Men's Mental Health

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Gratitude in Action -- How To Practice Gratitude and Unlock Happiness: Interview with Justin Kruger | Episode 53

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Gratitude in Action -- How To Practice Gratitude and Unlock Happiness: Interview with Justin Kruger | Episode 53

Gratitude is the foundation of happiness. Practicing gratitude is like “going to the gym” for your emotional resilience. Lifting weights, yoga and jogging help keep up our strength, flexibility and endurance. Daily practices of gratitude and kindness build our mental fitness. In this podcast I speak with the Founder and CEO of Project Helping, Justin Kruger. We discuss how “gratitude in action” helps individuals and communities. Some daily practices we explore are:

1) Building a gratitude inventory through daily reflections or a Hope Kit.

2) Learning to give thanks freely, especially to those whose good work often goes unnoticed.

3) Giving yourself some grace and self-gratitude

4) Finding joy in intentional acts of kindness

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Cutting through the Clutter — How to Effectively Get your Message of Suicide Prevention Heard: Interview with Dr. Bart Andrews | Episode 42

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Cutting through the Clutter — How to Effectively Get your Message of Suicide Prevention Heard: Interview with Dr. Bart Andrews | Episode 42

Recently, with major news coverage of the Netflix series “13 Reasons Why” and celebrity suicide deaths, we are having more conversations about suicide, but are we having the right conversations? Are we telling a more powerful tale? In this episode Dr. Bart Andrews shares his story of deciding to “come out” as a suicide attempt survivor, how he challenges “safe messaging guidelines,” and what he believes are most important suicide prevention messages need to be.

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A New Age of On-Line Peer Support - Impact Entrepreneurs are a Force for Good: Interview with Jeff Dorchester and Dion Gonzales of iRel8.org | Episode 38

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A New Age of On-Line Peer Support - Impact Entrepreneurs are a Force for Good: Interview with Jeff Dorchester and Dion Gonzales of iRel8.org | Episode 38

In this interview I chat with some amazing impact entrepreneurs who are a force for good in this space. They have found a way to harness the power of peer support — at very unique peer group levels — to give people a way to connect with others who are walking a similar path. iRel8.org is an anonymous, peer-to-peer social network that proactively uses technology to provide access to support people 24/7/365 in 63 languages. Some giants like Microsoft have taken notice. Founded by a passion fueled by their own lived experience, Dion Gonzales and Jeff Dorchester are filling an important gap in our chain of survival.

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The Role of Arts in Healing A Conversation with an Indigenous Trauma Survivor & Student of Honor: Interview with Swil Kanim | Episode 36

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The Role of Arts in Healing A Conversation with an Indigenous Trauma Survivor & Student of Honor: Interview with Swil Kanim | Episode 36

…Swil is an indigenous man and a trauma survivor who credits his ability to overcome racism and suffering and become a student of honor to his discovery of the violin in the 4th grade. Join us as he shares his path of finding that healing was his responsibility and that the way he would be true to his journey was through expressing himself musically.

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A New Frontier in Workplace Safety -- Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention: Interview with TJ Lyons | Episode 35

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A New Frontier in Workplace Safety -- Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention: Interview with TJ Lyons | Episode 35

In the US, the construction industry is the top industry with the highest suicide rates and largest numbers. Historically, mental health and suicide have not been considered safety priorities, until now. In this podcast a global safety expert helps us connect the dots….

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Be Vocal, Be Visible, Be Visionary -- The Role of Union Leadership in Suicide Prevention: Interview with Chris Carlough | Episode 34

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Be Vocal, Be Visible, Be Visionary -- The Role of Union Leadership in Suicide Prevention: Interview with Chris Carlough | Episode 34

“Be vocal, be visible, be visionary. There is no shame in stepping forward, but there is great risk in holding back and just hoping for the best.” ~Higher Education Center

When it comes to suicide prevention in the workplace, we need bold leaders — leaders who are willing to take a stand and say, “suicide prevention matters to me, and it matters to our workforce.” We need leaders with a vision to aspire to a zero suicide mindset and to yield their influence to creating a culture of caring and mental wellbeing. When workers are having a hard time, we need leaders to notice and tell them, “If you reach out to me when you are suffering, I’ve got your back. I will persist with you until we’ve found the right support and resources to help you be your best self again. You matter to us and we need you to achieve our mission.”

