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Overcomers Approach
“The Overcomers Approach” podcast showcases stories of resilience, where individuals transcend challenges to achieve personal and professional success. With a focus on spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, and financial growth, the podcast inspires listeners to embrace their potential and thrive in all areas of life. Join us to learn how overcoming adversity can lead to evolution, healing, and lasting success.
Overcomers Approach
Breaking the Silence: How One Call to 988 Saved a Life
What happens when the strongest person in the room is silently drowning? In this deeply moving conversation, Gretchen Schoeser reveals how a single phone call to 988 saved her life after months of "masking up" her depression as a lifelong extrovert. Despite facing an overwhelming cascade of personal crises—early retirement, family illness, unexpected deaths, and seasonal depression—no one around her, not even her wife of 28 years, recognized her suffering until it nearly became fatal.
Gretchen takes us through that pivotal Christmas Day when, standing with a bottle of pills in her hand, she heard a small voice whispering "things might get better" and made the life-changing decision to call the 988 Crisis Lifeline. This raw account of her journey from the brink serves not as a cautionary tale, but as a testament to resilience, hope, and the power of vulnerability.
The conversation shifts beautifully to Gretchen's inspiring second act—launching an award-winning mental health podcast and founding her own company at 61 that combines her technical expertise with wellness strategies for organizations. Her innovative approach includes creating a "unicorn" code word system with her wife for mental health breaks and practical daily rituals for managing ongoing depression, from morning humor rituals to scheduled outdoor breaks.
What makes this episode especially valuable are the actionable insights for supporting ourselves and others: how to check on your "strong friends" with open-ended questions, why writing thoughts down can prevent workplace blunders, and where to find community when feeling isolated. Gretchen's powerful reminder that "you are enough, wanted, needed, and loved" encapsulates the episode's core message—that by sharing our stories honestly, we create the permission others need to acknowledge their struggles and seek help.
More on Gretchen Schoeser at her website https://www.schosersolutions.com/
Whether you're battling your own mental health challenges, supporting someone who is, or simply seeking inspiration for your next chapter, this conversation illuminates how our darkest moments can become the foundation for our most meaningful contributions to the world. In the United States and its territories if you or someone you know is challenged with a mental health call or text Crisis 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, they understand that life's challenges can sometimes be difficult.
Thank you for listening!
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Thank you for listening!
Hello everyone, this is Nicole Ellis-McGregor, the founders of the Overcomers Approach podcast, where I meet with different people from different walks of life, different experiences, different journeys and different chapters of life, but the overarching theme is that we all have the ability to overcome, no matter what challenge we face in life, and that's the power of people sharing their story, and I'm so happy to have Gretchen Schoesser here. She's a co-host in an award-winning mental health podcast and dedicated advocate for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. A suicide attempt survivor, Gretchen combines a rich tech background with personal experience to inspire and empower. At 61, she created a company that champions resilience and growth. In this episode, Gretchen invites us to explore how embracing challenges and vulnerabilities can lead to profound personal growth and hope. Wow, that was an amazing introduction. I am so inspired by you starting over entrepreneurship, suicide advocate, survivor and just an advocate for the 988 Lifeline, Gretchen. I don't even know where to start, but we can start wherever you want to start.
