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Our Wellbeing Equation: What This Means to Us and How Do We Work It Out? (Repurpose)
Description
Overview - Recorded on 9/19/2025
This is a recorded live well-being session in which Dr. Brone Rice, a host, interviews Sue Reid, a confidence coach, and Margaret Williams, an executive leadership coach. The conversation centers on the concept of the well-being equation and takes a deep, nuanced dive into the nature of sadness, distinguishing it from clinical depression and exploring its physiological, psychological, and spiritual dimensions.
Key Topics Covered
1. Introductions & Context
* The host opens the session by welcoming viewers and giving a notable shout-out to the speaker’s mother, a retired math teacher.
* Sue Reid introduces herself as a confidence coach and frames her work around helping people understand and improve their well-being.
* The session is tied to Suicide Prevention Month, making the topic of sadness especially timely.
2. The Well-Being Equation
* Sue presents a framework she calls “the well-being equation,” which integrates psychological, physiological, and spiritual components of health.
* The conversation challenges the common conflation of sadness with depression, emphasizing that sadness is a normal, functional emotion.
3. The Shape of Sadness (Newsletter)
* Sue mentions a newsletter called “The Shape of Sadness,” which explores how sadness manifests in thoughts, body, and movement/behavior, a three-part model.
4. Physiological Factors
* Discussion of how seasons and light affect mood, specifically dark winters in places like Michigan and Alaska.
* Recommendations around Vitamin D and SAD lights (light therapy) for managing low mood in winter.
* Explanation of serotonin and dopamine; their role in mood, pain, and the “reward loop” that can drive unhealthy coping mechanisms.
5. Coping Mechanisms: Healthy & Unhealthy
* The role of movement and exercise (e.g., brisk walks) in releasing brain chemicals and improving mood.
* The healing qualities of nature, particularly the sea, are a restorative practice.
* Discussion of unhealthy coping mechanisms: substance use, self-harm, shopping addiction, and how these work neurochemically (dopamine hits, pain distraction).
* The discussion included how repetitive behaviors under stress become entrenched habits. Referencing included a self-injury and awareness and recovery non-profit organization SIRA).
6. Trauma & Its Role in Sadness
* Exploration of unresolved trauma as an underlying driver of both sadness and self-destructive behavior.
* Discussions of how trauma from childhood, including broken homes, abuse, and feelings of rejection around family events like holidays, can resurface, particularly in the winter/Christmas season.
* The importance of understanding one’s own patterns and triggers for mental health management.
7. Depression vs. Sadness
* Sue discusses dysthymia (persistent low-level depression) and distinguishes it from ordinary sadness and major depression.
* The impact of anniversaries, seasonal triggers, and physiological changes in contributing to feeling low.
8. Suicidal Thoughts & Self-Harm
* Sue shares personal and professional experience discussing suicidal ideation — the importance of recognizing warning signs and patterns.
* Margaret shares a candid discussion about self-harm as an emotional release mechanism and the healing role of writing and creative expression.
9. Grief, Loss & Christmas<