by Kerrie Atherton | Oct 20, 2025 | Depression, Mental Health, Podcasts, Stories of Hope, Thoughts, vulnerability
The story of Steve Hodgson burnout recovery mental health first aid coach is a powerful reminder that even when life feels impossible, healing and renewal are possible. Once a top real estate agent, husband, and father of five, Steve’s success masked a hidden struggle with exhaustion, stress, and identity loss. The constant pressure of workaholism, community expectations, and family responsibility eventually drove him into deep burnout. His story shows how courage, honesty, and the willingness to let go can transform the darkest of times.
Childhood and Early Dreams
Raised in a family built on service and care, Steve’s parents instilled in him the value of helping others. That calling guided him into business and community leadership, where he was admired for his work ethic and generosity. But beneath the surface, the endless demands and the need to be everything to everyone began taking their toll.
Burnout and Breakdown
By 2018, Steve was overwhelmed. His memory faltered, his energy collapsed, and his health suffered. Despite doctor’s visits and trial medications, nothing seemed to bring relief. As he battled depression, anxiety, and chronic fatigue, Steve wrestled with identity loss: without his career, who was he? The breakdown challenged everything he thought he knew about himself and forced him to confront the hidden cost of saying “yes” to everyone else while saying “no” to his own wellbeing.
Turning Point and Recovery
Through honesty, support, and the difficult choice to step back from real estate, Steve found the space to rebuild. Therapy, lifestyle changes, and eventually the right medication gave him the strength to heal. Most importantly, he discovered the power of presence, gratitude, and connection. By learning to slow down, to say “no” when needed, and to prioritise his health, Steve turned burnout into breakthrough.
A New Life of Purpose
Today, the story of Steve Hodgson burnout recovery mental health first aid coach is a beacon of hope. No longer defined by titles or performance, Steve lives with authenticity and balance. He now works as a coach, podcaster, and certified mental health first aid trainer, helping others recognise the signs of burnout, build resilience, and find recovery. His passion is simple but profound: to remind people that they are not alone, and that healing is always possible.
Why His Story Matters
Steve’s journey speaks to anyone who has ever felt trapped by work, identity, or the pressure to keep going no matter the cost. His voice is a call for men and women alike to step off the treadmill, to seek help, and to believe that life after burnout can be rich with meaning, joy, and connection.
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by Kerrie Atherton | Jun 22, 2025 | Mental Health, Podcasts, vulnerability
In this profoundly moving episode of Stories of HOPE, Kerrie Atherton speaks with Rhys Kirk—an occupational therapist whose work in psychiatric wards has shaped a perspective both compassionate and deeply grounded in dignity.
Mental health wards often carry stigma. For some, they’re places of fear. For others, they represent trauma. But for many individuals, they have been sanctuaries of survival—places where healing begins in the presence of nonjudgmental care.
Rhys brings years of experience working across both acute and long-term psychiatric units. He doesn’t describe patients by diagnoses—he sees people. Individuals who’ve battled addiction, homelessness, chronic illness, and immense trauma. He speaks with deep humanity about those society often overlooks, reminding us that everyone deserves hope, dignity, and the chance to heal.
In this conversation, Kerrie and Rhys also explore the emotional realities of care work. They discuss compassion fatigue, clinician burnout, and the importance of recognizing your own early warning signs. Rhys emphasizes that self-care isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity, especially for those in helping professions.
More than anything, Rhys reinforces the idea that healing doesn’t always come from big interventions. Sometimes, it comes from simply sitting with someone in their pain and saying, “I’m here.”
Whether you’re a mental health professional, a carer, or someone navigating your own healing journey, this episode offers a rare and tender look inside the systems that hold people together during their darkest hours.
by Kerrie Atherton | Dec 15, 2021 | Addiction, Counselling, Depression, Empower, Events, Mental Health, sexual abuse, vulnerability
LEADING THE WAY
Leading the way has not been something that has come easily to me nor was it something I sought. It all started when I intentionally allowed myself as hard as it was to become vulnerable. The harsh events of life cause a vulnerability in so many that is raw and uncomfortable, but for me it was intolerable and unbearable. The feeling and fear of being vulnerable was something that in former days caused me to numb myself out on alcohol and prescription. Anything but face life and pain in its true form. But not today.
