Resilience Unravelled

In this Resilience Unravelled episode, host Dr Russell Thackeray interviews Dr. Joel Davis Brown about consciousness as worldview and self-positioning within society, and how marginalised communities often lack the “luxury” of drifting through life unaware of systemic inequities. Brown defines marginalised communities as those denied full access to life, liberty, and freedom, and discusses causes of marginalisation including discomfort with difference, scarcity thinking, greed, apathy, and historical inequality. He explores reclaiming the term “queer,” describing it as a generationally contested but increasingly inclusive political and cultural umbrella within LGBTQ+ identity. Brown outlines his work as an author, poet, professor, and organisational development consultant focused on culture, strategy, and leadership, arguing effective leadership requires self-interrogation, inclusion, and resisting groupthink. He explains why he wrote Souls of Queer Folk (2023) to uncover LGBTQ+ values and leadership lessons, and previews his upcoming healing book, I Had to Become the Father, releasing mid-August. 00:00 Welcome and Banter 00:53 Who Is Joel Brown 02:02 Defining Consciousness 04:08 Awake in Margins 06:58 What Marginalised Means 10:19 Why Marginalisation Happens 13:37 Reclaiming Queer 19:38 What Joel Does 23:02 Souls of Queer Folk Origins 29:54 Leadership Lessons From Queer Culture 41:16 Healing Book Preview 43:43 Where to Find Joel 44:18 Closing Thanks You can contact us at [email protected] Resources can be found online or link to our website https://resilienceunravelled.com

Host Dr Russell Thackeray interviews Georgina Woodley in Perth, Australia about her background in big-four consulting, strategy, and 20+ years in market research, and her interest in applying personal-development “energy” concepts to organisations. They discuss how people sense workplace culture, how individual mood and “underlying human state” affects meetings, authenticity, and leadership responsibilities to support mental wellbeing. Woodley introduces Joy-o-meter, a measurement framework/program that assesses customer and staff experience plus the underlying human state to reveal patterns, capacity, and friction points affecting performance, loyalty, burnout risk, absenteeism, and turnover. She argues joy is a strategic advantage linked to creativity, flow, and psychological safety, and contrasts joy measurement with satisfaction and NPS. Joy-o-meter uses succinct quantitative surveys with open-ended comments, can isolate current issues from past experiences, and is delivered flexibly via reporting, workshops, or dashboards. Contact is via LinkedIn and joy-o-meter.com. 00:00 Summer vs Aussie Winter 01:39 Meet Georgina Woodley 02:30 What Energy Means at Work 06:19 Authenticity and Mood Responsibility 10:11 Measuring Joy with Joy-o-meter 12:59 Why Joy Drives Performance 16:36 Beyond NPS and Satisfaction 19:34 How Joy-o-meter Works in Practice 21:57 Finding Friction and Burnout Risk 26:30 Expectations and Better Signals 29:08 Where to Learn More 29:56 ROI Proof and Closing Thoughts You can contact us at [email protected] Resources can be found online or link to our website https://resilienceunravelled.com

Host Dr Russell Thackeray welcomes Fort Lauderdale–based visual artist, therapeutic arts practitioner, author, and two-time cancer survivor Nerissa Balland, who discusses her work at the intersection of creativity, resilience, and personal growth. After being diagnosed with metastatic melanoma in 2016 while pregnant and parenting a toddler, she navigated surgeries, immunotherapy, later recurrence, chemotherapy she stopped due to low odds and side effects, and advocacy challenges including being told to terminate a pregnancy; she is now 8.5 years NED. Balland distinguishes therapeutic arts from art therapy and reframes resilience as engaging with adversity and moving forward, focusing on process over product, identity, and what can be controlled. She describes interviewing 100+ young mothers with cancer and her book, "Canvas of Courage," featuring 19 stories with practical “grace notes,” addressing gratitude, creativity, and how to show up for others. 00:00 Heatwave Welcome 00:48 Meet Nerissa 01:47 Art and Resilience Mission 04:07 What Visual Artist Means 05:20 Redefining Resilience 07:24 Therapeutic Arts Explained 10:24 Identity and Honest Expression 12:12 Corporate Toxicity Lessons 17:51 Control and Moving Forward 19:38 Creative Coping Stories 21:48 Melanoma Diagnosis Journey 30:14 Advocacy and Treatment Choices 32:28 Canvas of Courage Book 38:14 Where to Find Nerissa 38:57 Final Thanks and Goodbye You can contact us at [email protected] Resources can be found online or link to our website https://resilienceunravelled.com

Dr Russell Thackeray interviews Melbourne-based clinician and BBM (Brain Benefit Movement) founder Aram Cargill, a father of nine and former musician who developed a protocol to improve self-regulation and executive function, informed by raising a daughter with level 3 autism and two sons with ADHD and publishing multiple journal papers. They discuss ADHD diagnosis via DSM indicators, how ADHD traits vary by individual, and how ADHD-like symptoms can arise from stress, trauma, environment, and modern “base load” pressure. Cargill differentiates ADHD and autism, describing autism as more insular and emphasising expectation management and transition “thresholds,” and explains hyperfocus and detail-noticing as strengths. They explore higher burnout in neurodivergent people, concerns about short-form scrolling (including a child’s stutter resolving when iPads were removed), and his book “Seven Pillars of Mental Fitness,” arguing for proactive mental fitness in schools and a physiology-first lens; he outlines pillars including vision, attitude, awareness, adaptability, grit, recovery, and connectivity, and shares where to find the book and his research. 00:00 Welcome and Introductions 00:27 Aram Background and BBM 01:58 What ADHD Really Is 04:01 Symptoms vs Diagnosis 07:10 ADHD and Autism Differences 08:23 Autism Expectations and Safety 12:16 Hyperfocus and Tech Careers 15:41 Burnout and Modern Stress 18:21 Social Media and Kids Brains 22:20 Why Mental Fitness Matters 27:10 Seven Pillars Overview 29:45 Physiology First Psychology 31:14 Who the Book Is For 33:51 Where to Get the Book 34:58 Find Aram and Closing You can contact us at [email protected] Resources can be found online or link to our website https://resilienceunravelled.com

Host Dr Russell Thackeray interviews Dr. Kim Foster, an MD and former family doctor now living on Vancouver Island and spending summers in London, about identity and change. Foster explains identity as the “I am” stories people tell themselves, often inherited from parents, teachers, or society, and argues even positive labels can be limiting. She shares her own shift from being “the artistic one” to embracing science and medicine, and describes her current work as an author, speaker, YouTube creator, coach, and educator. Foster outlines her three-step process—recognise, redesign, ritualise—emphasising building “identity evidence” through small daily actions rather than affirmations, illustrated by her learning golf in her 50s. They discuss gendered identity pressures around work and motherhood, the risks of over-identifying with diagnostic labels, and her new book, "Redesigning You: Change Your Inner Story, Transform Your Health," plus her website drkimfoster.com. 00:00 Welcome and London Intro 00:31 Canada UK Summer Life 02:07 From GP to New Career 05:10 What Identity Means 06:59 Identity Shifts in School 08:58 Reclaiming Your Identity 10:47 Building Identity Evidence 12:18 Golf and Bridge Identities 14:30 Gender and Role Identity 19:20 Three Rs Framework 21:51 New Book Redesigning You 24:39 Labels and Being Unwell 26:55 Client Success Story 29:04 Where to Find Kim 29:39 Closing Thanks You can contact us at [email protected] Resources can be found online or link to our website https://resilienceunravelled.com