Hosted by Maroon 5's founding drummer, therapist, author, and mental health advocate Ryan Dusick, Harder to Breathe is a podcast with honest and vulnerable conversations about the challenges we face and how to work through them.
Each week, Ryan shares his stories and tools for moving past anxiety while also interviewing leading entertainers, musicians, athletes, and entrepreneurs to discuss how they too manage their demons.
Recent Episodes 
Skip the Small Talk and Make Deeper Connections (ft. Kalina Silverman)
For today’s episode of “Harder to Breathe'', host and founding drummer of “Maroon 5” Ryan Dusick is joined by co-host and actor Brian “Duck” Maillard for a discussion with speaker, ...writer, and founder of “Big Talk”, Kalina Silverman. The name and concept of “Big Talk” is simple, but the execution is nuanced, complex, and changing lives around the globe.
As Kalina explains, “Big Talk” is simply the opposite of Small Talk. It’s a set of questions that are designed to improve the conversations that we have with other people. She has sorted the questions into a deck of cards, which provide the encouragement we need to dive into a discussion from a Deeper Place… and avoid superficial conversations that leave us feeling unfulfilled.
Kalina has used government grants and global travel to test out the concept of “Big Talk” with people all around the globe, and its widespread success simply proves how universal the human experience is. We all deal with love, loss, grief, pride, success, and failure and discussing these topics is the easiest way we can connect with other people.
Ultimately the trio share in a few rounds of “Big Talk” for themselves, and have the opportunity to open up with each other and quickly dig into some vulnerable topics; the bread and butter of the “Harder to Breathe” podcast.
We had a few A/V technical difficulties on this recording due to overheating devices on a hot southern California day, but the episode is still very engaging to watch or listen to!
0:00:00 Introduction & Duck’s Bad Week
0:01:32 Technical Difficulties Update
0:05:06 Working Through Duck’s Anger & Family Frustration
0:11:33 D.B.T.: Dialectical Behavior Therapy
0:17:45 Ryan Finding His Center & Balance
0:20:31 Adam Levine’s ADHD & Ryan’s OCD
0:23:19 Embracing The Concept of “Choice”
0:34:47 Today’s Guest: Kalina Silverman
—
0:00:00 Kalina’s Project: What is “Big Talk”?
0:04:11 The Mission Behind the Project
0:05:53 Male Friendships & Activities
0:07:18 The Desire to Dig Deeper into Relationships
0:08:02 The “Mixed Race Student Coalition” & Experiencing Multiculturalism
0:13:22 Newfound Perspective
0:15:21 Kalina’s Dark Side
0:19:22 Fighting Loneliness & Depression
0:21:22 Unpacking Kalina’s Nightmares
0:23:25 How to Classify “Big Talk”
0:27:39 Navigating the Business Side & Grants
0:31:46 The Cause of Loneliness in the World
0:33:24 Kalina’s Goals Surrounding “Big Talk”
0:35:52 Some Big Talk of Our Own… “What is the Best Part of Your Day”?
0:42:21 “If You Could Change Anything About the World…”
0:51:17 “If You Could Live Anywhere Else for a Year, Where?”
0:58:44 Where to Find “Big Talk” And What’s Next for the Movement
1:00:50 Kalina’s Favorite Questions in the Deck
1:02:32 How Kalina Got Through Her Parents’ Divorce
1:03:36 What Do You Still Want/Need to Work On?
1:07:04 The Arts & Music Within Mental Health
1:10:57 Wrap Up & Conclusion
More on Kalina Silverman & “Big Talk”:
Official Webpage: https://www.makebigtalk.com/
Purchase Your Own “Big Talk” Deck: https://bigtalkshop.com/products/preorder-now-big-talk-question-card-game-second-version-tabletop-standard-playing-card-size-150-questions
Download the App: https://www.makebigtalk.com/questions-app/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makebigtalk/
Ready to Dive Deeper?:
https://www.ryandusick.com/
BenBella Books Author Page - https://benbellabooks.com/authors/dusick-ryan/
Amazon Book Page - https://www.amazon.com/Harder-Breathe-Memoir-Finding-Recovery/dp/1637742339/
WWSG Speaker Page - https://wwsg.com/speakers/ryan-dusick/
Psychology Today Therapist Profile - https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/937599
Stay Up to Date on the Podcast: @hardertobreathepodcast
Follow Ryan on Social Media:
IG - @ryan_michael_dusick
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-dusick-ma-amft-26460894/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ryan.m.dusick
Facebook Author Page - https://www.facebook.com/RyanMichaelDusick/
X / Twitter - @DusickRyan
Follow Duck on Social Media:
IG - @Newyorkduck
X / Twitter - @DuckMaillard
#bigtalk #connection #communication #relationships[+] Show More
As Kalina explains, “Big Talk” is simply the opposite of Small Talk. It’s a set of questions that are designed to improve the conversations that we have with other people. She has sorted the questions into a deck of cards, which provide the encouragement we need to dive into a discussion from a Deeper Place… and avoid superficial conversations that leave us feeling unfulfilled.