Speaker 2:I think it'll help your listeners understand kind of what happened.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:So the last quarter of 2022 was the hardest quarter of my entire life, even harder than when my mom passed away. I had a lot of stuff happen and you know, being 59 and a half, you know I'd been taught my entire life. We don't talk about what's going on in our head, we just shove that down until it absolutely has zero place to go. So what all happened is I was offered an early retirement from work, which was in. In all ways. That is a good thing, but you remember, there's still ageism in the network, in the workforce. And then my wife got shingles. She was down for eight weeks. If you've ever been around anybody that has shingles, you know there's absolutely nothing you can do for them.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:I hit and killed a deer. It was horrible. I got catfished and the FBI ended up getting involved. Then a really good friend of ours passed away unexpectedly. My father-in-law passed away two days before Thanksgiving, Throw in some holiday depression, some seasonal depression, and then, about two weeks before I attempted suicide, we were in New York City and I did some things that were very uncharacteristic for me, which are things that people should have picked up on. And then come Christmas day and all I wanted to do was go for a drive but couldn't because in upstate New York that winter it was minus 22 here and I went out to start my car and my car wouldn't start and I just felt so defeated and I came back in the house and went upstairs and I'd had a bottle of pill sitting in my dresser. But at that same time that I'm thinking about taking my life, I had that glimmer of hope that things might get better.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Like and I just kept hearing that voice over and over again Things might get better, things might get better. And I remember a couple months ahead that I read about 988. And so I picked up the phone and called 988. And thank God because I am alive today because of that phone number. If I hadn't called 988, I don't think I would be here today. I was that far gone in my own stuff going on in my head, and you know, for me I'm a true extrovert and a true empath.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And like nobody knew how depressed I was, nobody my wife didn't know my friends. And like nobody knew how depressed I was, nobody my wife didn't know my friends, my coworkers nobody. And it was really difficult because I couldn't put a voice to what was going on in my head, because I didn't understand it. I couldn't really find my footing, so I couldn't really tell anybody what was going on, because I didn't understand it. And that happens to a lot of us at this age.
Speaker 2:You know, I'm 62 now and you know we've always been taught. You know you don't talk about it.
Speaker 1:You're right.
Speaker 2:Part of the shame game. But over the last two years, you know, with some really extensively hard therapy on myself, I feel better. I mean, I still have depression that doesn't ever really go away, but I have better tools now to deal with it.
Speaker 1:Understandable.
Speaker 2:And what was good for me, because I wanted my friends and my family to kind of know what was going on. So I shared what happened on social media. The next day I had about 200 people reach out and say thank you, Because now they didn't feel as terrified and alone in their journey as I felt in mine.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:And you know, every time we share a story we unlock somebody else's prison, and I think that's really important right now. I mean, if I look at the world today versus what it was two years ago, the world's on fire right now.
Speaker 2:And like so many people are hurting and they don't know how to find help and they don't know what to do. And like a message I have for anybody out there that is feeling depressed maybe you don't have a community, maybe you live in rural America, whatever, you're not alone Call 988. It's not just about suicide awareness or suicide ideation. It's about crisis altogether, and the woman that answered the phone the day I called was the most compassionate human I've ever spoken to in my life.
Speaker 1:Oh, that is amazing, that is, and I'm so happy you're sharing this story and your experience. You know, I'm sure, and it sounds like you were hit with multiple things during that period. That's a lot. And then, like you said, you're, you're extroverted, so I'm sure you're just you know it's kind of hard to tell, like you know, if you're experiencing depression, because you know, especially you know, I'm sure you're just you know giving all that energy out and just you know leader and I'm sure, like, who knew?
Speaker 2:Like she's fine, like, but they always say check on your strong friends, you know, or yes, 100%, and you know that's my other message is, if you have extroverted friends, reach out to them.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:And ask questions that they actually have to answer and not a one-liner.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:You may save somebody's life.
Speaker 1:Yes. So like those open-ended questions like not where they could say no or yes, Right Like.
Speaker 2:how's your mental health today?
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Ask them that. Ask them you know what are your plans for tonight. Do things that like really want to dig in and find out more about where they are.
Speaker 1:Yes, okay, thank you. I so appreciate that because I know sometimes this conversation makes people uncomfortable. I think the more we talk about it and the more we share in your experiences and what you experienced, the more that people can be okay and it might be a little sense of discomfort. You know it may be, especially if you come from a generation where we just don't talk about the. You know, we don't talk about it, yeah. Or you know, you know I come from a family and generation people.
