WEBVTT 00:25.583 --> 00:30.000 (upbeat music) 00:30.951 --> 00:32.387 Hi, everyone, Jess Stainbrook here, 00:32.387 --> 00:34.613 with the Invisible Disabilities Association, 00:34.613 --> 00:36.857 on the InVisible InCourage podcast, 00:36.857 --> 00:40.194 and, really excited today to welcome Sue Stevenson. 00:40.194 --> 00:41.742 Hello, Sue, how are you doing today? 00:41.742 --> 00:43.892 Hi Jess, I'm doing great today. 00:43.892 --> 00:45.700 Well, it's so great to be with you. 00:45.700 --> 00:48.778 You know, Sue is part of our IDA board, 00:48.778 --> 00:50.965 and has been, for a while, and so, 00:50.965 --> 00:53.301 that's how I got to know her, but 00:53.301 --> 00:55.913 I gotta tell you, she's got a big background 00:55.913 --> 00:58.024 in all kinds of things that- 00:58.024 --> 00:59.658 I'm gonna let her explain most of it. 00:59.658 --> 01:02.084 I mean, when I pull up your bio, Sue, 01:02.084 --> 01:03.646 there's all these letters behind it. 01:03.646 --> 01:05.147 I have no idea what they mean. 01:05.147 --> 01:07.184 Maybe you can, kind of, give us some insight. 01:07.184 --> 01:08.017 What have you been doing? 01:08.017 --> 01:11.352 And why are you part of the IDA board, right? 01:11.352 --> 01:13.141 I hope I know what the letters stand for, 01:13.141 --> 01:15.641 that would be the first thing. 01:16.576 --> 01:19.386 The one that I wanna pick out is the CHP. 01:19.386 --> 01:22.083 Now, we all know that that's the Colorado Highway Patrol, 01:22.083 --> 01:24.599 or the California Highway Patrol, 01:24.599 --> 01:26.199 but that's not what I am. 01:26.199 --> 01:30.586 That stands for a Certified Humor Professional. 01:30.586 --> 01:33.308 Oh my goodness, no way, that's really funny. 01:33.308 --> 01:34.641 Yeah. 01:34.641 --> 01:37.509 How does one get a humor certification? 01:37.509 --> 01:39.732 Well, actually you have to study, for three years. 01:39.732 --> 01:44.367 It's a three year graduate program, called humor academy 01:44.367 --> 01:46.369 and I, so I'm not funny, you know, 01:46.369 --> 01:48.098 I'm just not one of these- I'm not funny, 01:48.098 --> 01:51.393 but I've begun to intentionally look for humor, 01:51.393 --> 01:53.928 see humor, and building up, 01:53.928 --> 01:55.840 because that's one of the things that I think 01:55.840 --> 01:59.521 is important for us when we struggle or face challenges. 01:59.521 --> 02:02.119 Humor is so, so useful, 02:02.119 --> 02:05.452 and we cannot laugh while we're anxious. 02:06.486 --> 02:07.511 How interesting. 02:07.511 --> 02:09.998 Well, I know we've done some stuff with Karen Bucksman, 02:09.998 --> 02:12.771 and she's friends with you and we're friends with her. 02:12.771 --> 02:17.345 And so, I know she's also a humor professional, 02:17.345 --> 02:18.811 but yeah, that's really interesting. 02:18.811 --> 02:21.099 How do you see humor helping people, 02:21.099 --> 02:23.323 in the context of mental health 02:23.323 --> 02:25.243 and some of the invisible disabilities 02:25.243 --> 02:27.085 that we're dealing with? 02:27.085 --> 02:29.337 Well, the important thing is here, 02:29.337 --> 02:31.754 is that people think humor's a joke, 02:31.754 --> 02:33.289 and we differentiate, 02:33.289 --> 02:35.403 and this was the biggest learning I had, 02:35.403 --> 02:38.363 the difference between the three purposes of humor. 02:38.363 --> 02:40.199 Most people just think entertainment, 02:40.199 --> 02:44.276 they think jokes, and comics, and standup comedy shows. 02:44.276 --> 02:47.624 That's not the type of humor that we focused on. 02:47.624 --> 02:51.560 The second type is for wellbeing, which is very relevant. 02:51.560 --> 02:54.198 And the third type is for influence. 02:54.198 --> 02:56.723 So, leaders who use humor to influence, 02:56.723 --> 03:00.208 coaches who use humor with their clients, and so on. 03:00.208 --> 03:02.142 So the second one, the wellbeing, 03:02.142 --> 03:04.686 is really the most important. 03:04.686 --> 03:08.824 And, the organization that Karen and I belong to, 03:08.824 --> 03:12.511 is called The Association of Applied and Therapeutic Humor. 