Podcasts about First Session

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January 24 - THE POWER OF A MANTRAGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“Erase the false impressions from your mind by constantly saying to yourself, I have it in my soul to keep out any evil, desire or any kind of disturbance—instead, seeing the true nature of things, I will give them only their due. Always remember this power that nature gave you.” —MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.29 Anyone who has taken a yoga class or been exposed to Hindu or Buddhist thought has probably heard of the concept of a mantra. In Sanskrit, it means “sacred utterance”—essentially a word, a phrase, a thought, even a sound—intended to provide clarity or spiritual guidance. A mantra can be especially helpful in the meditative process because it allows us to block out everything else while we focus. It's fitting, then, that Marcus Aurelius would suggest this Stoic mantra—a reminder or watch phrase to use when we feel false impressions, distractions, or the crush of everyday life upon us. It says, essentially, “I have the power within me to keep that out. I can see the truth.” Change the wording as you like. That part is up to you. But have a mantra and use it to find the clarity you crave." -  all above quoted words from the credited to the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January 24 - THE ONLY PRIZEGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman** “What's left to be prized? This, I think—to limit our action or inaction to only what's in keeping with the needs of our own preparation . . . it's what the exertions of education and teaching are all about—here is the thing to be prized! If you hold this firmly, you'll stop trying to get yourself all the other things. . . . If you don't, you won't be free, self-sufficient, or liberated from passion, but necessarily full of envy, jealousy, and suspicion for any who have the power to take them, and you'll plot against those who do have what you prize. . . . But by having some self-respect for your own mind and prizing it, you will please yourself and be in better harmony with your fellow human beings, and more in tune with the gods—praising everything they have set in order and allotted you.” —MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 6.16.2b–4a Warren Buffett, whose net worth is approximately $65 billion, lives in the same house he bought in 1958 for $31,500. John Urschel, a lineman for the Baltimore Ravens, makes millions but manages to live on $25,000 a year. San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard gets around in the 1997 Chevy Tahoe he's had since he was a teenager, even with a contract worth some $94 million. Why? It's not because these men are cheap. It's because the things that matter to them are cheap. Neither Buffett nor Urschel nor Leonard ended up this way by accident. Their lifestyle is the result of prioritizing. They cultivate interests that are decidedly below their financial means, and as a result, any income would allow them freedom to pursue the things they most care about. It just happens that they became wealthy beyond any expectation. This kind of clarity—about what they love most in the world—means they can enjoy their lives. It means they'd still be happy even if the markets were to turn or their careers were cut short by injury. The more things we desire and the more we have to do to earn or attain those achievements, the less we actually enjoy our lives—and the less free we are." - all above quoted words from the credited to the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE Support the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January 24 - PUSH FOR DEEP UNDERSTANDINGGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“From Rusticus . . . I learned to read carefully and not be satisfied with a rough understanding of the whole, and not to agree too quickly with those who have a lot to say about something.” —MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 1.7.3 "The first book of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations begins with a catalog of gratitude. He thanks, one by one, the leading influences in his life. One of the people he thanks is Quintus Junius Rusticus, a teacher who developed in his student a love of deep clarity and understanding—a desire to not just stop at the surface when it comes to learning. It was also from Rusticus that Marcus was introduced to Epictetus. In fact, Rusticus loaned Marcus his personal copy of Epictetus's lectures. Marcus clearly wasn't satisfied with just getting the gist of these lectures and didn't simply accept them on his teacher's recommendation. Paul Johnson once joked that Edmund Wilson read books “as though the author was on trial for his life.” That's how Marcus read Epictetus—and when the lessons passed muster, he absorbed them. They became part of his DNA as a human being. He quoted them at length over the course of his life, finding real clarity and strength in words, even amid the immense luxury and power he would come to possess. That's the kind of deep reading and study we need to cultivate as well, which is why we're reading just one page a day instead of a chapter at a time. So we can take the time to read attentively and deeply." - all above quoted words from the credited to the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January 23 - THE TRUTH ABOUT MONEYGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“I will keep constant watch over myself and—most usefully—will put each day up for review. For this is what makes us evil—that none of us looks back upon our own lives. We reflect upon only that which we are about to do. And yet our plans for the future descend from the past.” —SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 83.2"In a letter to his older brother Novatus, Seneca describes a beneficial exercise he borrowed from another prominent philosopher. At the end of each day he would ask himself variations of the following questions: What bad habit did I curb today? How am I better? Were my actions just? How can I improve? At the beginning or end of each day, the Stoic sits down with his journal and reviews: what he did, what he thought, what could be improved. It's for this reason that Marcus Aurelius's Meditations is a somewhat inscrutable book—it was for personal clarity and not public benefit. Writing down Stoic exercises was and is also a form of practicing them, just as repeating a prayer or hymn might be. Keep your own journal, whether it's saved on a computer or in a little notebook. Take time to consciously recall the events of the previous day. Be unflinching in your assessments. Notice what contributed to your happiness and what detracted from it. Write down what you'd like to work on or quotes that you like. By making the effort to record such thoughts, you're less likely to forget them. An added bonus: you'll have a running tally to track your progress too." - all above quoted words from the credited to the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January 22 - THE DAY IN REVIEWGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“I will keep constant watch over myself