Mike Veny, a Queens NY native, has fifteen years of experience as a speaker on mental health. He is also a professional drummer and incorporates drumming into many of his presentations. As a 2017 PM360 ELITE Award Winner, Mike is recognized as one of the 100 most influential people in the healthcare industry

Click to tweet: Mike Veny shares his incredible journey on the i’Mpossible Project Show!

Time Stamped Notes

• 1.37 Mike speaks on mental health all around the U.S. because of his own mental health challenges
• 1.54 Mike, 38 years old, is also a professional drummer and now incorporates drumming into many of his speeches on mental health
• 3:00 Mike began drumming in the 5th grade because it was the only thing that calmed him down when his behavioral issues flared up at school
• 6.10 Mike was expelled from 3 schools and put into a mental hospital 3 times and attempted suicide at the age of 10. He was finally diagnosed with clinical (long term) depression
• 7.54 Josh analogizes his own depression as: cycling thoughts and when going through a lengthy episode it’s like a tiny nagging headache behind his eye
• 10.33 While in grade school and high school, Mike got good as a drummer, which then helped raise his self-esteem, which in turn helped him make better choices and helped him find the capacity to begin to learn to manage his depression
• 10.56 Mike is currently training in improv theater in New York City!
• 15.04 Mike once went to Haiti and helped teach a entrepreneurship camp to locals
• 17.05 Josh says that when sharing one’s story, especially when it has to do with tragedy or trauma or a big obstacle, one needs to first share in a safe place because sharing will help bring additional perspective to the tragedy, trauma, or obstacle
• 20:05 Josh states that we are our own best advocates when it comes to our own physical and mental health
• 20:35 If he could, Mike would spend several months being a barista at Starbucks so he could learn the success of Starbucks’ business model
• 22:27 Mike’s spirit animal is a goat. Find out more fun facts about Mike in the Quick Fire Round

Key points

• Life is made up of little moments that may eventually add up to something big.
• Mental illness (and any other kind of physical or mental health condition) looks different on different people. There’s no “one size fits all.”
• Helping others, volunteering, and giving back are a key component in helping people find purpose and fulfillment.

Resources or Websites Mentioned

Mike’s website: www.transformingstigma.com