Overview
The decision to share one’s story about living with depression, addiction, suicidal ideation, or any other emotional challenge is deeply personal and worthy of reflection. With the nonprofit I help oversee, United Suicide Survivors International, we encourage people with lived experience to ask themselves, “Am I Ready” (on-line course) before sharing their story publicly. By weighing the pros and cons of sharing and preparing strategies of self-care that are helpful during the sometimes challenging process of crafting the narrative, storytellers can be in a better position to make a difference.
In this podcast I sit down with Cameron Stout, a securities defense lawyer who is boldly being “vocal, visible and visionary” in his industry by sharing his journey through and resilient recovery from depression and alcoholism. Attorneys are often type A professionals who are driven to succeed, yet often are reluctant to express vulnerability and share personal challenges. By speaking publicly about his recovery from major depression in 2013, and describing his seven years of sobriety, Cam reduces stigma, and helps others find the courage to be open. In addition to telling his story, Cam outlines the therapies, treatment, and wellness practices that have been key in his recovery process. As Cam will describe for us, his mission of being a storyteller has also been a large part of his own healing, as it can be for all of us.
About Cameron Stout
Cameron Stout is a nationally recognized securities defense litigator and a mediator. In late 2012, his legal career was derailed for over a year by a major depressive episode that required hospitalization. As a result of several modes of therapy, the love of family, friends and colleagues, and his own hard work, Cam is standing on the other side of the abyss of mental illness, and is seven years sober. Cam describes his journey in a short video, and in an article in the Princeton Alumni Weekly:
https://paw.princeton.edu/article/essay-how-i-survived-depression
Feeling better in many ways than he ever has, Cam is paying his resilient recovery forward by sharing his message of hope and recovery with students, educators, and other professionals.
In July, 2018, Cam founded Stout Heart, Inc., a 501(c)(3) that supports the pro bono presentations that he makes to high school, college, and law students (including at Harvard and Stanford). www.stoutheart.org
Cam’s message is timely and powerful: The pernicious stigma around these illnesses is a dangerously false narrative that must be stamped out. Mental health conditions are just that, health conditions, not weaknesses. They are not our fault, and there is tremendous hope for ongoing recovery and effective management of these challenges.
In addition to candidly sharing his own lived experience, Cam discusses ways to identify and address mental health and addiction issues. He also describes his strategies for self-care, and how to build the mindful resilience and the perspective that we all need in order to learn, work, and live with a lighter heart and a more focused mind.
Cam graduated in 1980 from Princeton University, where he was a member of the varsity tennis team. Following his graduation with honors from the University of San Francisco School of Law, Cam practiced for decades as a securities litigator, defending financial services companies in customer disputes and employment cases. He is an active mediator in those practice areas as well. The very proud father of two adult children, Cam now lives in Princeton, New Jersey.
Show Notes
Stories
Stability Network: https://www.thestabilitynetwork.org/
Guts, Grit & The Grind: https://www.gutsgritgrind.com/
Science
Family History of Alcohol and Drug Problems: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4466079/
Exercise as a Way to Fight Depression: https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/exercise-is-an-all-natural-treatment-to-fight-depression
ECT: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/electroconvulsive-therapy/about/pac-20393894
CBT for Depression (meta-analysis): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23870719
Strategy
Stout Heart, Inc.: https://www.stoutheart.org/
American Bar Association — Lawyers and Depression: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/lawyer_assistance/resources/depression/
American Bar Association — Study on Lawyer Impairment: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/lawyer_assistance/research/colap_hazelden_lawyer_study/
American Bar Association — Well-Being Pledge: https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_assistance/ls_colap_working_group_pledge_and_campaign.PDF
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