November is National Family Caregivers Month, a time to highlight the vital yet often unacknowledged role of caregivers. For those who support loved ones experiencing mental health challenges, this month is an opportunity to honor their dedication, recognize their struggles, and empower them with resources.
Veterans face unique mental health challenges that too often go under-addressed, from military sexual trauma and transitional stress to the long-term impact of PTSD. These experiences don’t just affect mental well-being—they can shape every aspect of a Veteran’s life, from personal relationships to reintegration into civilian roles. Yet there is reason to be hopeful: today, more than ever, there’s a focus on empowering Veterans as community and workplace mental health leaders. With evolving peer support programs and resources designed to remove cultural and financial barriers, we’re seeing real progress in providing accessible, culturally competent mental health care. By positioning Veterans at the forefront of these initiatives, we can harness their resilience and leadership, creating stronger communities and workplaces while ensuring they receive the support they deserve.
Earlier this year, I attended the European Symposium on Suicide and Suicidal Behavior (ESSSB) in Rome. One of the plenary presentations by Prof Thomas Niederkrotenthaler, of the Medical University of Vienna, illuminated the powerful impact of the “Papageno Effect” on suicide prevention.
It seems that any time we hear the words “suicide” or “mental health”, the word stigma follows right after. The word “stigma”, according to the Oxford Dictionary, means a “mark of disgrace”.
Instead of talking about stigma incessantly, let’s stop to consider how by focusing on it, we ensure it stays in place, forever associated with mental health challenges. The net result is that people who are struggling are all too often reluctant to seek help, since they are constantly reminded that having a mental health issue is a mark of disgrace.
What if we reframe stigma as a form of bias, rather than something to be ashamed of? Doing so would help normalize help-seeking for mental health concerns, creating the expectation that getting help is reasonable and even preferable.
Growing up in a family of natural athletes, I always felt like the odd one out, struggling to find my place in the world of sports. But when I discovered running, everything changed. This blog explores how running became more than just exercise for me—it became a powerful tool for self-care, resilience, and finding peace.
Solidarity noun sol·i·dar·i·ty | \ ˌsä-lə-ˈder-ə-tē , -ˈda-rə- \. Unity (as of a group or class) that produces or is based on community of interests, objectives, and standards
-Merriam-Webster
“Any movement that hopes to sustain commitment over a period of time must make the construction of collective identity one of its most central tasks.” (Gamson, 1991, p. 27)
“Solidarity…holds great potential for understanding the transformative power…for social justice.” (Rogers & Calle Diaz, 2018, p.64)
Today on World Mental Health Day, the American Association of Suicidology (AAS), American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), and United Suicide Survivors International (United Survivors), announce their collaboration and release of the first ‘National Guidelines for Workplace Suicide Prevention.’ These Guidelines — built by listening to the expertise of diverse groups like HR, employment law, employee assistance professionals, labor and safety leaders, and many people who had experienced a suicide crisis while they were employed — will help employers and workplaces become proactively involved in suicide prevention in the workplace. Employers ready to become vocal, visible and visionary and who are ready to take the pledge to make suicide prevention a health and safety priority visit WorkplaceSuicidePrevention.com.
“Suicide ideation” — that’s what mental health providers usually call it.
To the general public, this often sounds “jargony”. They say, “ideation — like what do you mean…like thoughts?” And we say, “Yeah…like thoughts…”
And they say, “Well then just say thoughts…”
“Thoughts” though, don’t really capture the experience fully for most people…
Are you in HR? An employment lawyer? Someone with lived experience with mental health or suicide who was working at the time you experienced a mental health issue while employed? If so — we want to hear from you! Please, take our 15-20 minute survey. This research project is a collaborative effort among Dr. Anthony Fulginiti of the University of Denver, Judge (Ret.) Mary McClatchey, the Employers Council and United Suicide Survivors International (through me!).
…I have learned that “together we are better.”
This week, I am reminded of the many ways we need each other. Here are just a couple of ways this theme of interdependence is showing up in my life in just the last few days. These three lessons I’ve learned this week illuminate how our deep, reciprocal connections matter…
…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.”
It seems fitting that on this day — July 4th — I should write a little something about kickstarting a revolution.
June was overwhelming for many in my suicide prevention tribe — the scientists, advocates, clinicians, crisis call-takers, peer supporters, and many people with all forms of lived experience with suicide — as many of us were called upon to respond to the seemingness constant barrage of tragic news about suicide and trauma.
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...
“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.
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....
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.
The stoicism of farmers helps them power through hardship and harsh environmental conditions often in great isolation, but when it comes to their mental health, this power through approach can be life threatening. It’s not surprising then that “farming, fishing and forestry” is the industry with the highest suicide rates (McIntosh et al, 2016)...
Firefighters are a unique breed. They run into burning buildings when everyone else is trying to escape. They respond to gruesome medical calls. And they do it all as a team. There’s a brother/sisterhood that comes with being part of this elite crew, and while there are many positive things that result from that connection, it can also create a tough guy mentality that leads them to believe they can’t or shouldn’t seek outside help when they’re struggling. As one firefighter told me, “We literally depend on each other’s lives to be mentally sound. It is our strength to compartmentalize, stay decisive, and move on that is valued in this work.”
When sexual trauma happens in the military, feelings of betrayal often emerge because the expectation is that those who serve alongside you are meant to protect, not harm you. The effects of this broken trust can be devastating. Given the social nature of the military and the likelihood that a victim of MST would have to continue to work or live near their assailant, the environment alone may create conditions for prolonged exposure, leaving an impact like that of on-going family violence...
Question: Is our hyper-focus on “safe messaging” getting in the way of “effective messaging”?...
For years, suicide prevention advocates have focused on “safe messaging,” a series of do’s and don’ts that emphasize help-seeking and discourage mentioning suicide details. The goal of these suggestions is to avoid triggering vulnerable people to over-identify with suicide as a way to escape their emotional pain. Many of these tips – like don’t glamorize or romanticize suicide --are beneficial, and we certainly don’t want our content to cause harm. But I and many others are starting to recognize that a single-minded focus on "safe messaging" may be getting in the way of us being effective in our communication....