03:12.511 --> 03:14.357 So it's that application, 03:14.357 --> 03:17.861 and that it's for therapeutic purposes. 03:17.861 --> 03:20.297 And, when we think about invisible disabilities, 03:20.297 --> 03:22.974 I think of it about releasing tension, 03:22.974 --> 03:25.929 about lightening, creating a little bit of energy, 03:25.929 --> 03:29.821 you know, we can be so down, and so hard in ourselves, 03:29.821 --> 03:34.021 and just finding a way for humor to lift us up, 03:34.021 --> 03:35.792 and that's the way I look at humor. 03:35.792 --> 03:36.805 Yeah well, I can see how 03:36.805 --> 03:38.665 that would be really helpful, 03:38.665 --> 03:40.498 in kind of taking the edge off 03:40.498 --> 03:41.448 in what you're dealing with 03:41.448 --> 03:44.860 and also, to help others maybe engage better, 03:44.860 --> 03:46.498 'cause, you know, a lot of the discussion 03:46.498 --> 03:47.870 we have around people living with 03:47.870 --> 03:49.914 invisible disabilities is that, 03:49.914 --> 03:50.897 what do I say? 03:50.897 --> 03:51.730 How do I help? 03:51.730 --> 03:52.811 Like, how do I engage? 03:52.811 --> 03:56.135 And so, if somebody's humorous about their own situation, 03:56.135 --> 03:58.136 it probably makes it easier on 03:58.136 --> 04:00.774 those of us that may not have disabilities, 04:00.774 --> 04:03.281 to kind of get closer to them. 04:03.281 --> 04:04.510 Yeah, that sounds awesome. 04:04.510 --> 04:06.271 Now, you do some coaching, 04:06.271 --> 04:07.704 and some consulting as well. 04:07.704 --> 04:10.142 Tell me a little bit about that. 04:10.142 --> 04:12.622 Well, I was in the corporate world for a long time 04:12.622 --> 04:16.625 and, when I eventually made the escape, and got out 04:16.625 --> 04:19.019 which was so wonderful, 04:19.019 --> 04:20.675 I set up my own business, 04:20.675 --> 04:23.561 and it's called lifted fog, because 04:23.561 --> 04:25.294 I used to live by the beach in La Jolla, 04:25.294 --> 04:27.469 and we get our traditional spring, 04:27.469 --> 04:30.009 and, you know, May gray, June Gloom, 04:30.009 --> 04:31.884 when the fog never clears. 04:31.884 --> 04:33.196 So I'd go down on the beach and go, 04:33.196 --> 04:36.119 "Come on, please give me some sunshine!" 04:36.119 --> 04:39.909 And, so lifted fog, as the fog lifts. 04:39.909 --> 04:41.715 And then, my clients often say "Sue", you know, 04:41.715 --> 04:42.918 "Help me get out of the fog." 04:42.918 --> 04:44.915 "Help me get clarity." 04:44.915 --> 04:46.170 That's what that is. 04:46.170 --> 04:47.133 Yeah, that's awesome. 04:47.133 --> 04:47.966 Well, tell me a little- 04:47.966 --> 04:49.318 I know you have a book coming out, 04:49.318 --> 04:52.018 "Impossible to Possible", 04:52.018 --> 04:53.619 tell me about, one, what it's- 04:53.619 --> 04:55.901 there it is, awesome. 04:55.901 --> 04:58.102 Tell me, what's that about, 04:58.102 --> 05:02.679 and the journey for bringing something like that about? 05:02.679 --> 05:06.709 Well, it's a blend of science and story, 05:06.709 --> 05:07.667 and I wrote it- 05:07.667 --> 05:09.509 I never thought I would be an author. 05:09.509 --> 05:12.554 My first book, I'm not an author really. 05:12.554 --> 05:14.717 But, I went through such a big journey 05:14.717 --> 05:17.842 over, I write about a 15 year period, 05:17.842 --> 05:19.624 and during that 15 year period, 05:19.624 --> 05:21.748 there was so much that I learned, 05:21.748 --> 05:23.283 and people said, "Sue, share it", 05:23.283 --> 05:25.458 "Share what you've learned." 05:25.458 --> 05:28.870 So, my primary purpose of writing it was to, 05:28.870 --> 05:30.978 and it's really a story about stress. 05:30.978 --> 05:33.065 It's a story about chronic stress, 05:33.065 --> 05:36.678 and about paying attention to our brain, and our body. 05:36.678 --> 05:38.150 And I ignored it. 05:38.150 --> 05:42.135 I have a, what I call a push through mentality, 05:42.135 --> 05:43.972 which means, you know whether it's at work, 05:43.972 --> 05:44.805 or anything, I do, 05:44.805 --> 05:47.845 I can do it, I can push through anything. 