May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a timely reminder that behind the security dashboards, breach reports, and 24/7 alert fatigue are real people—many of them struggling silently.
In cybersecurity, the stress is relentless. CISOs and their teams operate in a high-stakes environment where every misstep can result in breach headlines, financial loss, or reputational damage. Add in long hours, under-resourced teams, and the "always-on" pressure of digital defense, and it's no wonder burnout is a looming threat within the InfoSec community.
This is why SecureWorld Chicago's upcoming panel session on May 21st—"Mental Health vs. Mental Wellbeing: How to Cultivate Resilient Security Teams"—couldn't be more relevant.
The panel dives into a growing movement in cybersecurity leadership: shifting from reacting to burnout to building cultures of sustainable performance and resilience. The session features Karen Habercoss, VP, Chief Information Security and Privacy Officer, University of Chicago Medicine; Jatin Mannepalli, Information Security Officer, IMC Trading; Kenneth Townsend, Global CISO, Ingredion Incorporated; Sean Ventura, Head of Security & Compliance, KinderCare Education LLC; with Shefali Mookencherry, CISO, University of Illinois at Chicago, moderating.
The discussion will explore:
How mindfulness and stress management can be integrated into security operations
Techniques for fostering psychological safety in high-pressure environments
The impact of leadership empathy on retention and performance
What proactive mental wellness looks like in the real world—beyond wellness apps and slogans
"Cyber resilience isn't just about technology—it starts with the mental fitness of every analyst, engineer, architect or a CISO," Mannepalli said. "When we safeguard our team's mental health, we strengthen our first line of cyber defense. Behind every secure environment is a resilient mind: because healthy people build stronger security and most importantly, stronger teams."
SecureWorld held similar mental health panels in Boston, Toronto, and Philadelphia in March and April. Cybersecurity practitioners opened up, were vulnerable, and shared stories of stressful situations that sometimes seemed insurmountable--and how they came through with the support of family, coworkers, mentors, leaders, yoga, mental exercises, and more.
"The cybersecurity industry has long since moved to a mental model of resilience when thinking about programs and architecture. However, we haven't updated how we think about our own resilience to the stress that comes with defending against intrusion, breaches, and outright attacks," said George Kamide, Co-Founder of Mind Over Cyber, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving mental well-being and preventing burnout in the cybersecurity industry through the teaching of accessible mindfulness techniques for defenders.
Kamide, who moderated the mental health panel at SecureWorld Toronto on April 8th and has partnered with SecureWorld to instigate these important panels at as many SecureWorld events as possible, continued: "There is a troublesome strain of hero or martyr culture in cybersecurity. We know it's not if but when, so in light of that mindset, as an industry we would do well to focus on the ways we can build strength over time, so that we can respond to incidents with calm and clear-headed thinking."
In cybersecurity, where uncertainty is the only constant, building resilience isn't just a wellness initiative—it's a business strategy.
A 2023 Gartner study found that 88% of security leaders report high levels of stress, and nearly half say they've considered quitting the field altogether. The most common drivers? Lack of support, overwhelming responsibility, and a perceived failure to make a meaningful impact.
These aren't isolated experiences—they're systemic red flags. And they impact more than the professionals themselves; when CISOs and their teams are stretched thin, the entire organization's security posture is at risk.
Mental wellbeing and cybersecurity performance are directly correlated.
Steve Shelton, Co-Founder & CEO, Green Shoe Consulting, posted this on LinkedIn about the stresses cybersecurity puts on those in the industry:
"𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐂𝐲𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐭
Cybersecurity teams operate under relentless stress:
⚠️ Constant threat exposure
⏰ 24/7 on-call culture
🚨 Crisis-driven work rhythms
This creates a cognitive load similar to what we see in emergency medicine or defense.
ARENA resilience research shows that performance suffers when stress is sustained without recovery.
💡 Mental fitness isn’t a luxury — it's a survival skill
#Resilience #MentalHealthAwareness #stress #selfcare #personaldevelopment #leadership #technology"
Shelton is moderating a two-part session at SecureWorld Chicago for VIPs only (CISOs), the first on "Leadership Under Pressure: The Hidden Costs and Opportunities in Cybersecurity Stress," and the second part over lunch on "Building Your Stress Management Playbook: A Resilience Workshop for Cybersecurity Leaders."
Mental Health Awareness Month is an opportunity to normalize the conversation and promote real-world tactics for leading with empathy and clarity, such as:
Scheduled decompression time during non-incident weeks
Rotational on-call systems to give teams breathing room
Peer check-ins and team retrospectives focused on personal wellbeing
Mental health literacy training for security leaders
Celebrating small wins, not just incident avoidance
CISOs can also lead by example—taking mental health days, acknowledging their own stressors, and modeling boundaries in a field that often ignores them.
The session on May 21st is more than just a panel—it's a call to action for security leaders who know that building resilient systems begins with building resilient people. Here's the full agenda and registration link for SecureWorld Chicago.
Whether you're a CISO, a team lead, or an analyst, join the conversation and take away practical, people-first strategies that you can bring back to your organization.
Because defending digital systems is hard—but defending your team's wellbeing is just as vital.