and—most usefully—will put each day up for review. For this is what makes us evil—that none of us looks back upon our own lives. We reflect upon only that which we are about to do. And yet our plans for the future descend from the past.” —SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 83.2 "In a letter to his older brother Novatus, Seneca describes a beneficial exercise he borrowed from another prominent philosopher. At the end of each day he would ask himself variations of the following questions: What bad habit did I curb today? How am I better? Were my actions just? How can I improve? At the beginning or end of each day, the Stoic sits down with his journal and reviews: what he did, what he thought, what could be improved. It's for this reason that Marcus Aurelius's Meditations is a somewhat inscrutable book—it was for personal clarity and not public benefit. Writing down Stoic exercises was and is also a form of practicing them, just as repeating a prayer or hymn might be. Keep your own journal, whether it's saved on a computer or in a little notebook. Take time to consciously recall the events of the previous day. Be unflinching in your assessments. Notice what contributed to your happiness and what detracted from it. Write down what you'd like to work on or quotes that you like. By making the effort to record such thoughts, you're less likely to forget them. An added bonus: you'll have a running tally to track your progress too." - all above quoted words from the credited to the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January 21 - A MORNING RITUALGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“Ask yourself the following first thing in the morning: What am I lacking in attaining freedom from passion? What for tranquility? What am I? A mere body, estate-holder, or reputation? None of these things. What, then? A rational being. What then is demanded of me? Meditate on your actions. How did I steer away from serenity? What did I do that was unfriendly, unsocial, or uncaring? What did I fail to do in all these things?” —EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 4.6.34–35 "Many successful people have a morning ritual. For some, it's meditation. For others, it's exercise. For many, it's journaling—just a few pages where they write down their thoughts, fears, hopes. In these cases, the point is not so much the activity itself as it is the ritualized reflection. The idea is to take some time to look inward and examine. Taking that time is what Stoics advocated more than almost anything else. We don't know whether Marcus Aurelius wrote his Meditations in the morning or at night, but we know he carved out moments of quiet alone time—and that he wrote for himself, not for anyone else. If you're looking for a place to start your own ritual, you could do worse than Marcus's example and Epictetus's checklist. Every day, starting today, ask yourself these same tough questions. Let philosophy and hard work guide you to better answers, one morning at a time, over the course of a life." - all above quoted words from the credited to the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January 20 - REIGNITE YOUR THOUGHTSGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“Your principles can't be extinguished unless you snuff out the thoughts that feed them, for it's continually in your power to reignite new ones. . . . It's possible to start living again! See things anew as you once did—that is how to restart life!” —MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 7.2 "Have you had a bad couple of weeks? Have you been drifting away from the principles and beliefs that you hold dear? It's perfectly fine. It happens to all of us. In fact, it probably happened to Marcus—that may be why he scribbled this note to himself. Perhaps he'd been dealing with difficult senators or having difficulties with his troubled son. Perhaps in these scenarios he'd lost his temper, became depressed, or stopped checking in with himself. Who wouldn't? But the reminder here is that no matter what happens, no matter how disappointing our behavior has been in the past, the principles themselves remain unchanged. We can return and embrace them at any moment. What happened yesterday—what happened five minutes ago—is the past. We can reignite and restart whenever we like. Why not do it right now?" - all above quoted words from the credited to the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January 19 - WHEREVER YOU GO THERE YOUR CHOICE ISGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“A podium and a prison is each a place, one high and the other low, but in either place your freedom of choice can be maintained if you so wish.” —EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 2.6.25 "The Stoics all held vastly different stations in life. Some were rich, some were born at the bottom of Rome's rigid hierarchy. Some had it easy, and others had it unimaginably hard. This is true for us as well—we all come to philosophy from different backgrounds, and even within our own lives we experience bouts of good fortune and bad fortune. But in all circumstances—adversity or advantage—we really have just one thing we need to do: focus on what is in our control as opposed to what is not. Right now we might be laid low with struggles, whereas just a few years ago we might have lived high on the hog, and in just a few days we might be doing so well that success is actually a burden. One thing will stay constant: our freedom of choice—both in the big picture and small picture. Ultimately, this is clarity. Whoever we are, wherever we are—what matters is our choices. What are they? How will we evaluate them? How will we make the most of them? Those are the questions life asks us, regardless of our station. How will you answer?" - all above quoted words from the credited to the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January 18 - SEE THE WORLD LIKE A POET & AN ARTIST Get your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**"Pass through this brief patch of time in harmony with nature, and come to your final resting place gracefully, just as a ripened olive might drop, praising the earth that nourished it and grateful to the tree that gave it growth.” —MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 4.48.2 "There are some stunningly beautiful turns of phrase in Marcus's Meditations—a surprising treat considering the intended audience (just himself). In one passage, he praises the “charm and allure” of nature's process, the “stalks of ripe grain bending low, the frowning brow of the lion, the foam dripping from the boar's mouth.” We should thank private rhetoric teacher Marcus Cornelius Fronto for the imagery in these vivid passages. Fronto, widely considered to be Rome's best orator besides Cicero, was chosen by Marcus's adopted father to teach Marcus to think and write and speak. More than just pretty phrases, they gave him—and now us—a powerful perspective on ordinary or seemingly unbeautiful events. It takes an artist's eye to see that the end of life is not unlike a ripe fruit falling from its tree. It takes a poet to notice the way “baking bread splits in places and those cracks, while not intended in