Jeannie Gaffigan, left, and, at right, Ms. Gaffigan with her family.

Five kids. Four Grammy nominations. One pear-shaped brain tumor. When a life-threatening diagnosis turns comedy writer, producer and director Jeannie Gaffigan’s life upside-down, she and her husband, comedian Jim Gaffigan, turn to faith, family, and of course—humor.

Ms. Gaffigan was successfully treated for a large and rare brain tumor by Joshua Bederson, MD, Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at the Mount Sinai Health System. In the operating room, Dr. Bederson used virtual reality technology that he pioneered to help surgeons operate more safely and precisely.

Ms. Gaffigan talks about her terrifying health crisis and how it’s served as a source of renewed purpose for both her and her family. Her new memoir, “When Life Gives You Pears,” will be published October 1.

Road to Resilience brings you stories and insights to help you thrive in a challenging world. From fighting burnout and trauma to building resilient families and communities, the podcast explores what’s possible when science meets the human spirit. To listen, visit Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, or the Road to Resilience website.

From left: Priscilla Agyeman, MPH, and Craig Katz, MD

Mount Sinai researchers have published the first large, empirical study examining the mental health of children held at a U.S. immigration detention center in Social Science & Medicine. In episode 14 of Road to Resilience, co-authors Craig Katz, MD, director for advocacy of the Mount Sinai Human Rights Program, and Priscilla Agyeman, MPH, a clinical research coordinator at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, talk about what they found and what it means for all of us.

Ms. Agyeman and two colleagues spent two months speaking with more than 400 mothers about the mental health of their children who were being detained with them. The researchers found higher rates of emotional and behavioral difficulties, as well as PTSD, among the children compared to their peers in the general U.S. population. Children who had been separated from their mothers demonstrated a significantly greater number of emotional symptoms and total difficulties compared to children who had not been separated, suggesting that separation is associated with increased psychological distress.

“The efforts in this study exemplify how psychiatry can be more proactive, community-oriented, and public health oriented,” said Dr. Katz. “We as psychiatrists need to get out there in the world and not wait for the world to come to us. Our findings told us in science what you know in your heart.”

Road to Resilience brings you stories and insights to help you thrive in a challenging world. From fighting burnout and trauma to building resilient families and communities, the podcast explores what’s possible when science meets the human spirit. To listen, visit Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, or the Road to Resilience website.

Cardinale Smith, MD, PhD

Overwhelmed by grief for patients who had died, Cardinale Smith, MD, PhD, an oncology fellow, embarked on a self-care journey that led to unexpected places.

In episode 13 of Road to Resilience, Dr. Smith, Director of Quality for Cancer Services at the Mount Sinai Health System, shares the ritual she uses to process loss, offers tips on having hard conversations, and reflects on the end of life.

Oncologists and palliative care specialists commonly experience patient loss and are often affected by unprocessed grief. An approach to mitigate the emotions is self-care; having a self-care and self-awareness plan is crucial when caring for patients with life-limiting cancer.

Road to Resilience brings you stories and insights to help you thrive in a challenging world. From fighting burnout and trauma to building resilient families and communities, the podcast explores what’s possible when science meets the human spirit. To listen, visit Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, or the Road to Resilience website.

Kate Milliken

The science is in: We’re stronger together. Supportive social networks are linked to better health, protection against depression, and even a longer life.

In the latest episode of the Road to Resilience podcast from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, multiple sclerosis patients Kate Milliken and Elizabeth Jones talk about how their tight-knit MS community has made them more resilient.

The two met on MyCounterpane.com (now moodify.com), a once-thriving online community for people with chronic illness. And they are being treated by the same doctor, Stephen Krieger, MD, a neurologist at The Corinne Dickinson Center for Multiple Sclerosis at The Mount Sinai Hospital. But everybody can benefit from tight bonds with people who “get” them.

Elizabeth Jones

The resilience research mentioned in this episode appears in the book, “Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life’s Greatest Challenges,” by Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Steven Southwick, MD, Professor of Psychiatry at Yale University.

Road to Resilience brings you stories and insights to help you thrive in a challenging world. From fighting burnout and trauma to building resilient families and communities, the podcast explores what’s possible when science meets the human spirit. To listen, visit Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, or the Road to Resilience website.

You can find more information about living with MS in the trailer for the Moodify movie and Kate Milliken’s MS Facebook group (new members welcome).