Mental Health Momentum

Mental Health Momentum: A Silicon Slopes podcast features thought-provoking conversations regarding mental health with Utah business owners, entrepreneurs, industry professionals, and people with inspiring mental health journeys. Mental health issues are now workplace issues. The more business leaders understand about the mental health challenges their employees face, the better they can help everyone succeed. Come learn more about mental health in the workplace!

Mental Health Momentum is a health podcast hosted by Silicon Slopes, with 86 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Silicon Slopes hosts Mental Health Momentum, a health show with 86 episodes published.

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  Mental Health Momentum

  Amber Zaugg: Why Being Together Doesn’t Mean We’re Connected

  Sep 9, 202625 min

  We talk constantly about connection. We want better relationships. Better workplaces. Better mental health. And now, in the age of AI, we're being told that authentic human connection may become more valuable than ever. But do we actually know what it means to connect? In this episode of Mental Health Momentum, licensed psychologist Dr. David Morgan sits down with Amber Zaugg, a behavioral scientist, practicing clinician, entrepreneur and AI builder whose work explores what humans need to genuinely connect with themselves and one another. Her path into mental health and addiction recovery was shaped in part by discovering her former husband's addiction after they were married and had children. Their marriage eventually ended, and in 2020, he died by suicide. Rather than separating those experiences from her professional work, Zaugg talks about how lived experience changed the way she understands suffering, addiction, recovery and the people sitting across from her as a clinician. “Suffering is the connect.” That experience eventually contributed to a larger question at the center of her work: What does genuine human connection actually require? Zaugg developed what she calls the Atlas Algorithm, a framework designed to help people connect with themselves and others through three steps: sharing fear, becoming empowered in innocence, and becoming fully alive in the present moment. Together, they discuss a system that has become very good at defining disorders, symptoms and diagnoses—but spends far less time asking what wellness actually looks like. As Zaugg puts it: “Let’s define what well looks like.” That question becomes even more urgent as people increasingly turn to technology for companionship, advice and mental health support. Can AI provide genuine human connection? Zaugg doesn't believe that's the goal. Instead, she sees an opportunity to use AI to help humans develop the tools they need to connect more deeply with other humans. In this episode: Why lived experience can make us more compassionate helpers How addiction and loss shaped Zaugg's work What the Atlas Algorithm says about human connection Why being together doesn't necessarily mean we're connected The two fundamental fears Zaugg believes humans carry Why mental health needs a clearer definition of wellness The potential limitations of diagnostic labels What it means to feel “fully alive” Whether AI can provide genuine human connection How technology might help us become better at connecting with one another Why human-to-human connection may become even more important in the age of AI Technology may be able to teach us something about connection. It may even help us practice it. But Zaugg believes there is something fundamentally different about being seen, heard, understood and cared for by another person.

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  Mental Health Momentum

  Jon Cheney and the Mental Health Side of AI & the Future of Work

  Sep 2, 202627 min

  What happens to our sense of purpose, identity, and mental health when AI starts handling the tasks we’ve always done? In this episode of Mental Health Momentum , Dr. David Morgan sits down with entrepreneur and AI educator John Cheney to unpack the real psychological impact of rapid technological change. They explore why so many people feel anxious about AI “taking jobs,” how adaptability and emotional resilience have become essential workplace skills, and why creation — not just productivity — sits at the core of human purpose. John also shares his personal story of building a company, facing a near-collapse, battling depression, and learning to reframe failure as fuel instead of a final verdict. A grounded, honest conversation about using AI as a lever for people rather than a replacement — and what it takes to stay mentally steady while the future of work keeps shifting.

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  Mental Health Momentum

  Lindsay Schiess: Why Better Leaders Start With Better Self-Awareness

  Aug 26, 202628 min

  What if some of the biggest problems inside a workplace could be addressed before they become burnout, conflict, disengagement, or a resignation letter? In this episode of Mental Health Momentum , Silicon Slopes Director of Mental Health Awareness and licensed psychologist Dr. David Morgan sits down with Lindsay Schiess, LCSW , therapist, speaker, University of Utah instructor, podcast host, and founder of Rise with Purpose. Lindsay has spent her career studying a deceptively simple question: What helps some people move through difficult experiences and grow, while others become stuck? That curiosity eventually led her from an early interest in broadcast journalism into mental health. She discovered that she didn't just want to hear people's stories, she wanted to understand human behavior and help people change their stories. Today, Lindsay brings those lessons beyond the therapy office and into workplaces, helping leaders, teams, and organizations understand how emotional health affects communication, relationships, resilience, and performance. And one of her biggest lessons is surprisingly practical: You can work on problems proactively, or you can clean them up later. Either way, you're going to spend the time. Lindsay and David explore why people often wait until they're overwhelmed before seeking help, why mental health progress can be harder to recognize than physical progress, and why an outside perspective can help us see patterns we simply can't recognize when we're in the middle of them. The conversation also moves directly into the workplace. Lindsay explains that many of the same problems she encounters in therapy, particularly communication breakdowns and disconnection, show up inside organizations. Her work with businesses is designed to address those issues earlier, giving people tools to build healthier environments before problems reach the breaking point. In This Episode, You'll Learn: Why self-awareness can make us better leaders, partners, parents, and colleagues Why mental health deserves the same intentional investment we give physical health How an outside perspective can reveal patterns we can't see ourselves Why communication and disconnection are both personal and workplace problems How resilience helps people navigate difficult experiences and change Why proactive investment in workplace mental health can be easier than repairing burnout and conflict later How leaders can create healthier, more connected teams Why the hardest personal work can also produce some of the most meaningful change As Lindsay puts it, the real work doesn't end in a therapy session or leadership training. It shows up when you return to your family, your employees, your relationships, and your everyday life.

