Podcast appearances and mentions of Kerry J Ressler

The pandemic continues to disrupt daily lives as the Delta variant of COVID-19 sweeps through the country. The rate of stress-related disorders has also started to rise again amid ongoing unpredictability. In this episode, we speak to two behavioral health experts on how employers can best support employees this fall.Employers play a vital role in supporting employee mental health. Providing support may look different in hybrid and remote working situations, but it's all the more important and in even greater demand. [5:00]  Clear communication is key. Studies show that one of the largest sources of stress is unpredictability. Clarity, patience and flexibility are critical in these times. [7:35]Make resources easy to find. It can be stressful for employees to have to search for support. Streamline mental health resources in one central hub to support employees, rather than overwhelm. [9:37]The pandemic has accelerated virtual access. With the rise of digital access, care and support can be accessed at almost any time from nearly any location with no drive-time required. [11:10] Create a culture of trust. Provide a safe place for people to open up and be vulnerable about what they're feeling to promote understanding and enhance team building. [13:42] Leaders set the tone. Prioritize executive education so that employees are encouraged to access resources by seeing examples and role models among the leadership. [15:57]We remain in challenging times: all hands on deck are needed. Resources like Mental Health First Aidempower employees to become advocates for organizational wellbeing. [17:20] Additional resources: Webinar, Supporting behavioral health at work. Featured Speakers  Kerry ResslerM.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, McLean Hospital and Professor, Harvard Medical School Kerry J. Ressler, M.D., Ph.D., focuses on translational research, bridging molecular neurobiology in animal models with human genetic and epigenetic research on emotion, particularly fear and anxiety disorders. He has published over 300 manuscripts, ranging from genetic basic molecular mechanisms of fear processing to understanding how emotion is encoded in the brain across animal models and human patients. Swapnil PrabhaVice President, Digital Offerings, UnumWith 15 years of experience in the insurance industry, Swapnil is the Vice President of Digital Offerings at Unum. Prior to joining Unum, Swapnil spent seven years at McKinsey & Company where she was a leader in the Insurance Practice, focused on Digital Services across all lines of business and Employee Benefits specifically. You may also be interested inArticle Harnessing employee engagement to support mental health May 26, 2021 This informative article breaks down how employers can help employees get the help they need. Watch now Event Ask the legal experts: Revisiting COVID-19, paid leave and the ADA   May 20, 2021 In this event organized by Human Resource Executive (HRE), thought leaders discuss top-of-mind issues facing employers. Watch now

On this episode of Connors Center Conversations we take the long view on the impact of stress and trauma Over a Lifetime with Dr. Kerry Ressler and Dr. Cindy Liu. They took part in the Connors Center Annual Research Seminar in Fall of 2020. Kerry J. Ressler, MD, PhD, is chief scientific officer, Chief of the Center of Excellence in Depression and Anxiety Disorders and James and Patricia Poitras Chair in Psychiatry at McLean Hospital. He is also a professor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the Director of the Neurobiology of Fear Laboratory. Dr. Cindy Liu is the Director of the Developmental Risk and Cultural Resilience Laboratory at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. She has a joint appointment within the Departments of Pediatric Newborn Medicine and Psychiatry.

It happens in a moment. You’re casually scrolling through your newsfeed. You catch a glimpse of someone doing or saying something you don’t agree with.  Maybe you see a photo of a few people hugging after dinner at a restaurant...with people in the background sitting at tables that are closer than six feet apart...and servers who aren't wearing masks?! Before another thought enters your mind, you type a scathing comment: “It’s people like you who are killing people like me!” You feel like you did your good deed for the day.  Then, you get a notification. Your  friend responded to your comment: “The photo was from a year ago. You should have read the caption first.”  Oops. You only lost your marbles for a moment, but the damage is done. You got emotionally hijacked. I've been there before as well. How you lose your mind Critical thinking and rational thought occur in your frontal lobe. Emotions take place in your amygdala.  When your amygdala gets triggered by good or bad emotions, it hijacks your frontal lobe.  Emotions literally make you lose your mind. If you’ve ever bought something and brought it home (or brought someone home) only to feel regretful after the fact, you were probably emotionally hijacked when you made that decision. If you’ve ever said or done something hurtful you later regretted, you were probably emotionally hijacked, too. Or, maybe you’re just a jerk too, but let’s hope not. You are more susceptible to emotional hijacking in stressful environments, where you're bombarded with messages of fear, anger, and disdain, like the news or Twitter. Studies have also found that the amygdala modulates the fear response in humans. Fearful stimuli including fearful faces, fear inducing images, and fear conditioned cues, have been found to activate amygdala in several brain imaging studies...Kerry J. Ressler, Amygdala Activity, Fear, and Anxiety: Modulation by Stress The point is, if you act before you get your emotions under control, you’re more likely to act in a way you’ll later regret. To use common sense and critical thinking, you must first learn to tame your emotions. Critical Thinking vs. Criticism and Condemnation You can’t convince with criticism and condemnation. No matter how loud, offensive, or cruel you are, criticisms and condemnation only push people away and make you look like a jerk. Belittling others makes you look small-minded, not those you try to defame.  Why does one human treat another so...inhumanly? In my opinion, there are three possible reasons: They’re emotionally hijacked, and the only response they can come up with in such an emotional state is to slam and slander others.They name-call and criticize the messenger because they don’t understand their own position well enough to argue about the message itself. Instead, they try to eliminate the message by cutting down the messenger.They believe that by slandering someone harshly enough, the other person will be afraid to speak up any further. This one is a favorite among the Rules For Radicals followers: “Ridicule is man's most potent weapon.” Whatever the reason, choosing a harsh reaction instead of a respectful response is a childish way to treat another person. If you're on the receiving end of such childish criticism and condemnation, allow me to suggest a trick I learned long ago. Smile This past week, I was called a narcissistic a$$hole based on my belief that healthy people who choose to, should be able to get back to normal life. I smiled. Not because I enjoy reading stuff like that, but because I’ve found that’s the easiest way to shut down my own amygdala if I feel defensive, irritated, or angry. I learned the smiling trick while growing up as a fat kid. My nickname was CP (Chubby & Porky). When I got teased, I learned to smile. When I smiled, it changed how I was feeling and allowed me to think more clearly.

"Impact of Stress on the Brain: Pathology, Treatment and Prevention," the 2016 issue of Neuropsychopharmacology Reviews, focuses on advances in our understanding of the impact of stress on the brain: From pathology to circuits, treatment to prevention. Emerging data from genetics, epigenetics, neural circuit and intergenerational models, animal models, and neuroimaging all suggest that stress affects the brain in a variety of dynamic and often long-lasting ways. The effects of these processes on developmental risk for pathology are particularly notable. Produced by Nature Publishing Group and featuring Kerry J. Ressler, MD, PhD and Jordan W. Smoller, MD, ScD, this podcast synthesizes a broad array of neuroscience perspectives and approaches, demonstrating with fascinating clarity how the brain, when homeostasis / allostasis is dysregulated through the process of stress (whether external or internal), can lead to emotional dysregulation and behavioral difficulties. Neuropsychopharmacology Reviews: http://www.nature.com/nppr/index.html See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.