Understand Suicide

Most of us have felt stuck at some point in our lives. This interview with Dave Evans will help you move forward. Together with Bill Burnett, he wrote the book “Designing your life: how to build a well-lived, joyful life.” They also founded the Stanford Life Design Lab, where they teach one of the most popular classes there.

Dave also knows about suicide loss. At the age of nine, he lost his father to suicide. He was only 49 years old at the time. Decades later, in a painful search for his own identity, Dave found himself rebuilding the gaps in his father’s storyline. “You can’t know who you are if you don’t know whom you came from,” he says.

In this interview, Dave talks about the many ways we can reframe our life situation so that we can free ourselves of what the authors call “dysfunctional beliefs,” myths that prevent us from designing the life we envision for ourselves.

For those who struggle with suicidal ideation, these dysfunctional beliefs could be something like “there is no other way out,” or “I’m not good enough.”

Dave also addresses suicide grief and the places where families get stuck after loss, which can be, for example, by feeling guilty or feeling engulfed by the “what ifs” that often come after the death of a loved one by suicide.

This interview is profound and illuminating. It is helpful to all of us.

If you want to support my work, buy me a coffee. This will help me keep bringing hope to those touched by suicide:  https://bit.ly/3whorPH

Find Dave Evans' book at https://designingyour.life/the-book/

His course “Desinging your life” can be taken online here:

https://cr8.lv/362ZRUZ

The Stanford Life Design Lab:

http://lifedesignlab.stanford.edu/

Watch this interview on my YouTube channel "Understand Suicide:”

Donate to the podcast: https://bit.ly/3maL9RO  

Visit my page www.understandsuicide.com  

Find my book "Understanding suicide: living with loss, paths to prevention:”

https://amzn.to/2ANczuR 

Exchange experiences on my Facebook page: https://bit.ly/3h8sIet

I’ve been researching suicide within the context of religions for many years, but I never seem to find clear answers to fundamental questions, such as, how is suicide portrayed and view by the major religions? Is it mentioned in their Holy Books? In general, the answer is: suicide is condemned by them for it is considered a mortal sin. This doesn’t seem enough because I know that it’s not that simple, so I’ve been searching for religious leaders and scholars that can be more specific, individuals who can give my audience knowledgeable guidance on this topic. 

Today, I’m talking to Dr. Marty Michelson, PhD, who is a trained Biblical expert on Jewish scripture (old testament). He is Christian and has several degrees from a number of Universities, lecturing internationally. Marty is the author and contributor to various of books, including “Reconciling Violence and Kingship" and "The Greatest commandment: The LORD’s Invitation to Love.” He is an ordained Reverend in the Church of the Nazarene, and a mental health professional. 

Our conversation will focus on Judaism and Christianity. I will continue to search for guests who can talk about other major religions. If you know someone, please let me know by sending me a message through my website and clicking on the Podcast page. 

For select lectures, sermons & thoughts from Dr. Marty Michelson, visit his website at: www.martymichelson.com 

Visit my page www.understandsuicide.com   

Watch this interview on my YouTube channel "Understand Suicide:” https://bit.ly/3iPq5Sv 

Donate to the podcast: https://bit.ly/3maL9RO   

Find my book "Understanding suicide: living with loss, paths to prevention:” https://amzn.to/2ANczuR  

Exchange experiences on my Facebook page: https://bit.ly/3h8sIet

As you know, I created this podcast to prevent suicide and provide comfort for those who are grieving the loss of a loved one to suicide. 

I am planning the next six months of interviews and knowing your needs would help me immensely, so please click on the link below and fill out a quick form which will take you less than a minute to finish. The questions will let me know the topics that are of interest to you. 

CLICK HERE FOR SURVEY

OR copy and past the following address:

https://bit.ly/3xbZByD

Thanks!

When Dr. Judson Brewer started his career, his approach to treat anxiety reflected what he had learned in medical school: diagnose and medicate, but what he found very early on was that medication was not enough. Actually, for most of his patients, it didn’t help at all, so he tried a new path, and, as most curious, restless minds do, Dr. Judson questioned everything he knew. Today, Dr. Jud, as he is worldly known, approaches anxiety as a habit, something that can be learned, and consequently, unlearned. How? That’s what he shares with us in this interview.

I invited him to be a guest on my podcast after I finished his insightful book “Unwinding anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind.” What I love about the way he presents anxiety is the fact that he introduces this topic in a fresh, bold perspective, which will certainly challenge the way you look at it. Not only that, but most importantly, his vision empowers us to reclaim our ability to change. 

In this interview, Dr. Jud offers us effective tools to combat not just anxiety but unhealthy habits, including addictions, that sometimes take over our lives.

Quote: “What we resist, persists, and what we feel, heals.”

If you want to support my work, buy me a coffee. This will help me keep bringing hope to those touched by suicide:  https://bit.ly/3whorPH

To learn more about Dr. Judson Brewer, visit: www.drjud.com

Watch this interview on my YouTube channel "Understand Suicide:”  

https://bit.ly/2QMS0H4

Donate to the podcast: https://bit.ly/3maL9RO   

Visit my page www.understandsuicide.com  

Find my book "Understanding suicide: living with loss, paths to prevention:” 

https://amzn.to/2ANczuR 

Exchange experiences on my Facebook page: https://bit.ly/3h8sIet

As for most of us in Western cultures, dreams used to mean nothing to Dr. Joshua Black, but that completely changed after the death of his father. At the time, he remembers feeling numb, his life’s colors had disappeared. One day, after a peaceful dream with his dad, “the color was back,” he says, and, as if by magic, he could suddenly function again. Even though it was helpful to him then, he still had no idea that that specific dream would transform and guide his life.

