I can say I have healed emotionally.
I can’t say, “I’m over it.”
I have learned to walk beside grief and accept the journey however it presents itself, never having expectations of how it might be. So if I feel low, I sit with that emotion for a bit and then use a coping skill to jump-start myself out of that space. No pushing grief away or denying it. But then no wallowing either. My grief is my opportunity to connect with the memories of Charles.
At this point, it’s less about … Read more...
Most Days is an app for iPhone that helps you build routines to support your mental health. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has partnered with the app, to offer support for those who have lived with thoughts of suicide and those who live with a loss by suicide. (Video below if you want to just scroll to that.)
Step 1: Creating or subscribing to a routine which is a set of healthy habits that you are working to incorporate into your life most days. A library of routines is already written by top psychologists and neuroscientists from which you … Read more...
This is a really good interview with host, Casey Jourdan who has struggled with PTSD as a result of her tour in Iraq and this podcast is part of her personal journey to focus on how people have evolved after tragedy. This is a particularly intimate interview.
Todd Inspires Beliefcast with Todd Sylvester is for those looking to get more out of life, move beyond limiting beliefs and overcome addictions, depression, and anxiety. This one is trending as one of the top 1% of mental health podcasts worldwide.
We invite you to be in this interview to laugh, cry, and grow together.
Charles had a girlfriend named Susanna. (Name changed to protect privacy.) Between the two of them, their weight would add up to one average human. So yeah they were both thin people. While he did love her I don’t think he was an awesome boyfriend. Those with substance use disorder rarely are because their addiction makes them desperate and selfish. Deep down that was not who Charles was.
She had gotten clean by the time Charles had relapsed after his first recovery so it was a lopsided relationship at that point with Susanna acting as his primary transportation and everything … Read more...
I had the pleasure of being one of the keynote speakers for a Youth Suicide Prevention summit with AFSP (American Foundation of Suicide Prevention), AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics), and NIMH, National Institute of Mental Health.
Suicide is complex but often preventable. Pediatric health clinicians, adults working with youth in school and community settings, families, and peers can play a critical role in identifying and supporting youth at risk for suicide.
See the links below for information on the collaboration of over 45 experts who came together from multiple gender and ethnic groups to create this blueprint for preventing this … Read more...
by Bart Bright
My son, Kevin, died by suicide on August 14, 2018. He was 29.
The last articulate words I heard him speak were, “Cannabis has ruined my life.” He suffered many episodes of Cannabis Induced Psychosis, a diagnosis in the DSM-5. Over the last two years, I have communicated with hundreds of parents whose children have suffered from Cannabis Induced Psychosis.
In Colorado in 2017, marijuana was present in the blood of 32% of suicides, ages 15 to 19 according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. My friend … Read more...
by Emily Sherman
I didn’t wake up one morning and decide that life was meaningless. It took years of feeling hopeless.
I could not stay in the community for longer than three months. I became institutionalized and was in the mindset that life was nothing but white walls, a mattress, and forcible injections. My life felt as though it was not worth living.
I had the diagnosis of Borderline personality disorder and receiving the diagnosis made me feel validated, but also like I was untreatable. My suicidal thoughts … Read more...
Listen on Jeff’s LivingUndeterred.com website and see the show notes.
Living Undeterred is a podcast created by author Jeff Johnston and founder of the Choices Network, Ltd. Jeff lost his oldest son, Seth to heroin in 2016. His personal struggles gave him the inspiration to become vulnerable and to share how he has remained…undeterred. Jeff is in recovery from addiction, and for 11 years had his own wealth management and financial show.This show focuses a lot on the intersection of mental health, addiction, and suicide.
by Heather Pate
I struggled with Self-Injury and Suicidal Ideation (aka Suicidal Thinking) from the ages of 15-18. I would call myself a Chronic Suicidal Thinker. I spent a lot of time coming up with plans. There was a lot going on at home and had some stuff I was struggling with from earlier in my life. I thought what I was struggling with was something I did wrong. I didn’t want to get in more trouble.
See, my father blamed and shamed me about something earlier in life, and now looking … Read more...
Forgiving yourself doesn’t mean absolving yourself of any responsibility for past actions but rather allowing yourself to acknowledge errors and the grace to live in peace as an imperfect human moving forward.
Things happen for which you cannot change. And maybe it’s time for you to move forward and learn from errors without punishing yourself for them for the rest of your life. Because that benefits no one. Or maybe it’s time for you to jump-start that process.
Not all of these tips will be relevant to your situation, so take away that which is.
Best of Second Act Stories for 2021
I’m so thrilled my interview with Andy Levine was chosen as the best of 2021! Pain Turns To Purpose: A Suicide, A Mother’s Grief, And A Second Act.
This is not to take the place of a suicide assessment, or professionally-developed suicide safety plan
We are calling this activity, Resilience, and Safety Planning for Students. Access to the pdf and editable PowerPoint are below. In short, this is a simple activity you do as part of a lesson that students can take with them when they meet an emotional crisis such as parental divorce, a romantic breakup, or the loss of a loved one.
It’s probably most suitable 7th grade and up.
The … Read more...
by Dave Maddox
When my friend Chris ended his life in 2021, like all his family and friends, I was stunned. He was the last guy I would have thought could have done this. Upbeat, optimistic, with a ridiculous sense of humor, time spent with Chris always left me worn out from laughing. It also always left me feeling better about myself. That was his special gift: he was genuinely interested in everyone he met and could make everyone he knew feel smarter, stronger, braver, and better looking.
Our friendship was forged years … Read more...
This podcast focuses on Postvention which is after a suicide loss.
Free PDF- After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools- Second Edition– From NASP, NASSP, ASCA
Free PDF- Postvention Guide for Colleges – From JED Foundation & Higher Education Mental Health Alliance (HEMHA) Project
After a suicide at a school or college. What do you do?