Speaker 1:I'm like the first of my family to go to therapy, like it just, and when I did go, that was for like crazy people, right and so. But I'm so happy, just like yourself, you're stepping out of your comfort zone. You're sharing your story because, like you said, you had more than 200 responses where people said, hey, you sharing this helped me. I don't, I could, I could talk about it, I could express it, I'm not alone, I don't have to be in isolation and I can find a community if I don't have one. So, thank you, tell me how, when you called 988, you said you met the most compassionate woman on that other line. That's that basically. You said you might not even be here if you didn't, if you didn't connect with her? Just so kind of share, if you can share your experience, because I think people are kind of even scared to call that number sometimes. Um, what helped or what can you suggest for people not to have that fear?
Speaker 2:well, number one, just to it's free, it's and it's anonymous right like those are those two things are big with me, like I didn't want to like open up to somebody and then have my real name be out there, so it's all anonymous.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:The first thing they did is they did a safety assessment on me just to make sure that I was safe. They asked if somebody was home, you know, if I had a plan and could get resources out to me. I live in very rural upstate New York and, yes, I did have resources. I kind of knew where everything was and, yes, I did have resources. I kind of knew where everything was.
Speaker 2:But just her tone and she was very empathetic and helped me to kind of figure out what was going on. So she asked me a long list of questions and got me to calm down. I, you know we did a couple of like deep breathing exercises just so I could, because I was crying the whole time I was having this conversation. I hadn't cried in like three months Because I was so busy like fixing everybody else's stuff and not taking care of myself. And she just just the way she spoke to me, it was like if my mom had been alive it would have been the way my mom would have been talking to me and just got me to a point where I could actually go downstairs and talk to my wife, because you know, my wife and I have been together for 28 years at that point and she had no clue.
Speaker 1:No clue, even after 28 years. Well, congratulations on being together for so long. That's a huge accomplishment. Yes, yes, and like you said, but she didn't even know. Your wife didn't even know that you were experiencing this.
Speaker 2:Nobody knew and it was. That's how bad it was. And you know I masked up and as an extrovert, we do that a lot. If you're an extrovert, stop doing that, because what happens is we end up hurting ourselves more.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:And we're not allowing people to come in and help us out. It's really hard to find the courage to do that, but it is life-changing once you do.
Speaker 1:Yes, thank you for sharing that. You know, I really, really appreciate that and I, as you talk about it, I I'm thinking of, like, extroverted family members, extroverted colleagues that I have, and sometimes they may drop a little hint of something. But I won't go deeper because I'm like they're so strong and I don't even know how, you know, for someone who's so strong and so confident in so many areas, I'm thinking in my mind what could I say? You know, so it doesn't sound like because, you know, sometimes I don't even know what to say. What are some of the things that you would suggest? You know, like if we have our strong friends and strong family members, just, are you? Okay? I'm here for you. Some suggestive lines that you would recommend.
Speaker 2:One thing I would suggest is everybody go out to YouTube and watch the Simon Sinek clip. It's an eight-minute clip. It's called Eight Minutes. A lot of times what we need is somebody just to listen to us right. Like you don't have to talk, just listen to us, because there's a lot of stuff going on in our heads that we may be shameful of talking about or can't really articulate what's going on. Be compassionate, don't judge and don't try and fix the situation because and don't add in your take of what's going on, because- you know for us, like we are, we have been self-talking you know negative self-talking ourselves to death and
Speaker 2:we would, we will we talk worse to ourselves than we would to anybody anybody else? Yeah, like just take them aside and say, hey, are you okay? Yeah, and like really like don't super pry, but like say something, is there something I can do to like take some of this burden off of your shoulders? Do you need to go for a walk? Like what are you know kind of what's going on? Is there anything that we can help you with? Do you need us to call like EAP or 988? Like be a friend.
