Do You Speak Mental Health? Exploring Mental Health Literacy with Kent Coules & Donna Volpitta

The Anxious Achiever

Morra Aarons-Mele

Business, Careers, Management, Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.7 • 599 Ratings

🗓️ 23 April 2026

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What if the habits you rely on to cope with anxiety are keeping you stuck? In this episode, we explore what it really means to be “mentally healthy” and why most of us were never given the language or tools to get there. Kent Coules shares his story of high-functioning alcoholism and what happened when he stopped drinking after decades of using it to manage anxiety. We talk about why so many high achievers rely on coping mechanisms like alcohol, overwork, or constant problem-solving, and more. I also speak with educator Donna Volpitta about mental health literacy and why understanding your brain is one of the most important skills you can build. Get ready to start responding to challenges in a healthier, more intentional way. Check out our sponsors: Shopify - Sign up for a $1 per month trial, just go to shopify.com/anxiousachiever In this Episode, You Will Learn 00:00 What does it mean to “speak” mental health? 05:00 How coping habits can mask anxiety. 08:30 Why addiction and anxiety are often connected. 12:30 How habit loops keep you stuck in the same patterns. 15:00 Why success doesn’t eliminate underlying anxiety. 18:00 What it feels like to face anxiety without a coping crutch. 20:00 Why recovery and regulation both happen one moment at a time. 24:00 Why are challenges essential for building resilience? 27:30 The difference between pressure and true support at work. 30:30 What mental health literacy actually includes. 33:00 Why most people misunderstand mental health and how that increases stigma. 36:00 How your brain reacts to perceived threats in the workplace. 39:00 Why fear-based environments lead to poor decisions. 42:00 How achievement culture can increase anxiety in young people. 48:00 How to start replacing unhealthy coping strategies. Resources + Links Get a copy of my book - The Anxious Achiever Watch the podcast on YouTube Find more resources on our website morraam.com Follow Follow me: on LinkedIn @morraaronsmele + Instagram @morraam

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Maura Aaron's Millie, host of The Anxious Achiever. Today I'm going to bring you one of our most
0:10.7	downloaded and one of my most favorite episodes from our archives. It's a classic. The Anxious Achiever
0:17.4	has been at it for a long time. We have over 300 episodes.
0:22.3	And honestly, they're all still more relevant than ever.
0:28.4	You may hear details in this episode that remind you it's from another time, but I guarantee
0:35.6	that the advice you get will be as crisp and meaningful and the
0:40.0	stories as resonant as before. If you have a favorite episode of the show, let me know. I'd love
0:47.9	to air it again or even re-record it for you fresh. Enjoy this classic Anxious Achiever episode.
0:57.8	Well, you worked in the news business. You have worked in the news business for your
1:02.5	whole career. Is that right? Yeah, almost. I started a community newspaper in Santa
1:07.6	Monica, California, and then I went to daily newspapers in Bakersfield, Minneapolis, and then finally New York, New Jersey. Wow. We're moving to Hawaii, but not for newspapers. It was just a lifestyle change. Really? Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah. My wife is from Hawaii. I'm not from Hawaii. Her father was born here, and she's born in Hawaii, and she moved here for summer school and then decided to drop out of college and work at a t-shirt shop in Waikiki because she loved it so much.
1:34.3	Her grandparents, she visited here a lot as a kid, but then she stayed here a year living on rice and loved it and swore one day this was where she wanted to live.
1:43.6	And so my two oldest kids went to University of Hawaii from New Jersey,
1:48.0	separately in a part, two years apart, made the individual decision.
1:51.0	So they were here.
1:52.8	And then we were producing events for newspapers and we were self-employed.
1:56.7	And my wife finally said, we're in our early 50s.
2:00.4	We're either going to move to Hawaii now or we're never going to do it because my youngest
2:03.7	daughter was graduating eighth grade.
2:05.0	So that's what we planned up.
2:07.2	And that's how we ended up here.
2:08.4	To go from New Jersey to Hawaii is like a huge lifestyle shift, I would imagine.
	...

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