Stick Around - A Suicide Discussion

Clifford Bauman is an internationally known motivational speaker talking about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Mental Health and Suicide. As a survivor of an attempted suicide he realizes the importance of getting counseling and having a strong support structure. After being diagnosed with PTSD from 18 hours as a first responder to the Pentagon during the September 11, 2001 terror attack, he initially dealt with his condition on his own. Cliff saw that that was not working, and he sought treatment, which changed his life; he now believes that counseling has made him a stronger man and a stronger Soldier.

During our chat, Cliff recommended the following resources:

Jon Gossett recognized that there were too many people dying by suicide in his home town. This set him on a course of action. In February 2014, he founded the Life’s Worth Living Foundation to make a difference where he lived. The foundation has a three-fold mission to raise awareness, educate and prevent suicide. You'll be amazed at the amount of great things they are doing to make a difference! 

You can see more about their foundation here: lifesworthlivingfoundation.org

He's also got a podcast that you can find here: Life's Worth Living Podcast

Sharon Greenwald grew up in NY but now lives in Florida. She has a special bond with her dad and has one sister, a son and a daughter. After having an Abortion years ago, Sharon went into her first depressive episode and vowed to kill herself one day. She then asked for divorce in 2006, completely fell apart and had major depression for 10 years until her actual suicide attempt. Sharon is a very spiritual person that is a writer by trade and wrote her book, “Sixty-ninth Street Suicide” to explain the “why” that people often wonder about. You can find here book here: amazon.com/sixtyninthstreensuicide

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year since I last interviews Leslie Weirich! For those of you that are new to “Stick Around”, I interviewed Leslie last year on Suicide Awareness Day. As a recap: Leslie’s son died by suicide on Sept 10th, 5 years ago. He was a stand out student and college football player. Leslie has spent her time ever since spreading awareness through speaking engagements and working with others to prevent suicide.

Since then, Leslie has changed her website to LesliesHope.org and is teaching local school kids the power of the "Sources of Strength" program. More info about that program can be found here: sourcesofstrength.org.

Kara O'Daniel was born with Spina Bifida. Her family was told that she would never walk and would most likely have mental disabilities. But they never gave up and she miraculously started walking at age 5!

She underwent multiple various surgeries and in 6th grade was severely bullied causing her family to start a school for kids with special needs. Kara has really beat the odds by living independently and becoming a motivational speaker to help others get through tough challenges like bullying.

During our chat, Kara recommended the "I Am Enough" movement and more specifically "The Blonde Bombshell" podcast. She also recommended the book "Making Sense Out Of Suffering", by Peter Kreeft.

To follow more of that great things that Kara is up to, check out her website: karaodaniel.com!

After struggling for the majority of her life with alcohol use, depression, an eating disorder, self-harm and surviving a suicide attempt, Ashley started a blog - GHOST IN MY BEDROOM - in order to keep herself accountable to her sobriety after failing so many times on her own. Needless to say, it worked! She never could have imagined the impact her 'cynical, not clinical' voice would have, not only helping her find herself, but thousands along the way.

Because of that vulnerability, Ashley has discovered her voice and purpose - to turn her mess into a message - and help others struggling with the same ghosts that once haunted her.

You can find more about Ashley's story on her blog at freeyourghost.com and her podcast at anchor.fm/cynicalnotclinical or wherever you find your podcasts.

Ashley also shared a couple of resources that she finds helpful in her day to day life that can be found here:

Melissa Rohlfs is a certified holistic health and life coach helping busy women break free from stress/emotional eating and sugar bingeing so they can feel calm, confident and in control. Around food. Around sugar. In stressful situations. In their bodies. In their life. She is committed to empowering women to break free from dieting, emotional eating and self-image issues so they can ditch the diet mentality, and feel empowered in their own skin. 

After her own tumultuous history with food {withholding and then later in life, bingeing}, she learned how to deal with the core issues around her broken relationship with food.  As a result, she felt called to go to school and learn to teach other women how to do the same.  She graduated from the Health Coach Institute as a Holistic Health and Life Coach in 2018 and is the proud owner of Free 2 B Coaching.  She is a proud Boilermaker alumna living in Tucson with her husband, Chad and two kiddos.

She has a websited at www.free2bcoaching.com and can be found on facebook at www.facebook.com/MelissaRohlfsCoach

During our chat, Melissa recommended the book "Brain Maker" by Dr. David Perlmutter: amazon.com/brainmaker

Tasha Hunter is a mental health therapist and suicide attempt survivor. The author of the book, “What Children Remember” (which you can purchase here: amazon.com/whatchildrenremember). This memoir poignantly sheds light on the emotional effects of childhood abuse. As a mental health advocate, Tasha specializes in the treatment of PTSD.

One other podcast that Tasha likes to recommend for her clients is "The Adult Chair" by Michelle Chalfant: theadultchair.com/podcasts.

Todd Sylvester currently serves as a Mentor & Personal-Development Coach for those looking to get more out of life, and he also works at, what he calls the best University on the Planet, The Wasatch Recovery Treatment Center as a Belief System Counselor. Todd is the author of the popular book, “It’s Time To Start Living” and is featured in Simon Sinek’s book “Find Your Why”. During our chat, one of the most powerful tools he shared was what he calls the three R's to change one's self-image: Recognize, Refuse and Replace. Here are some links to find more inspiration from Todd:

Books Todd has written:

Todd's Podcast:

Todd's Website:

Jessica Northrop is a licensed therapist and group therapy practice owner. She has been in the helping profession for over 20 years. She is a graduate of  Georgia Tech and now specializes in helping people resolve severe  emotional disturbances and to cease harmful and addictive behaviors. She  utilizes an evidenced-based therapy called Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, which has been proven to help clients significantly reduce  harmful behaviors. She also treats people who are survivors of trauma  with an evidenced-based approach. She also received a certification as a  Daring Way Facilitator in 2019 and is able to help people with shame resilience practices based on the research of Brené Brown. Her practice is called The Northrop Connection, and you can follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/northropcounseling or join her free Facebook group called Soothing the Mind (https://www.facebook.com/groups/soothingthemind). Her website is www.thenorthropconnection.com.  She started a new group therapy subscription package in January 2021 which will allow an in depth group approach for people who are in need of connection. She is accepting new clients for group therapy.

Jessica recommended a couple of books during our interview: