! Email us at podcasts@mountsinai.org Road to Resilience is...
Dec 01, 2020•2 min
How can Ancient Greek tragedies help communities build resilience in the face of stress and trauma? Since 2009, Theater of War Productions has used this “ancient technology” to break cultures of silence and spark cathartic conversations. They've performed for soldiers, prison guards, front-line health workers, and many other audiences. In this interview, artistic director Bryan Doerries explains how each performance, which consists of a reading by A-list actors followed by a candid audience disc...
Nov 18, 2020•42 min•Ep. 51
Over the past few months, physician assistants (PAs) at Mount Sinai have been engaged in a lively discussion about resilience. Their goal: To process their COVID-19 experience together and share strategies for managing feelings of stress, grief, and even guilt. In this episode, two PAs and a clinical social worker talk about why they joined the 11-week resilience workshop and what they’ve learned. Whether or not you’re a healthcare worker, there’s plenty of food for thought here. Links: Mount Si...
Nov 06, 2020•21 min•Ep. 50
Tanya Bhatia has had breast cancer for much of her adult life. Her first diagnosis, at age 23, took her by surprise and left her isolated and depressed. “I never wanted to have that experience again,” she recalls. So when her second diagnosis came, she chose to handle it differently. “I’m going to live my life, and I’ll just add chemo to my routine.” Now 33 years old and battling metastatic, triple-negative breast cancer, Tanya shares how she manages the “routine” of living with a life-threateni...
Oct 21, 2020•24 min•Ep. 49
It was a dark and stormy night … Judith Hunt, 80, slipped and fell rushing down a dark hallway. She wound up in the hospital with a broken hip. It was the beginning of a medical odyssey that would include heart surgery, bowel surgery, and a brush with COVID-19. In this episode, Judith talks about facing death with grit and gallows humor, and the small moments that made her recovery possible. Links: David A. Forsh, MD (Judith’s orthopedic surgeon) Malcolm Reid, MD , (Judith’s rehabilitation docto...
Oct 06, 2020•13 min•Ep. 48
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 ...
Sep 24, 2020•22 min•Ep. 47
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 Program Mount Sinai Selikoff Ce...
Sep 11, 2020•13 min•Ep. 46
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 li...
Aug 25, 2020•32 min•Ep. 45
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 ...
Aug 13, 2020•16 min•Ep. 44
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 n...
Jul 28, 2020•25 min•Ep. 43
