Attorney and former corporate legal leader Shannon Kobylarczyk has announced the launch of her Personal Mental Health & Resilience Pledge, an initiative that applies governance and accountability principles to personal wellness. The pledge centers on practical, daily behaviors designed to promote mental health awareness, boundary-setting, and sustainable performance in demanding careers, reflecting lessons from Kobylarczyk's own experience balancing career, family, and personal well-being.
The announcement comes during a period of significant workplace stress nationwide. According to the American Psychological Association, 77% of employees report experiencing work-related stress, with nearly 3 in 5 workers reporting negative mental health impacts from their jobs. Furthermore, the National Alliance on Mental Illness reports that 1 in 5 U.S. adults experiences mental illness each year, and over 60% of adults with a mental health condition do not receive treatment.
"You can't lead effectively if you're running on empty," Kobylarczyk stated. "Resilience isn't pretending everything is fine. It's rebuilding when it's not." She emphasized that clarity and structure—values she previously applied in corporate governance—are equally applicable to personal wellness. "When people understand expectations, they perform better," she explained. "That includes the expectations we set for ourselves."
Kobylarczyk's pledge consists of seven personal commitments she is adopting publicly: taking at least one uninterrupted 10-minute break daily without screens; scheduling one non-negotiable wellness activity per week; speaking openly about mental health in appropriate settings; setting clear boundaries around work hours when possible; checking in weekly with a trusted person about stress levels; prioritizing sleep as a leadership responsibility; and seeking support early instead of waiting for a crisis point. "Mental health doesn't wait its turn," she noted. "You either address it early, or it demands your attention."
The initiative addresses critical health and economic concerns. Burnout among working parents has doubled in recent years, and studies show chronic stress contributes to heart disease, anxiety disorders, and reduced workplace productivity. The World Health Organization estimates that depression and anxiety cost the global economy $1 trillion annually in lost productivity. Kobylarczyk believes solutions must begin at the individual level. "Big systems change slowly," she said. "But personal habits can change today."
To support implementation, Kobylarczyk offers a do-it-yourself mental wellness toolkit containing ten free actions anyone can take, including taking a 10-minute walk without a phone, writing down stress triggers and boundaries, setting a daily "hard stop" time for work, journaling each morning, and turning off notifications for one hour per day. She also provides a 30-day progress tracker with weekly focuses on awareness, boundaries, communication, and sustainability, encouraging reflection on three changes to maintain after the period.
