What I love most about traveling to other states and speaking is hearing what they have accomplished. It offers me ideas to bring back and share with other states as well as my own state of Virginia. Vermont has many programs that meet people where they are, such as mobile crisis units and more.
My keynote, “Turning Pain into Purpose: The Power of Post-Traumatic Growth,” was more emotional than usual.
While it’s an emotional story on any day, this is my son’s birthday month, the milestone of age 30 coming up. My emotions have been closer to the surface and are more raw. I had to pause and ask for grace, and everyone in that room was with me. When I told my friend Chris Coultier about it, he said, “There is something sacred about a room that holds space for raw emotion.”
The index cards I passed out and gathered after that reflected “one thing I learned,” are so beautiful and did the trick of filling me back up after being so vulnerable. It’s an odd self-care step that has also helped me craft a presentation that resonates and meets people’s needs–but also helps me build my own emotional muscle. Because that’s what Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) is all about–building the emotional muscle.
When they fill out that index card, they are not telling me what they learned but also how it resonated and connected with their own story.
When you meet people face to face, you often have no idea what they are going through. Even the most put-together individual can have a crisis-level issue at home. Once I open up, others offer their trust and share their story. That means a lot and I never take it for granted. While I’ve had a lot of training and ongoing training, it is through other people’s stories that I have learned the most.
Anytime someone chooses me to speak to their audience, I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to share my message of hope, healing, and post-traumatic growth.
See the Post Traumatic Growth topic below
Theme: An inspirational keynote speaker topic focused more on post-traumatic growth after trauma or tragedy
Topic Description:
After years of trying to find help for her once joyful son and rap artist, AnneMoss’s son Charles died by suicide in 2015 at age 20. This presentation is about AnneMoss’s inspiring journey to healing and transformation. By dragging an unpopular topic into the spotlight and learning to heal through helping, she shares how embracing change—both personal and societal—has led to unexpected connections, a powerful sense of purpose that has saved lives. Through the evolution of her blog community, she illustrates how shared pain can spark collective healing and drive meaningful change.
Takeaways:
- An unconventional and unique way to connect and save lives.
- Finding purpose and meaning in the face of feeling like an epic failure.
- Moving forward after trauma–to a life-changing, healing path.
“One Thing I Learned….” Index Cards from the Audience
- See the index cards here on the Facebook image gallery.
- See Part II of the index cards on this Facebook image gallery.
AnneMoss Rogers is a leading wellness and suicide education expert and one of the top mental health speakers and suicide prevention speakers. Known for her powerful, motivational keynotes, AnneMoss combines her personal story of loss with proven strategies to help organizations build a wellness culture that drives results and saves lives. She speaks at conferences, workplaces, K-12 schools, and universities, delivering impactful presentations that inspire change and promote mental health awareness.
AnneMoss does this work in memory of her son, Charles, who struggled with anxiety, depression, and addiction, and died by suicide at age 20 in 2015.