On July 18, 1993, I attempted suicide. I was at the point where the emotional pain was just too much for me. I had struggled with depression as far back as I could remember. As a child at the time, I didn’t know it was called depression - I was just sad. I wondered why [...]
I am a more compassionate parent to my son because I live with suicidal thoughts. And it took me until this moment to realize that. Since trying to end my life over 15 years ago, I have seen a lot of doctors, tried a lot of different therapies, and a lot of diagnoses have been [...]
The dark hotel room lurked around me; the cold blue and gray carpet oozing the dank sani-odor of disinfectants and air freshener. Hotel rooms are the Rorschachs of the soul, commoditized dwelling units designed as homes away from homes but always failing. What you see in a hotel room is what you bring to the [...]
Growing up in ultimate survival mode-- my father was a Vietnam veteran Air Force pilot-- and still living in survival mode is sometimes very overwhelming.
I tried to kill myself in the summer of 2006. I was 23. I spent a month deeply entrenched in an exhaustive cycle of breaking up and getting back together with Emma*, the girl I'd loved for three years. She was cheating on me, but neither of us could sever ties with the other.
In this 3-part conversation, "Having Hope and Suicide Prevention,” psychologist Dr. William Schmitz Jr., suicide loss survivor, Iden McCollum, and psychologist, Dr. April Foreman, talk about moving past the "suicide zone", and seeing hope beyond pain.
Layer One - Lies The blackness arose from the lies. The layers of blackness slowly turned to grays and browns. Each color representing some new form of deflection, self-preservation, or justification to make sure I never had to face the pain directly. Those layers let in peaks of light and, at very rare times, happiness. [...]
In this 3-part conversation, "Teens, College & Suicide Prevention," suicide prevention advocate and attempt survivor, Misha Kessler, psychologist and CEO of Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, Dr. Kita Curry, and college suicide prevention advocacy group, Active Minds, discuss the impact mental health support on college campuses can make for students.
In this 3-part conversation, "Talking About The 'S' Word," psychologist Dr. April Foreman, Mental Health Advocates Keris Myrick & Wilma Townsend, and college suicide prevention advocacy group Active Minds tell us why we have to talk about suicide, and why the silence surrounding it is far more terrifying.
In this 3-part conversation, "Seeking Help & Suicide Prevention,” psychologist and CEO of Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, Dr. Kita Curry, suicide attempt survivor, Samantha Nadler, and leading suicidologist, Dr. Thomas Joiner, tell us why we can't do it all ourselves, and why asking for help doesn't make you "less than," it makes you human.