Speaker 1:That's good. I like that, you know, and I like the fact that you gave the suggestion to check out the YouTube video it's called eight minutes and then to, like you said, don't try to give advice or spit on it. Listening is a active listening is a big, big part of that, and I think that is so helpful, as we, you know, connect with people and we're trying, we're being there for others as well, and then we, and like you, know what you need at the time, and so I definitely really love that feedback and that's something that I'm definitely going to integrate and I hope my listeners do too as well. I want to kind of pivot a little to your wife. What was helpful in terms of after you shared that experience? How was she supportive or how did so? Other people have relationships or spouses or family members, because now it's out there. What seemed to help you in terms of your spouse?
Speaker 2:Yes, so many things Like I am really really, really fortunate. Um, she was mad that I couldn't, that I'd tell her what was going on. But like after talking with her for quite a while, like I just told her. I didn't know how to tell her right.
Speaker 2:Because if it's not, it's not something I understood because I hadn't been through it before. But we, we came up with an action plan, like if I need to get out of the house, I use a code word and my code word is unicorn. I never use that word, but if I need to, if I need to, like, get out of the house, get out of my head, I'll just say unicorn and we'll get up and just take a drive, even if it's snowing outside. And that helps me, like get out of my head.
Speaker 1:Right, oh, that is so good, I'm going to take that one. I love that because part of my self-care strategy is to go for a drive, and my husband doesn't really understand. He thinks it's kind of weird, and so, you know, I kind of. But we're coming up with a code word. So if I just need to take a drive through the neighborhood, I'm going to come up with a word Like hey, I don't know, circus, I don't know, but I'm going for a drive for 30 minutes. I don't have to go into the as to whys, but here is the word.
Speaker 2:And we'll debrief when I get back. I love that and that's what we do. Like you know, I've only had to use it a couple of times in the last two years and then we also laugh. Right, we incorporate a ton of laughter into our relationship and laughter is super healing. Like people may not realize how healing laughter is, but it's super healing. And like we laugh at stuff that you probably should never, ever, ever laugh at.
Speaker 2:But you know what? I'm in my own house. That's right. It's not like I'm outside telling these funny stories that aren't really super funny to anybody else, but to me they are.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And she just showed me so much compassion because once she realized how depressed I was, she was really concerned because, she didn't see it Because I masked up. I was really good. Not a badge of honor For all the extroverts out there. It is not a badge of honor. You cannot wear that proudly.
Speaker 1:I understand. So you're allowing us to just open up that door of vulnerability and just to share, you know? Yes, yep, and I and I and I love that. I want to pivot also a little to how you got into entrepreneurship. I know you had an early retirement at 59, which is still so young. Like you said, there is definitely ageism out there. I know what that is. I'm post 50. I've experienced it, I get it. Ageism out there, I know what that is. I'm post-50. I've experienced it, I get it. And I think what people are finding? They're trying to find their niche or their identity, you know, because if your identity is tied to your job, career, then all of a sudden there's a quick change that could shake your world up. Yeah, and how did you walk through that and then decide to go into entrepreneurship?
Speaker 2:It's a crazy story. So you know, after I shared my journey online, my friend who is now my co-host on our podcast she was my manager at the time I use that term super loosely because I retired in April Right, we would call each other every day and just laugh about stuff you should never laugh about. It was like during one of those conversations she's like you know what we should do? A podcast.
Speaker 2:And truly, the mission behind our podcast was to normalize how we talk about mental health, because what I went through terrified my friends because they had no idea what was going on. So we launched the first episode of the podcast on February 14th and I did that in honor of my mom. I had buried her on Valentine's Day in 1997. Wanted to kind of just change the trajectory of that day. And then, you know, I did my little retirement thing. Didn't last very long because you know I got bored and I wanted to work.
Speaker 2:So I went and worked part time for a consulting firm. I was going to work full time. But, then they found out I had this amazing podcast and they're like why are you working? I'm like, well, mama needs insurance. So they offered me 30 hours and full benefits and that was all well and good until November of 2024.
