People who struggle with chronic pain have a much higher risk of dying by suicide than the general population, and my guest, David Hall, knows about this personally. In 2007, he was run over by a driver who was talking on the phone. Since then, he has had dozens of surgeries, including spinal cord fusion and stimulator implants to manage the pain.

Because of one of the operations, he developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, CRPS, a rare disease, also known as “the suicide illness.” Having learned how to manage his own pain, David now coaches people who experience the same predicament; he has a podcast called “Striving to Thriving,” and he is now finishing a book with the same title.

In this interview, he gives us important tips on how to trick your brain so that it doesn’t focus so much on the pain, he explains why opioids don’t work for this kind of generalized pain and teaches techniques that will make a difference in the lives of those who related to this situation.

Find David Hall:

https://www.strivingtothriving.com/

You can watch this interview  on my YouTube Channel "Understand Suicide"

https://youtu.be/kp4TIR9FXLo

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

Suicide disproportionately affects American Indian and Alaska Native populations, especially youth ages 15 to 34, so I wanted to address this topic with someone who has the experience and deep knowledge of indigenous people.

Eduardo Duran is precisely that. He is a psychologist and veteran of the US Navy and one of the first professionals to bring attention to soul wounding, also known as historical trauma.

In this interview, he teaches us how to address this population, especially when it comes to language. He also explores ways to apply different approaches when trying to help them. “We can’t use colonized thinking to fix the problem it has created,” he points out.

Eduardo is the author of a few books, including “Healing the soul wound,” which I highly recommend.

Find his books:

https://amzn.to/3lIu1SS

You can 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

Contact me and exchange experiences on my Facebook page:

https://bit.ly/3h8sIet

We have reached episode #50, a milestone for all of us and I chose to address youth suicide because the rates have been rising worldwide - today it is the second leading cause of death in the 15-29 age group. I also have received messages from parents who have kids in crisis, some who have attempted suicide so I decided to provide them with practical tools on how to help.

My guest is Dr. Mark Goulston, an American psychiatrist with thirty years of experience treating suicidal patients, particularly youth. He was a UCLA professor of psychiatry for over 25 years and a former FBI and police hostage negotiation trainer. He has numerous published books and a podcast called “My Wake-up call.”

Find Dr. Mark Goulston:

https://markgoulston.com/

The article he mentions at the end:

https://markgoulston.com/how-you-became-you/

The Teen Mental Health Webinar he cites in the interview:

https://bit.ly/36StBnz

If you want to watch this interview, visit 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

Contact me and exchange experiences on my Facebook page:

https://bit.ly/3h8sIet

Josephine Hallam is one of those good souls who tries to help others by sharing her story. She contacted me with the wish to give guidance to parents and therapists on how children process trauma. It is the first time she opens up about her pain. At the age of ten, she saw her father take his life, an event that according to her, defined who she was, from the profession she chose - Josephine is a criminal lawyer - to her outlook on life.

One of the things she says in this interview is that no matter how much adults try to protect kids by hiding the truth, kids will fill in the gaps with their own narratives. For her, this came in many ways. On the day of her father’s suicide, she was the only one at home. When the police came, little Josephine immediately believed that she would be arrested, that she was at fault. “From that day on, I was ‘that kid’ associated with something bad… I was the one with him and I should have stopped it,” she told me.

Josephine’s story is an example of resilience and goodness at heart. By sharing with us her painful experience, she rises above the trauma and the silence that suffocated her for over fifty years, and I feel honored that she chose to do it here, with you, on my podcast.

Find Josephine Hallam:

https://www.hallamlawgroup.com/

If you want to watch this interview, visit my YouTube Channel "Understand Suicide."

https://bit.ly/35rPKJY

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

We often think of processing trauma through talking but what happens when the trauma occurred before the child developed language? Is it possible to access it? How does it affect development, relationships, and future behavior? These were some of the questions answered by Suzanne Rutti, a therapist in Columbus, Ohio, specialized in pre-verbal trauma.

In this interview, she gave us tips on how pre-verbal trauma manifests in kids, things to watch out for, the impact it has on learning, common misdiagnosis related to this kind of trauma, and tools on how to help children heal. She also shared the different ways pre-verbal trauma affects relationships and self-image in adults.