the baker's art, catch our eye and serve to stir our appetite” and find a metaphor in them. There is clarity (and joy) in seeing what others can't see, in finding grace and harmony in places others overlook. Isn't that far better than seeing the world as some dark place?" - all above quoted words from the credited to the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January 17 -  REBOOT THE REAL WORKGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“I am your teacher and you are learning in my school. My aim is to bring you to completion, unhindered, free from compulsive behavior, unrestrained, without shame, free, flourishing, and happy, looking to God in things great and small—your aim is to learn and diligently practice all these things. Why then don't you complete the work, if you have the right aim and I have both the right aim and right preparation? What is missing? . . . The work is quite feasible, and is the only thing in our power. . . . Let go of the past. We must only begin. Believe me and you will see.” —EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 2.19.29–34 "Do you remember, in school or early in your life, being afraid to try something because you feared you might fail at it? Most teenagers choose to fool around rather than exert themselves. Halfhearted, lazy effort gives them a ready-made excuse: “It doesn't matter. I wasn't even trying.” As we get older, failure is not so inconsequential anymore. What's at stake is not some arbitrary grade or intramural sports trophy, but the quality of your life and your ability to deal with the world around you. Don't let that intimidate you, though. You have the best teachers in the world: the wisest philosophers who ever lived. And not only are you capable, the professor is asking for something very simple: just begin the work. The rest follows." - all above quoted words from the credited to the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January 16 - NEVER DO ANYTHING OUT OF HABITGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“So in the majority of other things, we address circumstances not in accordance with the right assumptions, but mostly by following wretched habit. Since all that I've said is the case, the person in training must seek to rise above, so as to stop seeking out pleasure and steering away from pain; to stop clinging to living and abhorring death; and in the case of property and money, to stop valuing receiving over giving.” —MUSONIUS RUFUS, LECTURES, 6.25.5–11 "A worker is asked: “Why did you do it this way?” The answer, “Because that's the way we've always done things.” The answer frustrates every good boss and sets the mouth of every entrepreneur watering. The worker has stopped thinking and is mindlessly operating out of habit. The business is ripe for disruption by a competitor, and the worker will probably get fired by any thinking boss. We should apply the same ruthlessness to our own habits. In fact, we are studying philosophy precisely to break ourselves of rote behavior. Find what you do out of rote memory or routine. Ask yourself: Is this really the best way to do it? Know why you do what you do—do it for the right reasons." - all above quoted words from the credited to the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January 15 - PEACE IS IN STAYING THE COURSEGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“Tranquility can't be grasped except by those who have reached an unwavering and firm power of judgment—the rest constantly fall and rise in their decisions, wavering in a state of alternately rejecting and accepting things. What is the cause of this back and forth? It's because nothing is clear and they rely on the most uncertain guide—common opinion.” —SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 95.57b–58a "In Seneca's essay on tranquility, he uses the Greek word euthymia, which he defines as “believing in yourself and trusting that you are on the right path, and not being in doubt by following the myriad footpaths of those wandering in every direction.” It is this state of mind, he says, that produces tranquility. Clarity of vision allows us to have this belief. That's not to say we're always going to be 100 percent certain of everything, or that we even should be. Rather, it's that we can rest assured we're heading generally in the right direction—that we don't need to constantly compare ourselves with other people or change our mind every three seconds based on new information. Instead, tranquility and peace are found in identifying our path and in sticking to it: staying the course—making adjustments here and there, naturally—but ignoring the distracting sirens who beckon us to turn toward the rocks." - all above quoted words from the credited to the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

Today I tackle a doozy -- HOPE. Why is it such a tricky, sneaky thing?? Mythical like a Chupacabra, a Sasquatch or Nessy, right?  It can technically be found all around us, in the smallest of places... a sunny day, a kind word, an unexpected flower on our walk... and yet, it seems to elude so many of us. The problem lies in the fact that we have to allow it in -- we have to WANT to find hope before it will be there. We must choose it. UGH. Right?So, in today's Down the Rabbit Hole I discuss this topic of HOPE in and out in order to try and demystify and encourage you to take the steps toward hope. To choose it (and why). Come with me today and let's explore, hope and guilt and many things in between.AND if you are a Survivor Mom .... reach out in January (2025) for a special discount on the Legacy Project and / or an Empowered Healing Retreat in the Caribbean. It would be my honor to do this work with you -- I wish I had opportunities like this earlier in my grief, but I didn't...so now you do! My hearts mission is to provide meaningful, real-help-resources and healing opportunities for suicide loss survivors and one-on-one with other moms like me. Be sure to check out my website for tons of free resources and recommendations as well as other healing opportunities. AND watch emails in Jan and February for some new options. I don't add a LOT, but what I do add is always designed for maximum impact.  