Speaker 2:And that small consulting firm got picked up by a huge consulting firm, right, and it just didn't sit well with me right. I'd already done the big corporate thing and I didn't want to do it again and I'd compromised my entire life and I was like you know what?
Speaker 2:I'm 61 years old, I'm not gonna compromise again and my wife gave me permission to quit my job and I opened my own company on January 22nd and I got to. I get to do the things that I really love. I get to take all my technical experience. So I have two sides of business. I have my technical side of my business and then I have the wellness side of my business.
Speaker 2:And the wellness is all based on like companies and going through change management and making sure they're taking care of their employees' mental health, Because one of the things that companies do really horribly at is when there's something going on with change within the company. They will only look at future state and not that transition state. And a lot of times that's when people you know employees' mental health goes out the door and they wonder like well, why is everybody quitting? Why is everybody mad? Because you didn't think about them.
Speaker 1:Right, that is so good. I can think of a number of experiences, situations that I've been in where, when the change came in, it's a tough adjustment, like you said, and unfortunately sometimes the employees get left out of the whole decision or even part of the process. There's no debriefing, it's just like here it is do it, no discussion, and that takes a toll on people's mental health and we want to feel valued and worth, even if we can't change anything. Just to be a part of a conversation or opportunity to at least debrief or whatever that is. It's just makes a big difference. So I'm glad you're taking such a role as this, because it is needed, and it is needed in our current environment like more than ever.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because everything is on fire right now.
Speaker 2:Everything is on fire yeah, so I I got to take my two passions and you know I I've had 45 years in corporate America and I knew right away I'm never working for anybody, ever again. And you know I get to make decisions that that make me happy. And so, like part of that is, uh, creating some tools and putting them out on my website so that you know customer or managers can go out there, like a burnout assessment tool and a stress assessment. And when you're thinking about like human resources, it's not just human resources job to make sure your employees are okay, it's managers, it's team leads, it's your coworkers.
Speaker 2:It's everybody checking in on each other to make sure that we're okay and it's just changing the strategy a little bit and I'm really happy and like right now I'm taking Mondays off until it gets cold again. It's part of my self-health, so you know that is my self-care. Like I want to spend as much time as I can out in the sun before it gets cold again.
Speaker 1:That's right.
Speaker 2:And, you know, just incorporating a lot of what we've been doing with a podcast and we've had, um, about 120 episodes now, all walks of life, and you know, just hearing their stories has helped me to want to share my story because I want people to see me as a story of hope yes and it was not easy, like none of this has been easy for me yes um, I think the biggest lesson I learned is that you know boundaries are okay. And saying no is perfectly acceptable.
Speaker 1:Most definitely yes. Boundaries is like. I agree, they're critical and saying no is a full sentence, you know, and I love the fact that you said that, because people need to know that it's okay, that it's okay yeah.
Speaker 2:Don't you wish that we'd all learned these lessons 20 years ago, because things would have been so much easier?
Speaker 1:Oh, are you telling? Oh, my goodness. And I love the fact that you said you know, at this age, this is what I'm not going to do. You know I did the corporate thing, I invested, I gave. You know I did what I needed to do. My legacy is there, but this is on my terms now and like you're saying, you know, taking those Mondays off, like you're giving us permission to walk in, that and honor that and I'm sure for some it may be easier, harder, whatever, but the fact that you did it and made that statement and you just kind of put it out in the atmosphere that people can do these things, that it's okay to do it, and our journeys may be the same or different, but you've given us a role model to be like, hey, if I want to do this, she's letting me. Gretchen has let me know that this is possible and some people fear that, but I like the fact that you went out there and just said it and did it, and so I love it. I love man. That is just so amazing. That's a message for me as well. You know I needed that, so I love it. I love it.
