Resilience Unravelled

Russell Thackeray
  • 5.0 (47)
  • Mental Health
  • Updated Weekly

These podcasts help you get the most from life and work by helping you reduce burnout and improve your resilience and performance.

  1. 22h ago

    Andrew Gregor on Architecture, Resilience, and Writing ‘Roscoe’ About Homelessness in San Francisco

    Host Russell Thackeray welcomes guest Andrew Gregor, a British-born, California-based architect and residential remodelling contractor who has transitioned into publishing novels. Gregor recounts being born in Beirut, sent to UK boarding school at 10, studying architecture, building an award-winning practice in Germany, then moving to the US and starting a renovation company. He discusses how architecture taught him practical skills like managing people, money, and materials, and reflects on AI’s potential impact as he plans to retire and write. Gregor’s novel ‘Roscoe,’ set over 12 hours in the life of a homeless man in San Francisco, draws heavily on his own voice and experiences, including briefly sleeping in his truck after the 2009 crash and divorce. He describes outreach work, the need to treat unhoused people with dignity, and endorses Housing First; the book won first place at the New York Book Festival and is available on major platforms. 00:00 Welcome and Introductions 00:46 Andrew’s Global Journey 01:52 From Building to Books 03:11 Architecture Skills and AI 05:19 Beirut Roots and Languages 07:07 Writing Roscoe and Voice 07:49 Orwell and Experiencing Homelessness 10:19 Close to the Edge in 2009 12:29 Dignity and Outreach Stories 15:32 Humanising Homelessness Solutions 17:56 Veterans, War, and Hypocrisy 19:41 Where to Find the Book 20:15 Connect and Closing Thanks You can contact us at info@qedod.com Resources can be found online or link to our website https://resilienceunravelled.com

  2. Oct 12

    Dr. Joel Davis Brown on Queer Consciousness, Marginalisation, and Leadership Wisdom

    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 info@qedod.com Resources can be found online or link to our website https://resilienceunravelled.com

  3. Oct 5

    Measuring Workplace Joy: Georgina Woodley on Energy, Culture, and the Joy-O-Meter

    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 info@qedod.com Resources can be found online or link to our website https://resilienceunravelled.com

  4. Sep 28

    Nerissa Balland on Creativity, Resilience, and Canvas of Courage

    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 info@qedod.com Resources can be found online or link to our website https://resilienceunravelled.com

  5. Sep 21

    Aram Cargill on ADHD, Autism, and the Seven Pillars of Mental Fitness

    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 info@qedod.com Resources can be found online or link to our website https://resilienceunravelled.com

  6. Sep 14

    Dr. Kim Foster on Redesigning Identity: Recognise, Redesign, Ritualise

    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 info@qedod.com Resources can be found online or link to our website https://resilienceunravelled.com

  7. Sep 7

    Antonio Michael Downing on Identity, Migration, and Resilience Through Art

    In this episode of Resilience Unravelled with Dr Russell Thackeray, Antonio Michael Downing discusses growing up in Trinidad and Tobago with his grandmother, who taught him to read from the King James Bible and to sing Anglican hymns, before her death led to his move at age 11 to rural Northern Ontario. He describes the shock of migration, being renamed “Michael” at school, and how losing familiar culture and language prompted questions about identity, belonging, and the self, shaping a lifelong focus on fluid identity and resilience. Downing links resilience to flexibility and performance across contexts, from multiple musical personas to a corporate career at BlackBerry, and notes that those who migrate between ages 9–14 often become “a third thing” between cultures. He connects these themes to his memoir Saga Boy and novel Black Cherokee, explains his creative process as a “visitation,” and shares that Black Cherokee has an Audible audiobook, a paperback coming in August, and that he can be reached on Instagram @antoniomichaeldowning. 00:00 Welcome and Introductions 01:24 Growing Up in Trinidad 02:22 Grandmother’s Gifts 04:26 Move to Canada 07:01 Reinventing Identity 11:17 Neither Here Nor There 13:45 Two Jackets Life 19:08 Resilience Through Fluidity 23:13 Themes in Music and Books 26:24 Toronto and Belonging 28:37 Writing as Visitation 33:35 Books Formats and Where to Find 34:53 Final Thanks and Goodbye You can contact us at info@qedod.com Resources can be found online or link to our website https://resilienceunravelled.com #resilience, #burnout, #intuition

  8. Aug 31

    Chris Hill on Rewiring Addiction Through the Separation Model

    In this Resilience Unravelled episode, host Dr Russell Thackeray interviews Chris Hill, a London-based “lived experience practitioner” who helps people with mental health and addiction by teaching an educational “separation model” that distinguishes the conscious self from mind/body mechanisms. Hill shares his own 20-year history of addiction and explains addiction as dopamine-driven habitual wiring that can be harmful when it causes damage to self or others, spanning substances (nicotine, alcohol, drugs) and behaviours (gambling, sex, porn, shopping, social media). He argues modern society “hacks” survival mechanisms, highlights environmental risks such as youth vaping and its gateway effects, and criticises willpower-only approaches. Hill outlines his book Get Your Life Back, his private mentoring via beatmyaddictions.com, and his charity robhillfoundation.org, founded after his twin brother’s fatal overdose in 2014. 00:00 Welcome and Introductions 00:37 Chris Hill Background 01:10 Personal Addiction Journey 02:49 What Addiction Means 05:46 Physical vs Behavioural Addictions 08:24 Who Is Most Vulnerable 10:33 Environment and Youth Vaping 13:48 Education and Rewiring Solution 16:59 Separation Model Explained 22:13 Natural State and Breaking the Cycle 23:38 Book and Program Options 26:24 Support Community and Faith 28:01 Charity Links and Closing You can contact us at info@qedod.com Resources can be found online or link to our website https://resilienceunravelled.com #resilience, #burnout, #intuition

See All (300)

5
out of 5
47 Ratings

About

These podcasts help you get the most from life and work by helping you reduce burnout and improve your resilience and performance.

Information

  • Creator
    Russell Thackeray
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2026
  • Episodes
    300
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 QED - Performance on Purpose
  • Show Website
    Resilience Unravelled

You Might Also Like