Sending love, peace and enough hope for us both! (See, that's just one way community helps -- we need others to be our strength and motivators and accountability partners when we can't get there alone!) "This is so lonely, but you do not have to be alone." - XO Melissa  __________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January 14 - CUT THE STRINGS THAT PULL YOUR MINDGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“Understand at last that you have something in you more powerful and divine than what causes the bodily passions and pulls you like a mere puppet. What thoughts now occupy my mind? Is it not fear, suspicion, desire, or something like that?” —MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 12.19 "Think of all the interests vying for a share of your wallet or for a second of your attention. Food scientists are engineering products to exploit your taste buds. Silicon Valley engineers are designing applications as addictive as gambling. The media is manufacturing stories to provoke outrage and anger. These are just a small slice of the temptations and forces acting on us—distracting us and pulling us away from the things that truly matter. Marcus, thankfully, was not exposed to these extreme parts of our modern culture. But he knew plenty of distracting sinkholes too: gossip, the endless call of work, as well as fear, suspicion, lust. Every human being is pulled by these internal and external forces that are increasingly more powerful and harder to resist. Philosophy is simply asking us to pay careful attention and to strive to be more than a pawn. As Viktor Frankl puts it in The Will to Meaning, “Man is pushed by drives but pulled by values.” These values and inner awareness prevent us from being puppets. Sure, paying attention requires work and awareness, but isn't that better than being jerked about on a string?" - all above quoted words from the credited to the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January 13 - CIRCLE of CONTROLGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“We control our reasoned choice and all acts that depend on that moral will. What's not under our control are the body and any of its parts, our possessions, parents, siblings, children, or country—anything with which we might associate.” —EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 1.22.10 "This is important enough that it bears repeating: a wise person knows what's inside their circle of control and what is outside of it. The good news is that it's pretty easy to remember what is inside our control. According to the Stoics, the circle of control contains just one thing: YOUR MIND. That's right, even your physical body isn't completely within the circle. After all, you could be struck with a physical illness or impairment at any moment. You could be traveling in a foreign country and be thrown in jail. But this is all good news because it drastically reduces the amount of things that you need to think about. There is clarity in simplicity. While everyone else is running around with a list of responsibilities a mile long—things they're not actually responsible for—you've got just that one-item list. You've got just one thing to manage: your choices, your will, your mind. So mind it." - all above quoted words from the credited to the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January 12- THE ONE PATH TO SERENITYGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“Keep this thought at the ready at daybreak, and through the day and night—there is only one path to happiness, and that is in giving up all outside of your sphere of choice, regarding nothing else as your possession, surrendering all else to God and Fortune.” —EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 4.4.39 "This morning, remind yourself of what is in your control and what's not in your control. Remind yourself to focus on the former and not the latter. Before lunch, remind yourself that the only thing you truly possess is your ability to make choices (and to use reason and judgment when doing so). This is the only thing that can never be taken from you completely. In the afternoon, remind yourself that aside from the choices you make, your fate is not entirely up to you. The world is spinning and we spin along with it—whichever direction, good or bad. In the evening, remind yourself again how much is outside of your control and where your choices begin and end. As you lie in bed, remember that sleep is a form of surrender and trust and how easily it comes. And prepare to start the whole cycle over again tomorrow." - all above quoted words from the credited to the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January 11 - IF YOU WANT TO BE UNSTEADYGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“For if a person shifts their caution to their own reasoned choices and the acts of those choices, they will at the same time gain the will to avoid, but if they shift their caution away from their own reasoned choices to things not under their control, seeking to avoid what is controlled by others, they will then be agitated, fearful, and unstable.” —EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 2.1.12 "The image of the Zen philosopher is the monk up in the green, quiet hills, or in a beautiful temple on some rocky cliff. The Stoics are the antithesis of this idea. Instead, they are the man in the marketplace, the senator in the Forum, the brave wife waiting for her soldier to return from battle, the sculptor busy in her studio. Still, the Stoic is equally at peace. Epictetus is reminding you that serenity and stability are results of your choices and judgment, not your environment. If you seek to avoid all disruptions to tranquility—other people, external events, stress—you will never be successful. Your problems will follow you wherever you run and hide. But if you seek to avoid the harmful and disruptive judgments that cause those problems, then you will be stable and steady wherever you happen to be." - all above quoted words from the credited to the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January10 - IF YOU WANT TO BE STEADYGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“The essence of good is a certain kind of reasoned choice; just as the essence of evil is another kind. What about externals, then? They are only the raw material for our reasoned choice, which finds its own good or evil in working with them. How will it find the good? Not by marveling at the material! For if judgments about the material are straight that makes our choices good, but if those judgments are twisted, our choices turn bad.” —EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 1.29.1–3 "The Stoics seek steadiness, stability, and tranquility—traits most of us aspire to but seem to experience only fleetingly. How do they accomplish this elusive goal? How does one embody eustatheia (the word Arrian used to describe this teaching of Epictetus)? Well, it's not luck. It's not by eliminating outside influences or running away to quiet and solitude. Instead, it's about filtering the outside world through the straightener of our judgment. That's what our reason can do—it can take the crooked, confusing, and overwhelming nature of external events and make them orderly. However, if our judgments are crooked because we don't use reason, then everything that follows will be crooked, and we will lose our ability to steady ourselves in the chaos and rush of life. If you want to be steady, if you want clarity, proper judgment is the best way." - all above quoted words from the credited to the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January 9- WHAT WE CONTROL & WHAT WE DON'TGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“Some things are in our control, while others are not. We control our opinion, choice, desire, aversion, and, in a word, everything of our own doing. We don't control our body, property, reputation, position, and, in a word, everything not of our own doing. Even more, the things in our control are by nature free, unhindered, and unobstructed, while those not in our control are weak, slavish, can be hindered, and are not our own.” —EPICTETUS, ENCHIRIDION, 1.1–2 "Today, you won't control the external events that happen. Is that scary? A little, but it's balanced when we see that we can control our opinion about those events. You decide whether they're good or bad, whether they're fair or unfair. You don't control the situation, but you control what you think about it. See how that works? Every single thing that is outside your control—the outside world, other people, luck, karma, whatever—still presents a corresponding area that is in your control. This alone gives us plenty to manage, plenty of power. Best of all, an honest understanding of what is within our control provides real clarity about the world: all we have is our own mind. Remember that today when you try to extend your reach outward—that it's much better and more appropriately directed inward." - all above quoted words from the credited to the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the showSupport the show

Carisbrooke College 2025 - Mason First Session

Carisbrooke College 2025 - Caleb First Session

Carisbrooke College 2025 - Tabitha First Session

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January 8 - SEEING OUR ADDICTIONSGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“We must give up many things to which we are addicted, considering them to be good. Otherwise, courage will vanish, which should continually test itself. Greatness of soul will be lost, which can't stand out unless it disdains as petty what the mob regards as most desirable. —SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 74.12b–13 "What we consider to be harmless indulgences can easily become full-blown addictions. We start with coffee in the morning, and soon enough we can't start the day without it. We check our email because it's part of our job, and soon enough we feel the phantom buzz of the phone in our pocket every few seconds. Soon enough, these harmless habits are running our lives. The little compulsions and drives we have not only chip away at our freedom and sovereignty, they cloud our clarity. We think we're in control—but are we really? As one addict put it, addiction is when we've “lost the freedom to abstain.” Let us reclaim that freedom. What that addiction is for you can vary: Soda? Drugs? Complaining? Gossip? The Internet? Biting your nails? But you must reclaim the ability to abstain because within it is your clarity and self-control." - all above quoted words from the credited to the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the showSupport the showSupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January 7- SEVEN CLEAR FUNCTIONS of THE MINDGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“The proper work of the mind is the exercise of choice, refusal, yearning, repulsion, preparation, purpose, and assent. What then can pollute and clog the mind's proper functioning? Nothing but its own corrupt decisions.” —EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 4.11.6–7 "Let's break down each one of those tasks: Choice—to do and think right Refusal—of temptation Yearning—to be better Repulsion—of negativity, of bad influences, of what isn't true Preparation—for what lies ahead or whatever may happen Purpose—our guiding principle and highest priority Assent—to be free of deception about what's inside and outside our control (and be ready to accept the latter) This is what the mind is here to do. We must make sure that it does—and see everything else as pollution or a corruption." - all above quoted words from the credited to the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January 6 - WHERE, WHO, WHAT, AND WHYGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“A person who doesn't know what the universe is, doesn't know where they are. A person who doesn't know their purpose in life doesn't know who they are or what the universe is. A person who doesn't know any one of these things doesn't know why they are here. So what to make of people who seek or avoid the praise of those who have no knowledge of where or who they are?” —MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.52 "The late comedian Mitch Hedberg had a funny story he told in his act. Sitting down for an on-air interview, a radio DJ asked him, “So, who are you?” In that moment, he had to think, Is this guy really deep or did I drive to the wrong station? How often are we asked a simple question like “Who are you?” or “What do you do?” or “Where are you from?” Considering it a superficial question—if we even consider it at all—we don't bother with more than a superficial answer. But, gun to their head, most people couldn't give much in the way of a substantive answer. Could you? Have you taken the time to get clarity about who you are and what you stand for? Or are you too busy chasing unimportant things, mimicking the wrong influences, and following disappointing or unfulfilling or nonexistent paths?" - all words from the credited authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all year. I am ONLY doing this in January (on the podcast).TODAYS READING January 5 - CLARIFY YOUR INTENTIONSGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“Let all your efforts be directed to something, let it keep that end in view. It's not activity that disturbs people, but false conceptions of things that drive them mad.” —SENECA, ON TRANQUILITY OF MIND, 12.5 "Law 29 of The 48 Laws of Power is: Plan All The Way To The End. Robert Greene writes, “By planning to the end you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances and you will know when to stop. Gently guide fortune and help determine the future by thinking far ahead.” The second habit in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is: begin with an end in mind. Having an end in mind is no guarantee that you'll reach it—no Stoic would tolerate that assumption—but not having an end in mind is a guarantee you won't. To the Stoics, oiêsis (false conceptions) are responsible not just for disturbances in the soul but for chaotic and dysfunctional lives and operations. When your efforts are not directed at a cause or a purpose, how will you know what to do day in and day out? How will you know what to say no to and what to say yes to? How will you know when you've had enough, when you've reached your goal, when you've gotten off track, if you've never defined what those things are? The answer is that you cannot. And so you are driven into failure—or worse, into madness by the oblivion of directionlessness." - all words from the credited authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all yearTODAYS READING January 3-  BE RUTHLESS TO THE THINGS THAT DON'T MATTER Get your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“How many have laid waste to your life when you weren't aware of what you were losing, how much was wasted in pointless grief, foolish joy, greedy desire, and social amusements—how little of your own was left to you. You will realize you are dying before your time!” —SENECA, ON THE BREVITY OF LIFE, 3.3b "One of the hardest things to do in life is to say “No.” To invitations, to requests, to obligations, to the stuff that everyone else is doing. Even harder is saying no to certain time-consuming emotions: anger, excitement, distraction, obsession, lust. None of these impulses feels like a big deal by itself, but run amok, they become a commitment like anything else. If you're not careful, these are precisely the impositions that will overwhelm and consume your life. Do you ever wonder how you can get some of your time back, how you can feel less busy? Start by learning the power of “No!”