Today, Dr. Joshua Black, a PhD in psychology, dedicates his research to grief dreams and their impact on those who are left behind. In this interview, he shares some of the findings with us and helps us answer some of the common questions surrounding dreams: do we all dream? Why some of us can’t remember them? Do they have a function? Is there a way to trick our minds into dreaming more often or even changing their narrative?

What about suicide dreams? Are they different? What do they say about our loss?

To find out more about Dr. Joshua’s work, his courses, his podcast, and how to set up private consultations, visit his website: https://www.griefdreams.ca/

You can watch this interview on my YouTube channel "Understand Suicide:”

https://bit.ly/3uJVM2E

Donate to the podcast: https://bit.ly/3maL9RO 

Visit my page www.understandsuicide.com

Find my book "Understanding suicide: living with loss, paths to prevention:”

https://amzn.to/2ANczuR

Contact me and exchange experiences on my Facebook page: https://bit.ly/3h8sIet

The first time Bill Clemo realized that he needed to look into his mental health was right after he started college. At the time, he thought that his sleep deprivation was temporary, so were the mood swings, but after a suicide attempt, it became clear that he needed help.

It has been over thirty years since he started treatment for bipolar disorder but the decision to openly talk about it did not come easily to him. Today, he leads a group that helps others share their experience with mental illness. At work and within his group of friends, everybody knows about his condition, which according to him, is quite helpful because they help monitor his symptoms and behavior. He is also a leader of the Stability Network, an organization that aims to break the stigma surrounding mental illnesses.

To know more about this initiative, visit:

https://www.thestabilitynetwork.org/

You can watch this interview on my YouTube channel "Understand Suicide:”

https://bit.ly/3aV3f79

Donate to the podcast: https://bit.ly/3maL9RO 

Visit my page www.understandsuicide.com 

Find my book "Understanding suicide: living with loss, paths to prevention:”

https://amzn.to/2ANczuR

Contact me and exchange experiences on my Facebook page: https://bit.ly/3h8sIet

Joanna has a history of painful losses, including her brother and two successive suicides of both her mother and father. In this interview, she talks about how each member of her family grieved these losses, her struggle with mental illness and suicidal thoughts, and what has helped her along the way. She also explores the impact of racism in her life.

She is part of the Stability Network, an organization that fights the stigma associated with mental illness.

To know more about this initiative, visit:

https://www.thestabilitynetwork.org/

You can watch this interview on my YouTube channel "Understand Suicide:”

https://bit.ly/3xcDbOy

Donate to the podcast: https://bit.ly/3maL9RO 

Visit my page www.understandsuicide.com Find my book "Understanding suicide: living with loss, paths to prevention:”

https://amzn.to/2ANczuR

Contact me and exchange experiences on my Facebook page: https://bit.ly/3h8sIet

Jess Fritz had her first mental health diagnosis at the age of twelve, after being sexually abused. Since then, the labels that have been attached to her identity include bipolar affective disorder, borderline personality disorder, complex PTSD, and substance use disorder.   As a young woman, she had no hope of having a normal life. “I was raised to believe that I was sick and recovery was not possible. I had big dreams and they looked me in the face and told me I wouldn’t become anything in my life. I was continually told that I belonged contained and locked away from society,” she said.  

After a nearly fatal suicide attempt, Jess decided to make changes, which involved taking a hard look at the several medications she had been taking for years. In this interview, she shares with us the many treatments she tried, what worked, and what was detrimental to her health.  Despite what she heard all her life, today Jess is married and works as a therapist in the state of Washington. 

She is currently living prescription-free for the first time in her life.  "I finally saw a future and it looked really bright and I got really excited. Slowly the suicidal ideation disappeared and has not come back.”  Jess is part of the Stability Network, a global initiative that aims to open up honest conversations about mental health.   

To know more about the Stability Network, visit:  https://www.thestabilitynetwork.org/

You can watch this interview on my YouTube channel "Understand Suicide:”

https://bit.ly/3co2Rzf

Donate to the podcast: https://bit.ly/3maL9RO 

Visit my page www.understandsuicide.com Find my book "Understanding suicide: living with loss, paths to prevention:”

https://amzn.to/2ANczuR

Contact me and exchange experiences on my Facebook page: https://bit.ly/3h8sIet

When seen from the outside, Ted Weiss' life reflected only a fragment of a complex, intricate picture. When he was in his 20’s, what everyone saw was a bright young man starting a career in law with everything going for him but on the inside, he struggled with depression. The first major episode hit him when he was 28 years old, in a time when there was no conversation about mental illness.  

Fortunately, since then, much has changed, and the same can be said about Ted's life. After decades of putting a front and hiding his condition from those around him, he decided to speak openly about his experience with mental illness and the impact it has had on his life, including the fact that he had to leave a successful law firm in Houston because he felt that the stress that came with the work was detrimental to his mental health.  His path to healing included therapy, medication, and most importantly, learning to create meaningful relationships. “I lived the first half of my life in the world of accomplishment, but I didn’t have close relationships because you need to commit time in order to have strong relationships. Since therapy, I’ve lived differently and put a priority into that. Back then, I had nobody,” he says.  

Ted is part of the Stability Network, a global initiative that aims to open up honest conversations about mental health. To know more about the Stability Network, visit: https://www.thestabilitynetwork.org/ 

If you want to support my work, buy me a coffee. This will help me keep bringing hope to those touched by suicide:  https://bit.ly/3whorPH

You can watch this interview on my YouTube channel "Understand Suicide:” 

https://youtu.be/Az1wSiPUjlY

Donate to the podcast: https://bit.ly/3maL9RO  

Visit my page www.understandsuicide.com Find my book "Understanding suicide: living with loss, paths to prevention:” 

https://amzn.to/2ANczuR

Contact me and exchange experiences on my Facebook page: https://bit.ly/3h8sIet