To overcome stigma, we need to be comfortable talking about mental health. It can start with simply asking, “How are you, really?” and then listening with an open, accepting attitude.

Healthy vulnerability means you don’t have to be perfect, 100% confident, and composed all the time. We’re human, we have emotions, we have demands outside of work. It’s OK to have doubts and make mistakes. It’s OK to not have an immediate solution to every dilemma. 

If you are navigating challenges and feel like you don’t have the time or energy to care for yourself, it is possible to prioritize your own well-being using the science of small habits.

Successful people find areas of interest, develop those interests into a passion, and keep going despite inevitable setbacks.

Empathy has no script. There is no right or wrong way to do it. It's simply listening, holding safe space, withholding judgment, emotionally connecting, and communicating that incredibly healing message of “you are not alone.”

I grew up visiting Iowa’s field campus, the Macbride Nature Recreation Area, home to my earliest memories of exploring outdoors. It is the place with the “little house” in the forest, in which my sister and I would peer out the window at the bird feeders, counting the songbirds and making up names for each one we saw.

Early research on resilience emphasized the role of genetics. However, more recent research shows that some people become more resilient over their lifetimes—suggesting there are things we can all do to bounce back more quickly and effectively.

Dr. Scott Peck writes in his book, The Road Less Traveled: “Life can be difficult. Scratch that. Life is difficult.”

Workplaces can be like families and neighbors in that we typically do not get to pick who is a part of these groups. Often these relationships work marvelously and sometimes they can be difficult, stressful, and even contentious.

As I reflect on my experiences working in health care over the last few years, I can’t help but think of the exhaustion the staff at University of Iowa Health Care has felt as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through witnessing that exhaustion, I have gained an even greater sense of pride and appreciation for health care workers around the world.