05:47.845 --> 05:49.656 In fact, I'll tell you a little resilience story, 05:49.656 --> 05:51.368 which is a bit scary, 05:51.368 --> 05:53.743 I once did one of these self-assessments, 05:53.743 --> 05:55.969 a formal standardized assessment, 05:55.969 --> 05:58.982 and resilience was one of the scales, 05:58.982 --> 06:00.690 and when we got the results back, 06:00.690 --> 06:04.147 and mine was a plus 10 out of 10. 06:04.147 --> 06:05.230 Mm, I'm good! 06:06.447 --> 06:09.424 And, it was from minus 10 to plus 10, 06:09.424 --> 06:11.568 and I remember being so proud of myself, 06:11.568 --> 06:14.459 and the facilitator comes back in the room, after a break 06:14.459 --> 06:16.205 and we looked at our results, 06:16.205 --> 06:18.513 and says "anything anyone surprised at?" 06:18.513 --> 06:20.560 I couldn't resist, I couldn't resist. 06:20.560 --> 06:22.333 And I- "yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." 06:22.333 --> 06:24.287 "I'm plus 10 on resilience!" 06:24.287 --> 06:25.950 He went, "Hmm" 06:25.950 --> 06:28.987 "Now what do you think might be a downside of that?" 06:28.987 --> 06:30.284 I went "No, none, none." 06:30.284 --> 06:31.684 'Cause I always look at the upside, 06:31.684 --> 06:33.406 I look- I can push through anything, 06:33.406 --> 06:35.774 I can overcome obstacles. 06:35.774 --> 06:37.426 So, when he said "What's the downside?" 06:37.426 --> 06:40.112 I went "I don't see a downside" 06:40.112 --> 06:43.973 and he went "Well, perhaps you might ignore signs." 06:43.973 --> 06:48.973 "You might be so gung-ho about pushing through obstacles" 06:49.280 --> 06:52.705 "and being blind to the reality," 06:52.705 --> 06:54.598 "that you might miss things." 06:54.598 --> 06:56.596 Well, that actually is what happened. 06:56.596 --> 06:59.446 I missed all the signs about my health, 06:59.446 --> 07:01.909 I missed the signs about my brain, 07:01.909 --> 07:04.573 and I just kept going, 07:04.573 --> 07:07.484 and people say "Oh, I'm gonna retire in two years." 07:07.484 --> 07:08.680 "I can just keep going." 07:08.680 --> 07:11.345 "It doesn't matter, I'll keep pushing through." 07:11.345 --> 07:12.447 And, you know, during COVID, 07:12.447 --> 07:15.757 think of all the people that had to just push through. 07:15.757 --> 07:17.704 And at first they thought, maybe it was two months, 07:17.704 --> 07:18.854 maybe it was gonna be three months, 07:18.854 --> 07:20.658 and then it becomes a year. 07:20.658 --> 07:21.491 And they're saying, 07:21.491 --> 07:22.721 "I dunno if I can keep doing this." 07:22.721 --> 07:24.381 "I dunno if I can still keep working" 07:24.381 --> 07:26.154 "with my kids and my dogs or," 07:26.154 --> 07:29.079 You know, "I'm trying to protect my grandmother" 07:29.079 --> 07:31.992 "and I don't know if I can keep this isolation up." 07:31.992 --> 07:33.502 And there were so many things 07:33.502 --> 07:35.590 that people had to push through. 07:35.590 --> 07:37.749 And I think, for the first time, 07:37.749 --> 07:39.687 there was some understanding, 07:39.687 --> 07:42.347 of what it's like to have an invisible disability 07:42.347 --> 07:44.822 where you are stuck at home. 07:44.822 --> 07:46.420 All your life, maybe. 07:46.420 --> 07:47.830 and you don't have, 07:47.830 --> 07:49.514 you know, you do have that isolation, 07:49.514 --> 07:51.718 and you are cut off. 07:51.718 --> 07:54.231 So I think that the awareness of what that's like 07:54.231 --> 07:55.481 began to widen. 07:56.618 --> 07:57.865 Hmm, that's awesome. 07:57.865 --> 07:59.316 That's a great way to put it, as well. 07:59.316 --> 08:02.937 I mean, so many times, as we're dealing 08:02.937 --> 08:05.154 with something based on our personality, 08:05.154 --> 08:08.821 we may tend to overcompensate for something, 08:09.864 --> 08:13.059 and yeah, it could certainly be detrimental, 08:13.059 --> 08:16.195 if you're not careful about what it's leading into. 08:16.195 --> 08:17.940 Yeah, that's good stuff. 