Today’s episode is not about headlines,  It’s not about statistics. It’s about the quiet moments at home.

The subtle shifts.
The silence we feel but can’t quite name.

In this deeply vulnerable conversation, I sit down with Anna Ulinski, a law enforcement spouse who lost her husband, Ohio State Highway Patrol Sergeant Jared Ulinski, to suicide nearly five years ago.

Anna is not a clinician. She is not an expert.
She is a wife. A mother. A widow.

And she is choosing to speak so that other families might not have to learn this the hard way

• The subtle behavioral shifts that are easy to dismiss
• Silence and emotional withdrawal at home
• Drinking patterns that slowly increase
• Guilt carried by suicide widows
• Why “He would never do that” can become a dangerous assumption
• How stigma keeps officers silent
• How spouses can speak up without shame
• What prevention actually looks like in real life

At Code Forty4, we believe prevention begins at home.

Recognize. Respond. Support……. Before the line breaks.

If you are listening and thinking,
“This feels familiar…”

You are not overreacting, you are not imagining things, And you are not alone!

If you or someone you love is struggling, help is available through the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or local first responder wellness resources.

Chapters

00:00 – A Difficult but Necessary Conversation

03:00 – Meet Anna: Life Before Everything Changed
07:00 – “It’s Just Part of the Job”
11:00 – The Drinking Shift
12:43 – The Silence at Home
20:11 – The Comment by the Pool

22:30 – The Day Everything Changed

24:40 – Suicide Is Not Weakness
30:05 – Speaking Up Without Betrayal
38:55 – If You’re Listening and It Feels Familiar

#suicideawareness #lawenforcementfamilies #breakthestigma #mentalhealthmatters #codeforty4podcast