Understand Suicide

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We are reaching the 100th episode and instead of interviewing someone, you get to ask ME questions. Please send an audio recording with questions or maybe let me know how my podcast has touched your life. It would mean the world to me. The questions can be about the podcast (curiosities, specific interviews, etc), my life, the making of the podcast, or anything you want.  Send it to the email...

When Lisa Klein was 18 years old, she had already lost her father and brother to suicide, and as it often happens, she felt that their deaths had to be related to who she was: “My thought was that it was a reflection on me, that I wasn’t good enough” she says. Her family shut down, suicide was not discussed. “We couldn’t talk about it and I had so many questions.” Years later, she started talking...

When her son CJ took his life at the age of 20, Hallie was numb, confused, and full of guilt. One day, she had an idea: Hallie put out an open call on Facebook asking people to help fulfill her son's wish to see the world by scattering some of his ashes in a place of beauty or special meaning. Her initiative touched the hearts of tens of thousands of people all over the world. To this day, over on...

The bestseller author Terri Cheney has struggled with bipolar disorder since childhood. In this amazing interview, she talks about decades of multiple misdiagnoses, which took a toll on her life and stopped her from receiving proper treatment, and her suicide attempts. One of the things I love about this conversation was her openness to sharing not only her grounded knowledge of the disease but al...

Nikolaj Høier is a researcher at The Danish Research Institute for Suicide Prevention (DRISP) in Copenhagen and at The Chronopsychiatry Research Group at The University of Edinburgh. His study looked at the association between sleep disorders and the risk for suicide. In this interview, Nikolaj talks about the impact of sleep deprivation on mental health, the risks involved with medication, how sl...

In this interview, we discuss the many challenges couples face when dealing with this kind of loss. After the suicide of their son, Chris, in 2020, Kellie and her husband had to retrace their path forward. Through her story, she gives precious tips on how to work on the relationship and ways that help keep the family together after a tragic loss. Kellie is the author of the recently published nove...

Linda’s son, Mike, died of suicide in 2012 after years of struggling with addiction. As it’s often the case, his painful path affected the whole family, particularly the way they related to one another. Together, the family had to find a way to support Mike but also keep themselves healthy: "Ultimately, we came to understand that this was Mike’s problem and he needed to learn how to manage it...

A few weeks ago, Thea contacted me asking to share her story: she had just lost her father to suicide and wanted to help families navigate this painful experience. Careful not to re-traumatize her, we agreed that it would be best if her mother participated because I wanted to add an extra layer of safety and protection for her. In this interview, mother and daughter talk about their different jour...

After coming back from deployment to Iraq, Aaron Quinonez struggled with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, but felt unsupported by the Veterans Administration. One of the questions he would ask himself was “Who am I now past this trauma? I had to understand that the person I was before didn’t exist anymore,” he shared. At the height of his helplessness, the thought of suicide crossed his mind,...

Whenever we discuss gun violence in the United States, the conversation usually revolves around homicide, but here is a side of this important topic that goes untouched: 60% of deaths by guns are actually suicide, not homicide. Again, we chose to ignore the majority due to the stigma associated with it. In this episode, I talk to Linda Cavazos and Andrew Rose; both lost loved ones to suicide by fi...

Two years after the loss of her husband to suicide, the award-winning journalist, Lori Prichard says she still experiences confusion; At times, life feels overwhelming. In this honest interview, she tells us about Travis, his gentleness and generosity, as well as his history of depression, which had never been shared with her. “He wouldn’t let me in,” she says. Days after his death, Lori found a j...

This episode was created at the request of my listeners. Unfortunately, the topic of blame and self-blame are ubiquitous in suicide, and it is particularly directed at the immediate family and spouses. They are victims of this in many ways. Sometimes, it comes disguised in the tone of voice of family and friends when they say things like “but you didn’t see it coming?” or “I told you he/she needed...

Despite the sharp rise of mental health issues and many other risk factors during the onset of COVID-19, the number of suicides in the United States decreased in 2020. Not only that but the most significant drop (14%) happened in April of 2020 when most of the country was in lockdown. In an effort to understand this phenomenon, I invited two American leading suicide prevention experts: clinical ps...

Georgena Eggleston lost her son and her brother to suicide. In this episode, she shares what has helped her cope with these unthinkable losses, and what she has learned over the years by being a grief therapist. Today, Georgena works with both suicide bereavement groups and individuals who are struggling to deal with this kind of loss. She is the author of the book “A new morning: discovering the...

I found JD Schramm by watching his TED talk . In that presentation, he came out, for the first time, about his suicide attempt. What he shared in this interview goes even deeper and covers different phases of his life, when other attempts had happened. The struggles he suffered involved drug abuse, dealing with his sexual identity, and a lot of negative self-image. Today, he has turned his life ar...

Despite his traumatic, abusive childhood, which left him with a constant sense of brokenness, Kellen Fluckiger worked hard to have ‘everything’ a person needs: a wife, kids, a successful career, and of course, a lot of money. One day, at home, alone, after yet another failed relationship, he decided to watch TV, which was quite unusual for him. He realized that, although he had the most expensive...

This episode was created to answer the many questions I received from my listeners about the practice of mindfulness. I deeply believe in the power of being truly present as a way to achieve spiritual balance, internal peace, and as a valuable tool to improve relationships, so I decided to dedicate an episode to this topic. In this episode, you will learn about the 9 pillars of mindfulness, what t...

If you are interested in learning about trauma, watch my “ Best books on trauma ” review on YouTube. I focus on four great books, all of them written for the general public, so no jargon or complicated language. I hope they help you understand the nature of trauma, how it affects the body, the way we perceive the world, and our relationships. The books mentioned in the video are: - What happened t...

Is self-harm a risk factor or even a suicide warning sign? Is it related to addiction? What’s the best way to help a person who self harms? These and other questions are answered in this interview by the clinical psychologist and published author Juliana Falcão, who specializes in treating self-harm, particularly teenagers. Her insightful overview about this topic includes an evaluation of the imp...

John Siddique is a British author and poet who found answers to existential questions in spirituality. For quite some time, he struggled with self-doubt, negativity, and unhealthy relationships, but he would constantly hit a wall. John wanted to understand himself: “I didn’t know how to love or how to live this life,” he told me. “I was living through certain objects (work, relationships). We try...

On our last episode of the Suicide Awareness Month series, I interview Aaron Wanserski, host of the podcast Center for Suicide Awareness. This US-based organization is dedicated to preventing suicide through proactive education, training, emotional support, collaboration, and intervention. In this interview, Aaron shares his personal story of suicidal ideation and how leaving his job as a police o...

Now you have a new way to contact me directly, but most importantly, to participate in the podcast! By phone! I get a lot of individual questions from the listeners, so I decided to host episodes that will address these questions directly. Please send them in either written or voice formats. Make sure to let me know whether or not you would like for me to mention your name and where you're calling...

Today’s interview is the second in the Suicide Prevention Awareness Month series, an initiative that aims to offer additional resources to my listeners. My guest, Christopher Parker, is a suicide attempt survivor who hosts the podcast Coffee over suicide, which he describes as “a dramedy podcast about mental illness and choosing life over death one cup of coffee at a time.”  Chris is a remark...

In light of the Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, I’ve started a short series where I interview fellow podcasters whose podcasts cover the field of mental health. Some of them are specifically about suicide, others are broad but are equally helpful in dealing with a personal crises. My main objective is to offer additional resources to my listeners.  Today, I talk to Craig Foust, an America...