08:17.940 --> 08:22.016 Well, I noticed that, too, you have an accent, 08:22.016 --> 08:23.724 and you know, 08:23.724 --> 08:27.916 maybe tell us a little bit about your background from that. 08:27.916 --> 08:29.249 Well, it is Scottish, 08:29.249 --> 08:31.158 and I'll do the little bit of Scottish accent, 08:31.158 --> 08:34.158 for those of you who like it. 08:34.158 --> 08:37.983 So, it's a British accent, and in fact, my grandmother 08:37.983 --> 08:41.318 spent years giving me elocution lessons, 08:41.318 --> 08:45.195 to hammer out any chance that I would have a Scottish accent 08:45.195 --> 08:47.456 because, in her view, that was not proper, 08:47.456 --> 08:48.992 for a young lady, 08:48.992 --> 08:51.138 and she would teach me, 08:51.138 --> 08:53.048 so she thinks of it as this one line 08:53.048 --> 08:56.269 of pure British, English language, 08:56.269 --> 08:58.516 and that is how the queen speaks. 08:58.516 --> 08:59.819 And that is the neutral line. 08:59.819 --> 09:02.444 And my job was to get to neutral. 09:02.444 --> 09:03.468 And then, once I'm neutral, 09:03.468 --> 09:07.130 all other accents, in the world of English speakers 09:07.130 --> 09:10.252 are deviations of my neutral line. 09:10.252 --> 09:13.852 Oh, interesting wow, that's pretty wild. 09:13.852 --> 09:17.415 You know, I remember an interview with Mel Gibson, 09:17.415 --> 09:18.738 who's from Australia, 09:18.738 --> 09:20.038 and the interviewer was saying, 09:20.038 --> 09:21.711 "Well, you know, we're so proud of you" 09:21.711 --> 09:23.652 "because you speak English so well." 09:23.652 --> 09:25.351 (Sue laughing) 09:25.351 --> 09:27.131 And I'm like, okay, yeah, 09:27.131 --> 09:30.079 let's just pass that along. 09:30.079 --> 09:31.430 But, yeah. 09:31.430 --> 09:34.654 And you and I have said some conversations about Outlander, 09:34.654 --> 09:37.168 and the Highlanders, and some of that fun, 09:37.168 --> 09:39.992 So, yeah, I appreciate your accent. 09:39.992 --> 09:42.714 And my grandmother, I mean, she- 09:42.714 --> 09:45.302 my grandfather, who the book is dedicated to, 09:45.302 --> 09:46.575 Ian Wilson McDonald. 09:46.575 --> 09:48.688 He was a very prominent banker. 09:48.688 --> 09:51.494 And so, he lived a very visible life, 09:51.494 --> 09:54.573 but he was the most humble man. 09:54.573 --> 09:56.935 And I didn't actually- 09:56.935 --> 09:58.548 now I follow his humility 09:58.548 --> 10:01.582 but, for years, I tried, and could never match it. 10:01.582 --> 10:04.999 My grandmother thought she was the queen. 10:05.900 --> 10:07.360 I don't want to speak ill of her, 10:07.360 --> 10:08.967 but she really did think that. 10:08.967 --> 10:10.729 So she taught me how to do the wave, 10:10.729 --> 10:12.254 she taught me how to get in and out of cars 10:12.254 --> 10:14.202 without showing too much leg. 10:14.202 --> 10:16.329 She showed me all of these things, 10:16.329 --> 10:18.869 because her mission was that I married 10:18.869 --> 10:21.479 into the upper echelons of British society, 10:21.479 --> 10:23.229 and perhaps, royalty. 10:24.169 --> 10:25.431 Hmm. 10:25.431 --> 10:28.514 Wow, that's a lot of pressure, there. 10:29.553 --> 10:30.771 Sure was, 10:30.771 --> 10:34.123 and, it was a very patriarchal society. 10:34.123 --> 10:36.949 My father, you know, he and I butted heads a lot, 10:36.949 --> 10:39.775 because when I did go into business, he said, you know, 10:39.775 --> 10:41.513 "Women have no right to be in business." 10:41.513 --> 10:43.522 We have no place! 10:43.522 --> 10:46.899 And, we would have huge arguments about 10:46.899 --> 10:48.956 women, and their role in society. 10:48.956 --> 10:52.283 And, he said, "No, your only role is to get married." 10:52.283 --> 10:53.310 "That's your only purpose." 10:53.310 --> 10:55.233 "And to raise a family." 10:55.233 --> 10:56.137 And, I disagreed. 10:56.137 --> 10:58.304 So, my grandfather hid me, 10:59.612 --> 11:02.021 he used to sneak me behind the sofa, 11:02.021 --> 11:03.735 when they were having business meetings. 11:03.735 --> 11:05.782 So my brother, my father, my grandfather 11:05.782 --> 11:07.180 and the business partner, 11:07.180 --> 11:08.025 would all sit around 11:08.025 --> 11:10.010 and I would be hiding behind the sofa, 11:10.010 --> 11:12.972 trying to learn about business, 11:12.972 --> 11:16.085 because, I was not allowed in the room, ever. 11:16.085 --> 11:17.358 Wow, that's something, 11:17.358 --> 11:19.582 well, I do have to congratulate you, 11:19.582 --> 11:22.120 because you do very well in business, 11:22.120 --> 11:24.420 and you're a great leader. 