Speaker 1:Can you tell me, like now that you're in the second act and you know you're here, you're doing your thing. Act. And you know you're here, you're doing your thing. Um, even, and and I I like your ronald bill, but I appreciate you being transparent about people who sometimes live with depression or mental health diagnosis or whatever. That is um the fact that people can be honest and be like it. Sometimes it never goes away. Sometimes it's a one one day, sometimes it's a seven, like just knowing that you can almost lean into it and use it as your. I think sometimes I think you could use it as your superpower. I don't know if people do it all the time, but tell me how you manage that. How do you do that?
Speaker 2:Well, you know, I incorporate some new practices into, like my journey right once I quit my job, I was like you know what I need to continue to find my joy. So now I start every morning watching 20 minutes of something super funny whether it's a raccoon video like I'm into raccoons right now, I don't know why they're filthy little animals, but like something that's gonna make me laugh and I do that for 20 minutes, and then I follow it up with saying something out loud that I'm grateful for.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Like for me. I'm so grateful to be alive. Yes, Am I sad for all the bad stuff that happened? No, Because it helped me become the person I am today. Yes, I do a lot of writing. Sometimes I go back and read what I wrote. A lot of times I don't Now that it came out of my head and it's on a piece of paper, I can just throw it away. It may come back at some point at nighttime. But now I've taken a gummy and I can't remember it. So we're good. I love it. At my age, I'm done taking Advil. I want to take something natural that's going to make me feel better and sleep.
Speaker 1:I love it. I love it, man. I just appreciate this so much. I know my listeners, too as well, are definitely going to appreciate this your authenticity and your experience. And what is now? How do you balance? You know, now that you have, I know you said you take the Mondays off, but how do you balance, you know, now that you have? I know you said you take the Mondays off, but how do you balance? Like you know, was there fear going into, like the second act, like, or was it just it started out beautiful or what did that feel like or look like?
Speaker 2:Well for me. I was fortunate I actually had a customer before I even went live with my company, so that helped.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then I wrote.
Speaker 2:I wrote a list of pros and cons and if I have to, I can go and get a job right, like McDonald's was down the road, if I need to get a job. Not that I want to do that, because you know what I'm 62 and I don't really want to be on my feet that much. Right, but remembering the reason why I did this, Right.
Speaker 2:You know, balancing out my calendar to make sure that I'm not overbooking myself. Balancing out so that I make sure I have time for my wife, balancing out so I have time for my friends, and just balancing out for my own mental well-being. I schedule little breaks to go outside If I know it's going to be nice. I check the calendar five days ahead and I'm like, oh, we're going to put 15 minutes here and 15 minutes there, just so I can get outside and get grounded a little bit right.
Speaker 2:But also remembering my purpose and my why yes, and? And wanting to heal the world and make the world a better place, because if you, if you're suffering for mental illness right now, the world is a crazy place. And being grateful. And another thing I've really worked hard on is if I go to a store and somebody's wearing a name tag, I'll talk to them by name. I'll say their name like practicing kindness. We all need to be nicer.
Speaker 1:That is so good. Just those little tips go a long way. Calling people by their name. I also like the fact that, like you said, a long way calling people by their name. I also like the fact that, like you said, never forgetting what your purpose and your why is. I think people need to really know what that is and why, because then you kind of know why you're walking your journey and what's the reason why you're there. It sounded like going outside and taking those breaks or like self-care strategies you know to help you manage, and I think sometimes people forget about that. And even like there's a power in writing. Like I didn't used to write or journal much, I do way more than I ever have now because I have to discipline myself to just be consistent and just follow along with what I wrote down, cause I used to just kind of go with the wind and then that goal was out the door and I didn't do it. So I like the fact that you said, hey, sometimes I got to write down my breaks.
Speaker 2:I love it.
Speaker 1:I love it.
Speaker 2:It's just going to write down what's in my mind too right, because I just don't want it sitting in my head all day. And if I write it down and I go back and read it, great. If I write it down and throw it in the trash, I'm okay with that too Right. But you know it's it's things like that people can do at work too.