Find Suzanne Ruti:

http://www.suzannerutti.com/

If you want to watch this interview, visit my YouTube Channel "Understand Suicide."

https://bit.ly/36fVN3z

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

Briana and Michael’s story is an example of how empathy can break the barriers of judgment and fear. The couple had been exchanging messages on a dating app not knowing that both their lives had been touched by suicide: she had recently attempted and he had lost his wife a few years prior. We would think that as soon as they learned about their shared stories, it would be the end of it, but what happened was the opposite. I recommend listening to it until the end.

Briana contacted me through my website because the couple wanted to share their story so that others could maybe hear a different narrative that usually accompanies suicide, which is that it fosters loneliness and keeps people apart. I’m sure this episode will bring hope to many of my listeners.

Thank you both for trusting me to be the outlet of your great message of compassion and love.

If you want to watch this interview, visit my YouTube Channel "Understand Suicide."

https://bit.ly/3mydZM1

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

No one is free of shame and when it comes to suicide, this topic is at its core. For Dr. Richard Shaw, a licensed counselor and a professor at George Fox University, helping people identify shame in their lives and find healing has become a life mission. In this interview, he shows us how to recognize the impact of shame in us and others, the manner in which it can sometimes take over our lives and identities, the differences between shame and guilt, and finally, how to find healing so that we can develop long-lasting, authentic relationships.

Dr. Shaw explains that the two main ways that shame is expressed in individuals are: they either get big, which means calling the shots and dominating others, or they get small, which is expressed by wanting to disappear and not be noticed. Both ways end up pushing people away.

He also explores this theme within the context of suicide, particularly for those who have to deal with guilt, the blaming of others, and the destructive silence that follows a suicide. “A suicide attempt is the ultimate statement of shame,” he says.

Find Dr. Shaw:

https://bit.ly/35rYUVl

If you want to watch this interview, visit my YouTube Channel "Understand Suicide:"

https://bit.ly/3ogVv4s

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

This podcast is produced by the Dougy Center, in Portland/OR. This institution offers free grief treatment to kids and parents. I deeply respect their work. In this episode, I talk about my own grief and those I've witnessed over the years. I also share about a loss that I hardly ever talk about: my brother's. 

Find the Dougy Center: 

https://bit.ly/345acj5

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

Do you have a feeling that your actions don’t belong to you because they make no sense when you look at the evidence of your life but still, you keep experiencing them over and over again? This is exactly what the fascinating field of Epigenetics explores. In this compelling interview, Johanna Lynn, Canadian, founder of The Family Imprint Institute, explains what seems unexplainable. She gives us clear and simple examples of how to investigate our family history in ways that lead us toward healing. 

“Epigenetics helps you get closer to the clarity of what’s right for you” instead of repeating patterns that don’t fit in your life and dreams. These include emotions, behavior, thoughts, and even diseases. One of the most interesting ideas she shared was what she calls the “myth of forgiveness.” Johanna believes that many times, forgiveness falls flat and doesn’t help with finding a resolution. This certainly resonated with me but I had never found the right language to explain why forgiving someone seemed to not be enough sometimes. It may make no sense to you, but then again, this is what this podcast is all about: to provide different perspectives so that we can expand our views on human behavior. 

Find Johanna Lynn: https://johannalynn.ca/ 

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

Contact me and exchange experiences on my Facebook page:

https://bit.ly/3h8sIet

Tara Lal is an Australian firefighter (British born), mental health speaker, and author of the beautifully written book “Standing on my Brother’s Shoulders,” which traces back the losses she has experienced in her life and the suicide of her brother Adam.  As a child, she had to come to terms with her father's debilitating mental illness and her mother's early death by cancer.  While all that was happening, her brother Adam was her anchor, the safe place where she could go to for support and love. 

Tragically, the family's losses and his internal struggles were too much for him; at the age of twenty, he took his life.  In this interview, Tara talks about her story, the process of writing the book, and her relationship with Adam. She also explores the many ways in which her struggles shaped her self-image and how she learned to become her true, authentic self.  

Find Tara Lal: https://bit.ly/2SG5mSJ 

Buy her book: https://amzn.to/3jJYfoe 

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

Contact me and exchange experiences on my Facebook page:

https://bit.ly/3h8sIet