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  Mental Health Momentum

  Marianne Viray: Can We Disagree Without Hating Each Other?

  Aug 19, 202629 min

  What happens to our mental health, relationships, workplaces, and communities when people with different beliefs stop seeing one another as people worth listening to? On this episode of Mental Health Momentum, Silicon Slopes Director of Mental Health Awareness and licensed psychologist Dr. David Morgan sits down with Marianne Viray, Executive Director of Disagree Better, to explore why healthy disagreement matters and what we can do when conflict turns into contempt. Disagree Better is a national initiative founded by Utah Governor Spencer Cox during his tenure as chair of the National Governors Association. Today, the independent nonprofit works with leaders and communities to model constructive disagreement and help Americans navigate difficult conversations without abandoning their principles. Viray explains why disagreement itself isn't the problem. Conflict can be productive. The danger comes when differences become identity, opponents become enemies, and people stop believing conversation can accomplish anything. In this episode: Why disagreement can be healthy—and even necessary How political polarization affects relationships and emotional well-being Why contempt and distrust make productive conversations nearly impossible The origins of Governor Spencer Cox's Disagree Better initiative What researchers are learning about constructive disagreement Why listening doesn't require surrendering your convictions How leaders can model healthier conflict Practical ways to approach difficult conversations with curiosity instead of hostility Disagree Better's approach is surprisingly simple: you don't have to agree with someone to treat them with dignity. Its practical guidance emphasizes listening to understand, avoiding assumptions about another person's motives, separating opinions from identity, and staying curious during disagreement. Research behind Disagree Better offers an encouraging counterpoint. Stanford researchers studying the initiative's bipartisan messaging found that exposure to leaders modeling constructive disagreement increased people's willingness to listen to opposing views, increased openness to different perspectives, and reduced hostility toward political opponents. At a moment when many Americans feel exhausted by division, Morgan and Viray offer a different way to think about conflict: maybe the goal isn't to agree more. Maybe we need to get better at disagreeing. For more information please visit: disagreebetter.us, or for the Conflict Competency 40-hour training cohort please visit https://artsci.usu.edu/peace-institute/transformative-mediation-certification-training.

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  Mental Health Momentum

  Dr. Angela Trego: What Does a Rocket Scientist Know About Imposter Syndrome?

  Aug 12, 202626 min

  You can have the Ph.D. You can have the patents. You can even be a rocket scientist, and still walk into a room wondering whether you belong there. Dr. Angela Trego knows that feeling firsthand. On this episode of Mental Health Momentum, Silicon Slopes Director of Mental Health Awareness and licensed psychologist Dr. David Morgan sits down with Dr. Trego, a rocket scientist turned confidence and communication expert and #1 bestselling author of Squashing the Imposter Syndrome . Early in her engineering career at Boeing, Trego found herself as the only woman among roughly 200 men. Her credentials said she belonged. Her internal voice sometimes told a very different story. That experience eventually became part of a much larger professional mission: understanding why capable, accomplished people doubt themselves—and helping them develop the confidence to contribute at their full potential. “Too often, the internal feelings don't match that external reality,” Trego tells Morgan. In this conversation, Morgan and Trego explore the connection between imposter syndrome, self-doubt, confidence, mental health, leadership, and professional performance . Trego explains why imposter syndrome isn't limited to executives, highly educated professionals, or women. Her research has included people across genders, cultures, professions, and ages, and she has seen the same fundamental question surface again and again: Do I really belong here? Trego argues that when talented employees lack the confidence to speak up, share ideas, take risks, or contribute their expertise, organizations lose some of the very talent they worked so hard to hire. In this episode: What imposter syndrome actually feels like Why accomplishments don't automatically eliminate self-doubt Trego's experience as the only woman on a large engineering team The difference between our internal perceptions and external reality How confidence affects professional performance Why talented employees sometimes stay silent Imposter syndrome among men and women Confidence, communication, and leadership Moving from technical expertise into a completely different career Why organizations should care when employees don't believe they belong The conversation also explores Trego's unconventional career journey from mechanical engineering and aerospace to professional development, communication, leadership, and confidence and why technical expertise alone doesn't always prepare people to recognize their own value. Don’t miss this fascinating conversation with one of the most authentic voices in business leadership today.

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