11:24.420 --> 11:26.177 That leads me right into, 11:26.177 --> 11:27.527 how did you get involved with us, 11:27.527 --> 11:29.891 at the invisible disabilities association? 11:29.891 --> 11:33.409 And what do you see happening there that you're proud of, 11:33.409 --> 11:34.711 you see maybe we need some help? 11:34.711 --> 11:36.711 just general overview of 11:38.171 --> 11:40.249 your participation and the things that you're seeing 11:40.249 --> 11:41.797 that are going on. 11:41.797 --> 11:43.068 Right, I mean, I just, 11:43.068 --> 11:46.220 I learned about The Association of Invisible Disabilities 11:46.220 --> 11:48.958 from Karen Bucksman and Heidi Hannah, 11:48.958 --> 11:51.183 and, they were raving, 11:51.183 --> 11:54.029 and they were telling me how fabulous of an organization- 11:54.029 --> 11:56.329 So, as I began to delve and learn, 11:56.329 --> 11:58.203 I realized that 11:58.203 --> 12:01.392 I had been through an invisible disability of my own, 12:01.392 --> 12:03.204 even though, it was not, 12:03.204 --> 12:05.677 it was something that I believe I cured. 12:05.677 --> 12:08.414 So, it is not an ongoing, which most people is ongoing 12:08.414 --> 12:12.354 and it's a lifelong suffering, or challenge. 12:12.354 --> 12:13.771 Mine was shorter. 12:15.115 --> 12:17.115 And the, just the issue- 12:18.114 --> 12:21.603 I remember, I didn't wanna tell anyone. 12:21.603 --> 12:23.350 When I first got my diagnosis, 12:23.350 --> 12:26.076 which, I I'll just say, it was a brain tumor, 12:26.076 --> 12:28.964 I remember thinking, "Oh, I can't tell anyone." 12:28.964 --> 12:30.228 "I'll never get anymore work" 12:30.228 --> 12:33.063 "I'll never, ever succeed in business" 12:33.063 --> 12:36.600 This is the thing that will stop my business life. 12:36.600 --> 12:38.017 And, so I hid it. 12:39.126 --> 12:40.590 Now, it was invisible anyway, 12:40.590 --> 12:42.037 'cause it's inside your brain. 12:42.037 --> 12:43.897 But, then I thought "I can't tell anyone." 12:43.897 --> 12:46.160 So, I picked nine people. 12:46.160 --> 12:47.073 And, for the first year, 12:47.073 --> 12:49.107 they were the only nine people that knew 12:49.107 --> 12:51.271 everything that was going on. 12:51.271 --> 12:52.104 And, 12:53.287 --> 12:56.144 it was that, a fear of sharing it, 12:56.144 --> 12:57.638 or, because I was worried that 12:57.638 --> 12:59.451 people would ask me too many questions, 12:59.451 --> 13:02.725 or they'd ask me things that I was not ready to talk about, 13:02.725 --> 13:05.214 or that I was too emotional about. 13:05.214 --> 13:08.540 So, I did have an invisible disability, 13:08.540 --> 13:12.328 and I wanted to keep it as private as possible. 13:12.328 --> 13:15.116 Now others, it's not that they want to keep it private, 13:15.116 --> 13:18.703 it's just that the nature of their disability doesn't, 13:18.703 --> 13:20.939 you know, they don't either have the opportunity, 13:20.939 --> 13:23.766 or the language, or the situation 13:23.766 --> 13:25.911 to talk about their disability. 13:25.911 --> 13:30.902 So, when I came across, and it's okay I'll call it IDA, 13:30.902 --> 13:32.831 I was so excited that there were people 13:32.831 --> 13:35.766 who were so dedicated, and so focused 13:35.766 --> 13:40.766 on trying to raise awareness about invisible disabilities. 13:41.155 --> 13:44.490 And then, when I learned about your work in, 13:44.490 --> 13:48.146 the work in the ID card and, you know, 13:48.146 --> 13:51.471 Alaska was the first, the only one at that time, 13:51.471 --> 13:54.219 that had already made the approvals, 13:54.219 --> 13:56.821 and I just loved the idea that somebody could volunteer 13:56.821 --> 13:59.745 and say, just "I'd like people to know", 13:59.745 --> 14:01.448 you know, "The law enforcement or first responders" 14:01.448 --> 14:03.586 "I'd like them to know that I have something" 14:03.586 --> 14:05.235 "that they can't see" 14:05.235 --> 14:07.084 "that they need to pay attention to" 14:07.084 --> 14:10.146 "if", you know, "if I'm in trouble" 14:10.146 --> 14:12.374 and, so that ID card, 14:12.374 --> 14:14.906 and associate it with your registration of your car, 14:14.906 --> 14:16.220 or even just having, you know, 14:16.220 --> 14:18.678 something around your neck or a card, 14:18.678 --> 14:22.261 just to me, began to change the environment 14:23.359 --> 14:24.656 in which people find themselves. 