Speaker 2:Not that okay, this didn't come out of my mouth, but like, let's say, you're in a meeting, yes, and you check out, yeah, go ahead and just like, jot something down, whether you go back and read that note or whatever. At least you got it out of your head and you're not blurting out something that you shouldn't be blurting out.
Speaker 1:I love it. That's a great strategy. That's a good one right there. That's take note, listeners, and I love that. Like you said, you just don't want to blurt out because you could be tired. You just don't even know why. Just you know your boundaries are down. It's a long day. You're slightly paying attention. You don't want to accidentally say something you can't reverse and take back. So that's a good one, gretchen, I love that. Well, I know we're winding down to the last couple of minutes and I just have another question and I'll give people an opportunity to check out your Web site the services that you offer. I know it's.
Speaker 1:Technology means wellness. I love the two merging. A lot of people don't see the two merging, but in order to stay ahead of the curve, we have to come along and grab along to this, because or we're going to get left behind and people's wellness and mental health is critical because the world is on fire. It really is, yes, and so we need our hands on deck. We need different strategies, businesses need strategies. So we need our hands on deck with different strategies. Businesses need strategies, teams need strategies, individuals need strategies and families do, and they're just trying to figure it out because the world not only is on fire, it's just moving so fast. Yes, it's moving really fast.
Speaker 1:What would you? I know you called 988 and that was the lifeline where anybody can call. It's free. I believe they can call anywhere in the nation that number. If someone after they get connected to 988, let's say they don't have a community, what would you suggest for people to find community if they are, because I'm understanding some people are very, very isolated and we haven't really went into full recovery after the pandemic. Some people just kind of stayed in that space and haven't really reconnected or reach out. Do you have any suggestions for that at all?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So like one thing I did like after my own journey is I I used Instagram and I just did a search on mental health and I found some really good, good people I could follow. That, you know, kind of got me to feel better, Like it was okay to feel the way that I was feeling. And you know there's another, another avenue you can use too. If you're not comfortable calling 988, you can use a web, a website that a friend of mine developed. It's called thehelphubco, and what that does is it breaks it down into sections. There's international numbers out there veterans, gay and lesbian, elders, all that.
Speaker 2:So just remember that all of these crisis hotlines that are out there are free and anonymous and for people that are rural like I'm rural most communities have a mental health center. You can stop in and they can help. They may have groups. They may have online groups, groups. They may have online groups. Open yourself up, Just feel better, Like keeping it all inside does nobody any good, and you know, just remind yourself that you are enough, you are wanted, you are needed, you are loved and the world's a better place because you're here.
Speaker 1:That's right. Oh, I love that, gretchen, and as I'm going to ask you for your web link and where people could purchase your items at, or just purchase your services or see what you have available, I think the critical theme is that you are enough, you are loved, you're valued, you know and you are worthy. And just to have you saying that, gretchen, I think for my listeners to hear that and repeat that to somebody else that may need to hear that, just to hear it, makes a big difference. So I thank you for this message today. I thank you for your transparency. If people want to get connected with you for your services or your business, what is your web link that they can connect to?
Speaker 2:So there's two of them. If they want to listen to the podcast, they can go out to goesononourheadsnet. If they want to find out more about my company, they can just go out to showsorsolutionscom.
Speaker 1:Awesome and make sure that in the description of the podcast when I release it within the next couple of weeks, so that'll be in the description so people can connect with you on either one of those or both. It has been just a wonderful privilege to meet with you today and to hear your story and to inspire all of us in this world that we can keep going and that we're valued and loved and that, hey, we have a second act going on and you showed us what entrepreneurship know, what entrepreneurship you know could potentially look like and what post 60 looks like. You know, because there's still, we have so much to give and so much to offer the world. Thank you.
Speaker 2:Thank you, it was an honor to be here.
Speaker 1:Thank you.