—as in “No, thank you,” and “No, I'm not going to get caught up in that,” and “No, I just can't right now.” It may hurt some feelings. It may turn people off. It may take some hard work. But the more you say no to the things that don't matter, the more you can say yes to the things that do. This will let you live and enjoy your life—the life that you want." - from the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us! in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all yearTODAYS READING January 2 - EUCATION IS FREEDOMGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“What is the fruit of these teachings? Only the most beautiful and proper harvest of the truly educated—tranquility, fearlessness, and freedom. We should not trust the masses who say only the free can be educated, but rather the lovers of wisdom who say that only the educated are free.” —EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 2.1.21–23a "Why did you pick up this book? Why pick up any book? Not to seem smarter, not to pass time on the plane, not to hear what you want to hear—there are plenty of easier choices than reading. No, you picked up this book because you are learning how to live. Because you want to be freer, fear less, and achieve a state of peace. Education—reading and meditating on the wisdom of great minds—is not to be done for its own sake. It has a purpose. Remember that imperative on the days you start to feel distracted, when watching television or having a snack seems like a better use of your time than reading or studying philosophy. Knowledge—self-knowledge in particular—is freedom" - from the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January!!__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the showSupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all yearTODAYS READING January 4- THE BIG THREEGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“All you need are these: certainty of judgment in the present moment; action for the common good in the present moment; and an attitude of gratitude in the present moment for anything that comes your way.” —MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 9.6 "Perception, Action, Will. Those are the three overlapping but critical disciplines of Stoicism (as well as the organization of this book and yearlong journey you've just begun). There's more to the philosophy certainly—and we could spend all day talking about the unique beliefs of the various Stoics: “This is what Heraclitus thought . . .” “Zeno is from Citium, a city in Cyprus, and he believed . . .” But would such facts really help you day to day? What clarity does trivia provide? Instead, the following little reminder sums up the three most essential parts of Stoic philosophy worth carrying with you every day, into every decision: Control your perceptions. Direct your actions properly. Willingly accept what's outside your control. That's all we need to do." - from the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to these readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide. The following is an excerpt directly from the book -- they are not my words and are placed here as a sample to help you journal. The full book must be purchased to follow along all yearTODAYS READING January 1 - CONTROL & CHOICEGet your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**“The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself to the choices that are my own . . .” —EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 2.5.4–5"The single most important practice in Stoic philosophy is differentiating between what we can change and what we can't. What we have influence over and what we do not. A flight is delayed because of weather—no amount of yelling at an airline representative will end a storm. No amount of wishing will make you taller or shorter or born in a different country. No matter how hard you try, you can't make someone like you. And on top of that, time spent hurling yourself at these immovable objects is time not spent on the things we can change. The recovery community practices something called the Serenity Prayer: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Addicts cannot change the abuse suffered in childhood. They cannot undo the choices they have made or the hurt they have caused. But they can change the future—through the power they have in the present moment. As Epictetus said, they can control the choices they make right now. The same is true for us today. If we can focus on making clear what parts of our day are within our control and what parts are not, we will not only be happier, we will have a distinct advantage over other people who fail to realize they are fighting an unwinnable battle." - from the authors**I hope you are considering journaling along with us! in January __________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741Support the show

Today --- I am BACK!!!! Life after suicide needs a break sometimes, and I took one. After a (very) trying 2024, I was just spent.... but you can't keep a good (determined) woman down!  As a sort of "Re-Boot" for The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations podcast after taking the last 6 weeks of 2024 "off" I am choosing to 'start over' this way .... Along with this FIRST of 2025, please listen weekly to Down the Rabbit Hole episodes dropped at the start of each week and / or listen daily to the readings from The Daily Stoic-- nuggets as I call them -- of wisdom passed along from Ryan Holiday. Stephen Hanselman and the ancient Greek Philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. I hope you will do both. I hope you will consider journaling along with me. I hope it provides some inspiration, even motivation to keep going, to how we do what we do, to why we do what we do in moving forward 'after'...I hope it is a tool that you (like me) might find useful in your life after loss by suicide.Today specifically I say hello from my 'long winter's nap' (of the past 6 weeks) and say HELLO 2025. I want you to know where I've been and where I am going. And I hope you come along! I have missed you...Get your own copy of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman**I really DO hope you will listen daily & consider journaling along with us in January__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