14:24.656 --> 14:27.268 And I'm so excited that we now have Colorado, 14:27.268 --> 14:30.258 and I had never listened to legislative things, 14:30.258 --> 14:31.266 you know, I'm not American. 14:31.266 --> 14:33.204 So, I didn't understand, about the different chambers, 14:33.204 --> 14:36.291 and how things happen and committee to chamber. 14:36.291 --> 14:39.176 And I listened to every single stage and step 14:39.176 --> 14:42.123 of the Colorado hearings, at every stage, 14:42.123 --> 14:43.623 and learnt so much 14:44.486 --> 14:46.836 about what are the arguments for, or against, or, 14:46.836 --> 14:48.610 and it was just so thrilling. 14:48.610 --> 14:50.807 And now that Utah, and your work 14:50.807 --> 14:53.917 you're just moving ahead in, just, such a great way. 14:53.917 --> 14:57.230 One day, everybody in the world will have the opportunity. 14:57.230 --> 14:58.341 Yay! 14:58.341 --> 14:59.663 Yeah, I hear you there 14:59.663 --> 15:03.364 and I appreciate your support of being on the board, 15:03.364 --> 15:05.952 and yes, we have, it has been quite a journey, 15:05.952 --> 15:07.408 and very exciting, 15:07.408 --> 15:09.673 and it hasn't had its, you know, 15:09.673 --> 15:13.590 bumps and bruises, and roadblocks, if you will. 15:14.645 --> 15:17.982 But, what we're finding is that a lot of the people, 15:17.982 --> 15:21.118 and again, it's a voluntary effort through the legislation. 15:21.118 --> 15:23.104 They don't have to get a symbol on their license 15:23.104 --> 15:24.693 if they don't want to. 15:24.693 --> 15:25.651 But, what we're finding 15:25.651 --> 15:27.901 is a lot of people are really excited about 15:27.901 --> 15:31.913 having some type of government approved, 15:31.913 --> 15:34.413 designated symbol that lowers, 15:36.479 --> 15:37.900 or, 15:37.900 --> 15:41.618 deescalates a tense situation, pretty quickly. 15:41.618 --> 15:43.944 And, you know, so we've partnered with some folks 15:43.944 --> 15:46.219 that are doing training out there. 15:46.219 --> 15:48.981 We've got all of our efforts and the ID cards going out. 15:48.981 --> 15:51.793 So, yeah, it has been quite the adventure, 15:51.793 --> 15:52.968 and continues to go, 15:52.968 --> 15:55.718 we've got the federal level version 15:55.718 --> 15:58.469 that provides funding for states, that's happening. 15:58.469 --> 16:00.494 So, we're working on that legislation, as well. 16:00.494 --> 16:02.705 It's really a step by step, so, 16:02.705 --> 16:05.108 I'd say to anybody that's tuning in, 16:05.108 --> 16:06.840 you know if you know, a legislator, 16:06.840 --> 16:09.253 or a representative in your state, 16:09.253 --> 16:11.265 and we haven't gotten to your state, 16:11.265 --> 16:13.517 gosh, send us an email, 16:13.517 --> 16:16.865 through contact@invisibledisabilities.org 16:16.865 --> 16:18.876 and we'll take a look, and we'll get in touch and, 16:18.876 --> 16:21.012 you know, connect and try to get things moving there, 16:21.012 --> 16:23.680 but, in the meantime, you can always go to our website, 16:23.680 --> 16:27.466 and pick up the ID card to start utilizing that, so. 16:27.466 --> 16:30.429 Well, I wanna thank you so much for joining me, today. 