In this mindful episode of the Exploring Information Security podcast, Amanda Berlin joins me from Converge and BSides Detroit this past week to talk about mental health.
Amanda (@InfoSystir) gave a keynote at Converge last week. The topic: mental health. It's a great talk and something I recommend people watch. Mental health is very important in our field. A lot of us were bullied coming up through school. Others grew up in awful environments. We've gotten past those challenges to become successful information security professionals. There are still scars, however, and if we don't identify and address them it will lead to unhealthy actions. Especially, since we are in a high-stress field that is overwhelmed.
We need to have an open dialogue about mental health. The downside to have a poor mental health. We need to share ideas on how to better address our state of minds. Often we feel alone. We are not. If you feel like you are in a bad place mentally, there are resources that can help. Call a hotline (1-800-273-8255). Do a Google search. There are people who can help. Family, friends, or mentors. You matter.
In this episode we discuss:
Why talking about mental health is important
What experience we've had
How we handle our own mental state
How others are handling their mental state