The first session of the new parliament, Otsneba's presidential candidate, Meta's warning to state propaganda channels, Lukashenko's plans in Abkhazia, a famous Director's visit canceled, and much more!Thanks for tuning in!Let us know what you think and what we can improve on by emailing us at info@rorshok.com You can also contact us through Instagram @rorshok_georgia or Twitter @RorshokGeorgiaLike what you hear? Subscribe, share, and tell your buds.Gnomon Wise Article: https://gnomonwise.org/ge/publications/policy-papers/229Movie Festival screening schedule: https://www.tbilisifilmfestival.ge/en/%e1%83%99%e1%83%98%e1%83%9c%e1%83%9d%e1%83%a4%e1%83%94%e1%83%a1%e1%83%a2%e1%83%98%e1%83%95%e1%83%90%e1%83%9a%e1%83%98%e1%83%a1-%e1%83%a1%e1%83%a0%e1%83%a3%e1%83%9a%e1%83%98-%e1%83%9e%e1%83%a0%e1%83%9d/Rorshok Georgia Update: www.rorshok.com/georgiaRorshok's Ramble episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6wYMfTbyQaIpRtLLBhtMsL?si=TIeB94-LTZ2I1EkOSyDQewWe want to get to know you! Please fill in this mini-survey: https://forms.gle/NV3h5jN13cRDp2r66Wanna avoid ads and help us financially? Follow the link: https://bit.ly/rorshok-donate

Today, I share some resources, talk about a few change makers and read a few inspiring messages for this season - for every season, really. Today, hear me discuss the past, present and future (no, it's not a holiday tale filled with chain clanking ghosts) and then dip into some exciting, hope-filled options and resources -- and the incredible people behind them! Be sure to stay 'til the end where I read an article that I wrote for the 4th Quarter Get Griefy magazine. And there are so many other incredible articles and resources -- you will want to own a physical copy so that you can read them all over and over! Access Get Griefy Magazine HERE Editor in Chief Kera Sanchez (click the "READ" tab at left to read past issues) OR Order on Amazon HERE at Kera's author page where you will also see her Legacy Letters books (I am currently filling in a copy myself-- because, yes, legacy truly matters! Look at the Resilient AF book / Global Resilience Project HERE by Blair Kaplan Venables AND WATCH FOR RESLIENT AF 2 in January 2025!! Erin Blechman's WEBSITE and BOOK My Unexpected Journey at these links__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USA#theleftoverpieces #theleftoverpiecespodcast #suicideloss #childloss #suicidegrief #griefsupportaftersuicide #icandohardthings #childloss #downtherabbithole #suicidebereavement #supportaftersuicideloss #youarenotalone #legacybook #becausetheylived #grief #traumarecovery #suicidelossretreat #trumanstateuniversity #trumanstateSupport the showSupport the show

In life after suicide loss, we hear the words "it's okay to not be okay" as part of mental health or prevention campaigns and similar messages all of the time, right? Especially THIS month as September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month (or is it just awareness -- or just prevention...? Ugh, right?). We can tackle that topic another day.And it IS TRUE that it's okay to not be okay...it's an essential, to-the-point message to help empower people to speak up when they are not doing okay -- to let people know that "we got you" because life is hard, and we are all not okay from time to time (or even most of the time). Prevention is vital...but how does it all land with those left behind; those of us living in the aftermath of a devastating suicide? This came up recently in my online mom support community. You see, we've come to realize that the journey after suicide loss is so complicated. It's a path filled with intense sadness, unanswerable questions, and overwhelming guilt. It's a struggle to even consider saying that you're 'okay' today. SO, what happens when you ARE okay (even if just for the moment, or day)? Can you say that you are? And just how is it received, how does it land - with others and even with ourselves??You may not understand and wonder why this would be the case. Maybe you're nodding in agreement, eager to delve into this question with me. That's why I'm here -- to facilitate these discussions, encourage debate, and help us all navigate this 'after life' together.Those of us living this 'after life' may know this (and so many more) duality exists, but it's a different story when it comes to unpacking some these challenges in our daily lives so we can grow forward, and others can come alongside us. We must not only destigmatize mental health and suicide, but also grief. That's why I'm here, ready to tackle these issues head-on and discuss the dualities of life after suicide loss.Here is that exclusive COUPON CODE resources I mentionedCLICK HERE or go through my website and just use code TLPPOD49__________________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished & the last one is under way...GET ON THE LIST NOW for the SINGLE DATE start for 2025For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USA#theleftoverpieces #theleftoverpiecespodcast #suicideloss #childloss #suicidegrief #griefsupportaftersuicide #icandohardthings #childloss #downtherabbithole #suicidebereavement #supportaftersuicideloss #youarenotalone #legacybook #becausetheylived #grief #traumarecovery #suicidelossretreat #trumanstateuniversity #trumanstateSupport the show

SPECIAL NEW EPISODE DROP! This is Part 3 of 3 (Listening in order is recommended). I am getting very 'up close and personal' as I do something I have not done since I began the podcast in 2020-- tell "the rest of my story." This is part of MY life after the suicide loss of my son Alex Mullins on August 7, 2016In the 3-part series you get Part 1, "The Rest of My Story" Part 2 - "My Analysis", and that will be followed by this one - Part 3, "Can Words Kill...What Now?" In Part 3, I discuss how this is relevant to you - my audience. And WHAT do we do? HOW do we DO anything?? This is just the start of me telling anyone who will listen to what started in August of 2016 at Truman State University with my son Alex's suicide... and what we had no clue about that became a nightmare on top of a nightmare for many, not just us. "Free Will" serves as a center point of this story: free will and a disturbed individual with a death obsession and malice in his heart. The question of free will is complicated in most suicides, but how does it factor in when another person is right there - influencing or bullying or even reasoning or coaxing...?  So, it's time to tell the story. The world needs to know because I KNOW I am not alone in this, or similar, situations - and that pains me. We need to draw attention to bullies, toxic relationships, and more that lead our kids straight to taking their own life. We need answers, accountability, and more. Let's have conversations! Find the Essay I read in this episode HERE. It's called Talking Suicide Blues by Jeannette Cooperman, published on January 31, 2022. In my opinion, it's the most accurate article written to date. There is still So. Much. More. to the story, but now you know more than you did-- and I hope it gives you something to think aboutFind the Cambridge Core paper HERE "Speech & Suicide - The Line of Legality"Find Curator of Quotes HERE Find HicksStrong HERE_____________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished BUT you can get on the list for the FINAL Group of the year starting August 14 group NOW!!For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USA#theleftoverpieces #theleftoverpiecespodcast #suicideloss #childloss #suicidegrief #griefsupportaftersuicide #icandohardthings #childloss #downtherabbithole #suicidebereavement #supportaftersuicideloss #youarenotalone #legacybook #becausetheylived #grief #traumarecovery #suicidelossretreat #trumanstateuniversity #trumanstateSupport the Show.