16:30.429 --> 16:32.164 It's really great to hear about 16:32.164 --> 16:34.692 who you are, what you're working on. 16:34.692 --> 16:38.264 Let me see if I can share real quick, the website, 16:38.264 --> 16:41.001 you know, if, you wanna know more about Sue, 16:41.001 --> 16:44.053 and what she's doing with us here at IDA, 16:44.053 --> 16:47.526 you can check her out at invisibledisabilities.org, 16:47.526 --> 16:51.153 and go to our about page, and she's there, 16:51.153 --> 16:53.688 with the different things that she's working on, as well, 16:53.688 --> 16:55.349 so the stuff that she does for us. 16:55.349 --> 17:00.349 And don't forget to go find her new book, that's out there, 17:00.657 --> 17:04.184 that's called "impossible to possible" 17:04.184 --> 17:06.691 "neuro strategies for healing humor" 17:06.691 --> 17:07.844 "and reimagined life" 17:07.844 --> 17:10.951 and it's available on Amazon, so. 17:10.951 --> 17:11.964 Just one thing on this, 17:11.964 --> 17:15.669 the neuro strategies, once I, you know, 17:15.669 --> 17:18.436 the surgeon had told me it was impossible to heal, 17:18.436 --> 17:19.769 and that... 17:19.769 --> 17:21.658 you tell a push through person that it's impossible? 17:21.658 --> 17:23.431 Well, that was it, I was out, 17:23.431 --> 17:26.408 and I had no idea what to do, 17:26.408 --> 17:27.982 My doctor was very unhelpful. 17:27.982 --> 17:29.181 He didn't- he even called me, 17:29.181 --> 17:30.229 to tell me I had a brain tumor. 17:30.229 --> 17:32.562 I had, really, no knowledge. 17:33.554 --> 17:34.977 So, of course, what you do is you dive in, 17:34.977 --> 17:37.262 you research like crazy, 17:37.262 --> 17:38.314 I became a brain nerd, 17:38.314 --> 17:40.989 I started the San Diego Brain Club. 17:40.989 --> 17:42.273 Everything brain. 17:42.273 --> 17:43.849 But, then I just began experimenting. 17:43.849 --> 17:46.306 "Well, what if I try that? What if I try that?" 17:46.306 --> 17:47.354 "What if I changed my food?" 17:47.354 --> 17:49.552 "What if I changed the way I move?" 17:49.552 --> 17:51.311 "What if I changed the way I sleep?" 17:51.311 --> 17:55.121 And there are 130 things that I tried, 17:55.121 --> 17:56.747 which I call neuro strategies 17:56.747 --> 17:59.160 'cause they're all to do with the brain, 17:59.160 --> 18:00.745 that I totally healed. 18:00.745 --> 18:02.884 So, there's ideas, and if people read it, 18:02.884 --> 18:06.432 I am sure they will get some little nugget 18:06.432 --> 18:08.044 that will be helpful for them. 18:08.044 --> 18:10.306 My brother, even, yesterday, 18:10.306 --> 18:12.345 he told me that he had read the book, 18:12.345 --> 18:14.358 which was, for him, he doesn't read, 18:14.358 --> 18:15.642 it's pretty cool. 18:15.642 --> 18:20.279 And, that he had just learned something about himself. 18:20.279 --> 18:21.913 And, that he was gonna- he had two steps 18:21.913 --> 18:24.560 on mental fitness, and cognitive capacity 18:24.560 --> 18:26.485 that he was going to follow up with. 18:26.485 --> 18:27.318 Yes! 18:27.318 --> 18:28.708 Somebody has got it! 18:28.708 --> 18:29.658 That's so amazing. 18:29.658 --> 18:31.663 Well, thank you, again, for writing all that, 18:31.663 --> 18:33.544 and really good tips, I mean, 18:33.544 --> 18:34.807 you know, a lot of times 18:34.807 --> 18:37.910 when we have invisible disabilities, we'll try anything, 18:37.910 --> 18:39.599 but, it really is good to connect with others 18:39.599 --> 18:42.098 that are going through it, to see what's going on. 18:42.098 --> 18:44.593 And, I think that your "neuro strategies" 18:44.593 --> 18:47.917 are gonna be key for helping people through this. 18:47.917 --> 18:48.980 So, thanks for doing that. 18:48.980 --> 18:52.515 Again, the name of her book is "impossible to possible", 18:52.515 --> 18:55.262 it's available on Amazon. 18:55.262 --> 18:56.696 So, Sue, I know that you've got 18:56.696 --> 18:58.719 a bunch of different neuro strategies, 18:58.719 --> 19:00.181 for the healing side of that, 19:00.181 --> 19:01.571 like, I mean, how do you, 19:01.571 --> 19:04.146 you know, talk about the hope side of 19:04.146 --> 19:05.233 what people are dealing with, 19:05.233 --> 19:07.957 and maybe some ways to help yourself through that, 19:07.957 --> 19:10.507 with invisible disabilities? 19:10.507 --> 19:12.195 Yeah, I just would love 19:12.195 --> 19:16.165 for people to believe that most things are possible, 19:16.165 --> 19:19.152 not everything, we know that not everything is possible. 19:19.152 --> 19:21.967 But, just believing that we can change. 