Kalina has used government grants and global travel to test out the concept of “Big Talk” with people all around the globe, and its widespread success simply proves how universal the human experience is. We all deal with love, loss, grief, pride, success, and failure and discussing these topics is the easiest way we can connect with other people.
Ultimately the trio share in a few rounds of “Big Talk” for themselves, and have the opportunity to open up with each other and quickly dig into some vulnerable topics; the bread and butter of the “Harder to Breathe” podcast.
We had a few A/V technical difficulties on this recording due to overheating devices on a hot southern California day, but the episode is still very engaging to watch or listen to!
0:00:00 Introduction & Duck’s Bad Week
0:01:32 Technical Difficulties Update
0:05:06 Working Through Duck’s Anger & Family Frustration
0:11:33 D.B.T.: Dialectical Behavior Therapy
0:17:45 Ryan Finding His Center & Balance
0:20:31 Adam Levine’s ADHD & Ryan’s OCD
0:23:19 Embracing The Concept of “Choice”
0:34:47 Today’s Guest: Kalina Silverman
—
0:00:00 Kalina’s Project: What is “Big Talk”?
0:04:11 The Mission Behind the Project
0:05:53 Male Friendships & Activities
0:07:18 The Desire to Dig Deeper into Relationships
0:08:02 The “Mixed Race Student Coalition” & Experiencing Multiculturalism
0:13:22 Newfound Perspective
0:15:21 Kalina’s Dark Side
0:19:22 Fighting Loneliness & Depression
0:21:22 Unpacking Kalina’s Nightmares
0:23:25 How to Classify “Big Talk”
0:27:39 Navigating the Business Side & Grants
0:31:46 The Cause of Loneliness in the World
0:33:24 Kalina’s Goals Surrounding “Big Talk”
0:35:52 Some Big Talk of Our Own… “What is the Best Part of Your Day”?
0:42:21 “If You Could Change Anything About the World…”
0:51:17 “If You Could Live Anywhere Else for a Year, Where?”
0:58:44 Where to Find “Big Talk” And What’s Next for the Movement
1:00:50 Kalina’s Favorite Questions in the Deck
1:02:32 How Kalina Got Through Her Parents’ Divorce
1:03:36 What Do You Still Want/Need to Work On?
1:07:04 The Arts & Music Within Mental Health
1:10:57 Wrap Up & Conclusion
More on Kalina Silverman & “Big Talk”:
Official Webpage: https://www.makebigtalk.com/
Purchase Your Own “Big Talk” Deck: https://bigtalkshop.com/products/preorder-now-big-talk-question-card-game-second-version-tabletop-standard-playing-card-size-150-questions
Download the App: https://www.makebigtalk.com/questions-app/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makebigtalk/
Ready to Dive Deeper?:
https://www.ryandusick.com/
BenBella Books Author Page - https://benbellabooks.com/authors/dusick-ryan/
Amazon Book Page - https://www.amazon.com/Harder-Breathe-Memoir-Finding-Recovery/dp/1637742339/
WWSG Speaker Page - https://wwsg.com/speakers/ryan-dusick/
Psychology Today Therapist Profile - https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/937599
Stay Up to Date on the Podcast: @hardertobreathepodcast
Follow Ryan on Social Media:
IG - @ryan_michael_dusick
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-dusick-ma-amft-26460894/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ryan.m.dusick
Facebook Author Page - https://www.facebook.com/RyanMichaelDusick/
X / Twitter - @DusickRyan
Follow Duck on Social Media:
IG - @Newyorkduck
X / Twitter - @DuckMaillard
#bigtalk #connection #communication #relationships[+] Show More
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About the Host
As the former founder of Maroon 5, Ryan had an amazing start to his music career that changed his life. But the stress of being that high of a performer started to break him down to the point that he had to walk away from his dream life. It was at the bottom that he realized that he had to change and through treatment, he began to rebuild his life one brick at a time. Ryan embraced his life experience and decided to become a therapist where he now specializes in helping high performers under enormous stress manage it and stay on a solid path.