In episode 262, we’re joined by guest Brandon Seymour. This week we’ll share part 3 of an interview with Brandon that begins with the genesis of a blog he wrote called “The Crisis of Loneliness.” Brandon will share his struggles with loneliness and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic, how he recognized it was a problem, societal expectations of strength, and what he’s done to help himself feel better. Original Recording Date: 12-18-2023 Brandon Seymour is a director of solution architects at Calian, a technology solutions company headquartered in Canada. If you missed part 1 of our discussion with Brandon, check out Episode 260. Part 2 of our discussion can be found in Episode 261. Topics – The Crisis of Loneliness, Renew and Regenerate, Blocking Time and Sharing Resources 3:09 – The Crisis of Loneliness * We start to discuss a different kind of blog article Brandon wrote in 2023 called The Crisis of Loneliness. * Previous to the above post, Brandon had written mostly technical articles on his blog focused on VMware technologies. This one was much more personal. * Before the pandemic Brandon had been traveling heavily across the United States to support and meet with customers almost daily. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, all of that stopped. * Brandon tells us New York (where Brandon was living when the pandemic began) was heavily affected during the pandemic. * Brandon was confined to working from his bedroom (which doubled as his office), and there was no separation between work and home life. The lockdowns prevented the social interaction Brandon enjoyed in his work. These collectively began to take a toll on him. * At first Brandon was afraid to share his story in blog form but eventually decided the struggles and experience needed to be shared in the hopes that it may help someone else. Getting the story out there was more important than his own comfort. * The pandemic caused a lot of depression for Brandon. * The blog was also important to highlight how men in particular deal with the amount of stress in their lives. * How was the mental strain this time different than his experience back in boot camp? * This experience was completely different, and at first, Brandon didn’t recognize the symptoms and signs. * “As I was going through it I started to realize that there were aspects of me that were getting lost in the moment…. Who I was was disappearing, and I was going down a hole that I didn’t necessarily know how to dig out of. And it was completely different than the mental mind games of the Marine Corps. This was very much on a personal level. This was very much internal struggles, not really dealing with the outside effects of somebody screaming in my face but more of trying to hold onto who I was while it was slipping away.” – Brandon Seymour * Brandon remembers a moment of vulnerability and clarity in a conversation with his wife. He had known it was going on for a while but was hiding it. * It was a period of uncertainty as we all entered a new situation (a worldwide pandemic). Brandon’s family was looking to him for comfort, and he wanted to be strong for them. * “I didn’t want them to see me fall apart.” – Brandon Seymour, feeling the need to be strong for his family * What advice does Brandon have for listeners who may be feeling ...