19:21.967 --> 19:24.129 You know, sometimes we think, "Oh no, no", you know, 19:24.129 --> 19:26.948 "I can't even imagine getting to tomorrow", 19:26.948 --> 19:27.911 but that's okay. 19:27.911 --> 19:30.360 Just believing you can take one small step, 19:30.360 --> 19:31.945 I remember when I was really sick, 19:31.945 --> 19:33.457 just taking one step, 19:33.457 --> 19:36.170 and I thought, I'll walk around my sofa today, 19:36.170 --> 19:38.160 and then, I'll walk further, 19:38.160 --> 19:39.125 and then a little bit further, 19:39.125 --> 19:40.686 and everybody who suffers, 19:40.686 --> 19:42.861 who's managed to make some progress, 19:42.861 --> 19:44.877 or just get through their day, knows, 19:44.877 --> 19:46.115 just believing, 19:46.115 --> 19:48.850 just believing that you can make some change, 19:48.850 --> 19:50.913 that there are things, and it's, 19:50.913 --> 19:52.800 some of them are very simple, 19:52.800 --> 19:54.087 like growing your own food. 19:54.087 --> 19:55.259 I grow my own food now, 19:55.259 --> 19:58.407 and I just love the process, the eating, the healthy. 19:58.407 --> 20:00.494 So, there's many, many things we can do 20:00.494 --> 20:02.931 that we may, in those days, 20:02.931 --> 20:05.369 what we think there's no end in sight. 20:05.369 --> 20:06.828 There is some hope. 20:06.828 --> 20:09.850 And hopefully I bring that in, from my writing. 20:09.850 --> 20:11.845 Anything else that I haven't asked you, 20:11.845 --> 20:14.827 that you wanna wrap up our conversation today? 20:14.827 --> 20:16.216 Yeah, I'd like to go back to humor. 20:16.216 --> 20:17.491 Maybe wrap it up, you know, 20:17.491 --> 20:19.135 come right back to humor. 20:19.135 --> 20:22.635 Humor has so much power to heal. 20:22.635 --> 20:24.418 I cannot underestimate that. 20:24.418 --> 20:26.658 I have my go-to library of humor. 20:26.658 --> 20:28.329 You know, if I have a down day, 20:28.329 --> 20:31.628 I have quite a few friends and family members 20:31.628 --> 20:33.128 with invisible disabilities, 20:33.128 --> 20:34.866 and I use humor with them. 20:34.866 --> 20:35.952 So, just don't, 20:35.952 --> 20:37.741 and there's a whole section on humor, 20:37.741 --> 20:41.000 because I had not, I didn't know all about that then, 20:41.000 --> 20:42.240 but so I wrote a whole chapter, 20:42.240 --> 20:44.090 on what I know now that I didn't know then, 20:44.090 --> 20:45.865 and humor is a big, big part of that. 20:45.865 --> 20:48.130 So, don't underestimate the power of humor. 20:48.130 --> 20:48.963 That's awesome, 20:48.963 --> 20:50.140 and the humor had to do- 20:50.140 --> 20:51.679 some people think it's jokes, 20:51.679 --> 20:53.517 but a lot of it's a wellness conversation, 20:53.517 --> 20:55.167 and the way you treat it, right? 20:55.167 --> 20:57.939 Yes, and the AATH association 20:57.939 --> 21:00.259 of applied and therapeutic humor is fabulous. 21:00.259 --> 21:01.511 And, Humor Academy, 21:01.511 --> 21:03.209 if you're looking for something a bit different, 21:03.209 --> 21:04.042 that, you know, 21:04.042 --> 21:05.218 you're looking for some new learning, 21:05.218 --> 21:07.379 and a new way of stretching your brain, 21:07.379 --> 21:09.602 Humor Academy is just wonderful. 21:09.602 --> 21:12.037 And Karen Bucksman, who you mentioned, 21:12.037 --> 21:14.066 leads the whole Humor Academy. 21:14.066 --> 21:15.164 Oh, wow. Yes. 21:15.164 --> 21:16.327 That's fantastic. 21:16.327 --> 21:18.964 Well, it's been wonderful hanging out with you, today. 21:18.964 --> 21:21.525 Thank you so much for joining us, 21:21.525 --> 21:22.752 if you wanna see our shows, 21:22.752 --> 21:26.121 the other invisible encourage programs that we've done. 21:26.121 --> 21:27.764 We do have a YouTube channel, 21:27.764 --> 21:29.284 and you can find all of this stuff 21:29.284 --> 21:32.907 on the links on our website at invisibledisabilities.org 21:32.907 --> 21:34.381 Thanks so much for joining me, Sue, 21:34.381 --> 21:36.394 thanks for being with me today. 21:36.394 --> 21:39.544 And, we'll see you guys all online in our podcast, 21:39.544 --> 21:40.953 and everything that we're doing. 21:40.953 --> 21:42.374 Have a great day. 21:42.374 --> 21:44.957 (upbeat music)