In this episode we will hear from one leader who is doing just that within the construction industry — within labor specifically — building upon the culture of “we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.”

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Pain and Suffering -- What We Can Do To Address the Opioid Crisis and Its Relationship to Suicide: Interview with Dr. Don Teater | Episode 33

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Pain and Suffering -- What We Can Do To Address the Opioid Crisis and Its Relationship to Suicide: Interview with Dr. Don Teater | Episode 33

  • One opioid prescription after an injury doubles the risk of being disabled at one year. (Teater, 2015)

  • The combined deaths among Americans — suicide and unintentional overdose — in 2000 was 41,364 deaths and in 2017 was 110,749 deaths. (Bohnert & Ilgen, 2019)

The good news is there are shared prevention approaches, and we are learning more and more as the silos between those addressing the opioid crisis and those addressing suicide begin to fall away. In this podcast Dr. Don Teater and I explore how opioid use and suicide are connected and what we need to do to find better ways to alleviate pain and suffering.

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Peer Support & The Helper Effect -- When Doing Good Feels Good: Interview with Lt. John Coppedge | Episode 29

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Peer Support & The Helper Effect -- When Doing Good Feels Good: Interview with Lt. John Coppedge | Episode 29

While peer support and peer specialist efforts have long existed in areas of mental health communities and post-critical incidents, their role in suicide prevention has been more recent. Some feared that peer support might increase vulnerability through the “copycat” phenomenon. Others were concerned that suicide was just too complicated of an issue for peers to try to take on…

…In this interview I get the honor of chatting with Lt. John Coppedge, whom I met through the Denver Police Department’s Peer Support Program. Lt. Coppedge was a key leader in our “Breaking the Silence” video and training workbook with the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Here he shares his journey about his own trauma history and how it has helped shape his passion for peer support.

Then we listened to the voices of people with lived experience with suicidal intensity who told us over and over that peers played an incredibly influential role in not only bringing them back from the brink, but giving them new reasons for living and hope. Peer supporters and peer specialists also told us that helping others helped them.

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A Warrior for Wellness -- One Man’s Epic Battle for Recovery: Interview with Gabe Howard | Episode 28

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A Warrior for Wellness -- One Man’s Epic Battle for Recovery: Interview with Gabe Howard | Episode 28

After listening to many people describe their experiences with suicidal intensity, I and others have come to think about the clash between the will to live and the desire to escape unimaginable emotional pain as an “epic battle” between fierce forces. On one side is the warrior fighting to live, continuing to make future plans and persevering toward health and vitality. At the same time the pain this warrior is battling can be all-consuming.

In this interview we hear from one man about his “epic battle for recovery” and how he bolstered the strength of his inner warrior who fought valiantly for a passion for living. Gabe Howard is not just managing his bipolar condition and hanging on the edge, he is living well. In other words mental illness and mental well-being are two different dimensions.

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A Journey from Suicide Bereavement to Action -- Peer Support and the Warrior Ethos: Interview with Master Sergeant Christopher D. Jachimiec | Episode 25

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A Journey from Suicide Bereavement to Action -- Peer Support and the Warrior Ethos: Interview with Master Sergeant Christopher D. Jachimiec | Episode 25

In this podcast, Master Sergeant Christopher D. Jachimiec shares the tragedy of losing his brother Adam to suicide. We explore our shared grief experiences as sibling survivors of suicide loss and the making meaning process. Out of catastrophe we have options — to get buried under, to gloss over or to go through. Chris found his higher purpose was “honoring the dash” — our lives are not about the start date or end date, but what happens in between.

During the interview, Chris shares so many resources (many listed below), key steps in the journey of healing, and lessons learned from Viktor Frankl.

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Ashes in the Ocean -- Men and Suicide Grief: Interview with Sebastian Slovin | Episode 23

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Ashes in the Ocean -- Men and Suicide Grief: Interview with Sebastian Slovin | Episode 23

In this podcast I interview Sebastian Slovin, author of “Ashes in the Ocean: A Son’s Story of Living though and Learning from his Father’s suicide. We touch upon themes of survival, stigma and safe space and how we was able to grow up in the shadow of suicide and piece together a narrative and a life worth living. Sebastian shares to other men, “Not feeling does not work” in the grief healing journey. He talks openly and honestly about how peer and professional support — even spiritual connections — can make a big difference in letting men know they are not alone in their bereavement by suicide.

