mental health

Soul Exhaustion: Going Beyond the Brain in Our Understanding of Suicide Intensity and the Overcoming of It

Soul Exhaustion: Going Beyond the Brain in Our Understanding of Suicide Intensity and the Overcoming of It

There is an element of humanity that is struggling with and ultimately often excluded from conversations about mental health in general and suicide more specifically. That element is spirituality, which may or may not be directly related to religion. Spirituality is difficult to measure and cannot be prescribed and yet for the span of modern human beings it has been a staple in understanding grief, surviving trauma and counteracting the hopelessness that we know fuels despair and suicidal intensity. 

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From Heartache to Happiness: 5 Daily Practices of Love that Lead to Well-Being

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From Heartache to Happiness: 5 Daily Practices of Love that Lead to Well-Being

There are many forms of love from Eros the passionate love to Philia, the love we have for our family. Another type of love — Agape — is also tied to our well-being. Agape is the universal love we feel for each other and our world. When we send this form of love through kindness, gratitude or other forms of altruism, it not only helps others, it helps us.

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“You Matter to Me”: 4 Reasons Why Peer Support Saves Lives

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“You Matter to Me”: 4 Reasons Why Peer Support Saves Lives

The person most likely to save your life from suicide is someone you already know. Sometimes it may be a family member or a supervisor. Often its a peer.

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7 Untold Stories of Suicide Prevention and Suicide Grief Support

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7 Untold Stories of Suicide Prevention and Suicide Grief Support

…I don’t really have the chops to be a researcher or the patience to be a clinician, but I often find myself in new territories, listening to people share their insights about living through unimaginable suffering. Then I look to connect partners much smarter than I who can make a difference in alleviating that despair. So, as I am listening, I think to myself, “there are the stories I wish we would talk about more.” 

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ANNOUNCEMENT: National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) Commences Gap Analysis to Improve Suicide Prevention in Fire Service

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ANNOUNCEMENT: National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) Commences Gap Analysis to Improve Suicide Prevention in Fire Service

The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation announced today that it will be partnering with Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas...to explore gaps and strengths in firefighter suicide prevention. This comprehensive evaluation will help set the direction for a new national suicide prevention program.

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What If They Say “Yes” to the Suicide Question? Four Responses That Make a Difference

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What If They Say “Yes” to the Suicide Question? Four Responses That Make a Difference

What if you ask someone if they are thinking about suicide, and they say, “yes”? What do you say?

Often when people express daunting thoughts about suicide they expect to be judged. They anticipate that others will react in negative ways such as fear, anger, minimizing, or shaming. When they hear a genuine expression of gratitude, often they are put at ease. This honoring response creates a safe space to move into next steps. Starting here is starting from a place of dignity and respect...

My Night on Stage at the Grammys: Standing Up for Suicide Loss and Attempt Survivors

My Night on Stage at the Grammys: Standing Up for Suicide Loss and Attempt Survivors

That moment when you are standing shoulder-to-shoulder with fellow suicide loss and attempt survivors on the Grammy’s stage at Madison Square Garden during the grand finale while nominees Logic, Khalid and Alessia Cara sing 1-800-273-8255…and you think – maybe, just maybe, our time has come…

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The Strength of the Trauma Survivor: What if Sisyphus Reached the Top

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The Strength of the Trauma Survivor: What if Sisyphus Reached the Top

Without fail, a person seeking treatment for PTSD will come into my office and say something along the lines of, “Well, other people have had it worse. I should be over it by now.” This is the convincing trap of posttraumatic stress...

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Spiritual Wellness and the Intersection of Faith, Spiritual Practices, Faith Communities and Suicide Prevention

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Spiritual Wellness and the Intersection of Faith, Spiritual Practices, Faith Communities and Suicide Prevention

As we start a new year with new aspirations and intentions, dealing with a mental health or suicide crisis can be particularly challenging. Other seems so full of hope, while you—or a loved one—are struggling. For those with a strong faith background or spiritual sensibility, the difficulties can be compounded...

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Why Impact Entrepreneurship Matters to Me and the Cause of Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention

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Why Impact Entrepreneurship Matters to Me and the Cause of Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention

“Applying business skills to resolving social ills…part saint, part politician, part business person,” said Robert Redford about social entrepreneurs.

What is Impact Entrepreneurship?

Social entrepreneurs, or “Impact Entrepreneurs,” as I like to call them, bring together the best of the nonprofit heart and the for-profit efficiency. They are the ideal blend of the best of both worlds and the future of how business and social change gets done.

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5 Ways to Tap into Hope as a Defiant Superpower against Despair

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5 Ways to Tap into Hope as a Defiant Superpower against Despair

I have often said, “Hope is the antidote to suicide.”

I realize that the word “hope” – like “love” and “support” and “leadership” – is often experienced as cliché, having lost its power and meaning from overuse. I would like to reclaim it and use it like Wonder Woman’s shield (goodness I love that movie) to defiantly deflect pessimism, bitterness and negativity coming at us from all angles.

As advocates for suicide prevention and mental health promotion, we must be warriors of hope.  Now is the perfect time to explore how we can learn to build hope as a practice – like pieces of protective armor that protect us as we forge our way onward to the frontiers of what is possible....

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15 Top Apps for Resilience, Mental Health Promotion & Suicide Prevention

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15 Top Apps for Resilience, Mental Health Promotion & Suicide Prevention

When we consider a comprehensive strategy to suicide prevention and mental health promotion, it’s helpful to segment approaches into “upstream” (preventing problems before they emerge through self-help), “midstream” (catching emerging problems early and linking people to least restrictive support), and “downstream” (helping people with more serious mental health challenges and suicidal thoughts) tactics.

Thus, for this article, I have organized some of the most popular, best researched and most innovative apps into these three categories.

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Reasons You Should Be Concerned about Suicide in the Animal Welfare/Medicine Industry

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Reasons You Should Be Concerned about Suicide in the Animal Welfare/Medicine Industry

...One example of a “caring for others” profession is veterinary medicine and animal welfare. Animal rescue professionals and veterinarians fit Thomas Joiner’s model of why people die by suicide: Constant exposure to death and feelings of hopelessness lead to an acquired ability for lethal self-injury, and they have access to lethal means in the form of drugs.

People are often drawn to the demanding professions because of their love of animals, but they soon discover that a large part of the job involves ending the lives of beloved pets and otherwise health animals. In fact, vets come face-to-face with death at five times the rate of physicians. Both veterinarians and animal rescue professionals are witness to the agonizing situation of pet owners choosing to have their companions euthanized because treatment is too expensive or too difficult or because breeding was uncontrolled and the family has become overwhelmed....

Be Wingmen & Band Together for Survival – My Message to Men Living in Despair

Be Wingmen & Band Together for Survival – My Message to Men Living in Despair

"Those going through difficult times can find their way through the dark tunnel of hardship —reach out and grab a supportive hand to help pull you through, someday you might get a chance to repay the favor." - Spencer-Thomas