WEARING MASKS
I was so afraid that if people really found out who I was on the inside, I would be rejected. I did everything I could to mask the true me because i literally hated myself. As hard as I tried, I could never hide because I wore a veil of shame. The shame of growing up in an alcoholic home and the secrets I felt I had to keep to protect not only me but those around me. The social anxiety and the intense loneliness I felt on the inside, caused me to wear masks and many of them. I didn’t want people to know how desperate I really felt. The only problem with wearing masks was that when I was with a group of people, i had no idea of how to act. Because I wore a different mask for different people, i would render myself silent for fear of being found out.
COMING CLEAN
I literally started becoming clean in every sense of the word, the day I got sober in a twelve step recovery meeting. Night after night i was asked to share my story, my struggles and about my sobriety. I felt humiliated unveiling the layers of shame publicly and public humiliation was the very thing I feared the most. But, I knew my recovery depended on it. Besides I was in a safe environment and one where everyone else in the room were also sharing their deepest darkest pain but maybe like me, not ALL their secrets. I still had one I rarely talked about. One where every time it would even enter my mind I became angry and one where even the thought of saying the words made me feel so shattered and so ashamed.
SILENT NO MORE
I remember the day so clearly that I finally came to terms with being raped at 17 years of age. When it happened all those years ago, I told no one. After all I had been molested by a pedophile when I was nine and there was no justice. So I figured there would be no justice if I did tell. What we ‘KEEP IN THE DARKNESS CAN NEVER BE DEALT WITH. IT IS ONLY WHEN WE BRING SOMETHING OUT INTO THE LIGHT THAT WE CAN FINALLY BEGIN TO HEAL’. I realised that the shame was not mine to carry any longer. That was the day I found the keys to freedom. The day I decided I would be SILENT NO MORE! When I finally became vulnerable enough to talk about this publicly, i realised there was no longer anything to hide and nothing holding me back. The fear of rejection no longer has a hold on me. Today I share all my stories so that other people my know that they too can recover from trauma. I can be a voice of HOPE for all those who are still suffering in silence and I can truly connect with people because I am prepared to be vulnerable.
by Kerrie Atherton | Nov 18, 2021 | Addiction, Counselling, Depression, Empower, Events, Mental Health, sexual abuse, vulnerability
LEADING THE WAY
Leading the way has not been something that has come easily to me nor was it something I sought. It all started when I intentionally allowed myself as hard as it was to become vulnerable. The harsh events of life cause a vulnerability in so many that is raw and uncomfortable, but for me it was intolerable and unbearable. The feeling and fear of being vulnerable was something that in former days caused me to numb myself out on alcohol and prescription. Anything but face life and pain in its true form. But not today.
WEARING MASKS
I was so afraid that if people really found out who I was on the inside, I would be rejected. I did everything I could to mask the true me because i literally hated myself. As hard as I tried, I could never hide because I wore a veil of shame. The shame of growing up in an alcoholic home and the secrets I felt I had to keep to protect not only me but those around me. The social anxiety and the intense loneliness I felt on the inside, caused me to wear masks and many of them. I didn’t want people to know how desperate I really felt. The only problem with wearing masks was that when I was with a group of people, i had no idea of how to act. Because I wore a different mask for different people, i would render myself silent for fear of being found out.
COMING CLEAN
I literally started becoming clean in every sense of the word, the day I got sober in a twelve step recovery meeting. Night after night i was asked to share my story, my struggles and about my sobriety. I felt humiliated unveiling the layers of shame publicly and public humiliation was the very thing I feared the most. But, I knew my recovery depended on it. Besides I was in a safe environment and one where everyone else in the room were also sharing their deepest darkest pain but maybe like me, not ALL their secrets. I still had one I rarely talked about. One where every time it would even enter my mind I became angry and one where even the thought of saying the words made me feel so shattered and so ashamed.
SILENT NO MORE
I remember the day so clearly that I finally came to terms with being raped at 17 years of age. When it happened all those years ago, I told no one. After all I had been molested by a pedophile when I was nine and there was no justice. So I figured there would be no justice if I did tell. What we ‘KEEP IN THE DARKNESS CAN NEVER BE DEALT WITH. IT IS ONLY WHEN WE BRING SOMETHING OUT INTO THE LIGHT THAT WE CAN FINALLY BEGIN TO HEAL’. I realised that the shame was not mine to carry any longer. That was the day I found the keys to freedom. The day I decided I would be SILENT NO MORE! When I finally became vulnerable enough to talk about this publicly, i realised there was no longer anything to hide and nothing holding me back. The fear of rejection no longer has a hold on me. Today I share all my stories so that other people my know that they too can recover from trauma. I can be a voice of HOPE for all those who are still suffering in silence and I can truly connect with people because I am prepared to be vulnerable.