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Resilience and the Transgender Community -- Living Out Loud: Interview with Iden Campbell | Episode 13

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Resilience and the Transgender Community -- Living Out Loud: Interview with Iden Campbell | Episode 13

41% of adults who identify as transgender have attempted suicide (versus 4.6% of U.S. general population and 10-20% of LGB adults). The issues driving this despair are usually best understood best through a lens of social justice…We must fight injustice and advocate for safety. In this podcast, Iden and I talk about his incredibly inspiring journey into activism and some take-away messages about building resilience.

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Promoting Mental Health through Sport: Interview with Sean McCarthy | Episode 12

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Promoting Mental Health through Sport: Interview with Sean McCarthy | Episode 12

Many of us consider "Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training" to be similar to CPR. Before we knew the ABCs of CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver, people would just watch on helplessly as someone choked in front of them. Today, we give millions of people every year a relatively brief training so that they will have the competence and confidence to step up and save someone's life…Suicide prevention gatekeeper trainings are often given in schools, faith communities -- even workplaces. Our interview with Sean McCarthy shares why he believes they are critical for those involved in athletics too. 

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What You Need to Know about Peer Support as a Critical Link in the Chain of Survival: Interview with Eduardo Vega | Episode 9

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What You Need to Know about Peer Support as a Critical Link in the Chain of Survival: Interview with Eduardo Vega | Episode 9

“People don’t always need advice. Sometimes all they need is a hand to hold, an ear to listen and a heart to understand them.”

In this inspirational podcast I have the great honor of interviewing one of my most beloved social agitators, Eduardo Vega. Eduardo begins by sharing his own experiences with suicidal intensity and the “incomprehensible demoralization” he felt as he tried to escape himself. For him the turning point happened when he started to connect with something larger than himself by helping others. Eduardo talks at length on the podcast about the helper principle – in other words, the notion that helping others helps us. While the idea of peer support has long been promoted in addiction recovery and among mental health advocates, it is just now gaining traction in suicide prevention. Eduardo shares his view on why this is so, and gives us the science and the strategy for “the way forward.”

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Making Meaning after a Mental Health or Suicide Crisis: Interview with Dr. DeQuincy Lezine | Episode 7

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Making Meaning after a Mental Health or Suicide Crisis: Interview with Dr. DeQuincy Lezine | Episode 7

For people who are in the midst of a mental health or suicide crisis, the focus is often “how do we survive this?” How do we get through each day? Sometimes it’s an effort just to get by moment to moment. It’s hard to consider how to integrate these experiences into the narrative of our lives. In this episode, we hear a powerful story of a man who has been a role model for so many in showing us how this can be done. Listen in to learn more from the science, stories and strategies Dr. DeQuincy Lezine shares. Here you will find some practical tools on how to turn our wounds and darkest days into sources of power and inspiration as we move forward on our hero’s journey

How to Best Support Someone Living with a Mental Health Condition -- Interview with Kevin and Margaret Hines | Episode 5

How to Best Support Someone Living with a Mental Health Condition -- Interview with Kevin and Margaret Hines | Episode 5

Being a caregiver for someone living with a major mental health condition like bipolar disorder is not easy. Let's be honest, our mental healthcare system is challenging -- even when people are mentally well, let alone when they are in the grips of a mental health crisis. Friends and family are often the overlooked links in the chain of survival...

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9 Best Tips for Effective Construction Suicide Prevention -- An Interview with Jorgen Gullestrup of MATES in Construction | Episode 2

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9 Best Tips for Effective Construction Suicide Prevention -- An Interview with Jorgen Gullestrup of MATES in Construction | Episode 2

Jorgen Gullestrup's LinkedIn profile lists him as a plumber and suicidologist from Brisbane, Australia. The truth is since 2007, he has helped revolutionize how the construction industry addresses suicide prevention, and his innovative strategies are now recognized internationally. Listen to his 9 top take-away tips from a decade of discovering best practices in moving an industry from awareness to action.

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Why are men so lonely? Preventing Deaths of Despair with Dr. Thomas Joiner | Episode 1

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Why are men so lonely? Preventing Deaths of Despair with Dr. Thomas Joiner | Episode 1

"All these misunderstandings about how (suicide) is selfish, weak or hopeless are just wrong, contradicted flatly by science..." Dr. Thomas Joiner