SPECIAL NEW EPISODE DROP! New today! This is Part 1 of 3 (the other two will be released only two days after the previous one). I am getting very 'up close and personal' as I do something I have not done since I began the podcast in 2020-- tell "the rest of my story." Putting this out there has taken way more 'guts' than I anticipated. I have been sitting on this episode, frozen, for over a week. Even eight years in, it seems I am still learning about my new self. But it's time.I am finally pushing the button today...officially entering my own new era.Today, I am transitioning from sitting on the sidelines (albeit strategic & necessary for years) to now getting up (high) on a soap box and telling anyone who will listen to what started in August of 2016 at Truman State University with my son Alex's suicide... and what we had no clue about that became a nightmare on top of a nightmare, for many, not just us. "Free will" serves as a center point of this story: free will and a disturbed individual with a death obsession and malice in his heart. I think the question of free will is complicated - just like suicide - in most suicides, but how does it factor in when another person is right there - influencing or bullying or even reasoning and coaxing...?So, it's time to tell the story. The world needs to know because I KNOW I am not alone in this, or similar, situations - and that pains me. We need to draw attention to bullies, toxic relationships, and more that lead our kids straight to taking their own life. We need answers, accountability, and so much more. Let's have THAT conversation too! This is just my springboard, but I have to start somewhere. Thank you for listening and supporting the podcast and me!Find the Essay I read in this episode HERE. It's called Talking Suicide Blues by Jeannette Cooperman, published on January 31, 2022. In my opinion, it's the most accurate article written to date. There is still So. Much. More. to the story, but this is a starting point.  You get Part 1, "The Rest of My Story" today. Then, Part 2 - "My Response - The Analysis" (to the Essay I read in Part 1) will be out in 2 days, and that will be followed by Part 3 two days after that, which will be called-- "Why is This Relevant for You - My Audience." Please have a gentle day and be good to yourself. Talk Soon! - Melissa _____________________________________________________________________Go to my WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished BUT you can get on the list for the FINAL Group of the year starting August 14 group NOW!!For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USA#theleftoverpieces #theleftoverpiecespodcast #suicideloss #childloss #suicidegrief #griefsupportaftersuicide #icandohardthings #childloss #downtherabbithole #suicidebereavement #supportaftersuicideloss #youarenotalone #legacybook #becausetheylived #grief #traumarecovery #suicidelossretreat #trumanstateuniversitySupport the Show.

Today I am releasing a conversation that I had recently with Amy King - Grace's mom. Amy also happens to be an incredible write (psst... see down below) But the role she cherishes most in life, is being a mom to her two kiddos... she now bothers, like many of us, from both sides of 'the veil'. Gracie died by suicide in 2018. Amy's "other" episode _ Season 4 Ep. 3 "Suicide is Normal AND Tragic" And today, just a few things we chat about are: First, she talks about her loss survivor group & how it has influenced herComing face-to-face with a mom who had previously) judged her family - and how hearing her say it out loud - impacted her. The myths and realities of 'prevention' & stigma & shame...Meaningful conversations everywhere - incl. LGBTQA+ spaces...Living in a community where she is still 'targeted' and yet, her resolve is stronger than ever! Judgement, safe spaces, Gracie's House, soup and more ...Speaking our truth, judgement, creating safe spaces & having meaningful dialogue with teens (& others in our community) are key takeaways here. Take good care good you, my friend!"A.S. King has been called “One of the best Y.A. writers working today” by the New York Times Book Review. King is the author of highly-acclaimed novels including 2021's SW/TCH, 2020 Michael L. Printz Award winner and LA Times Book Prize finalist DIG, 2016's Still Life with Tornado, 2015's surrealist I Crawl Through It, Glory O'Brien's History of the Future, Reality Boy, the 2012 Los Angeles Times Book Prize winner, Ask the Passengers, Everybody Sees the Ants, 2011 Michael L. Printz Honor Book Please Ignore Vera Dietz among others. She also writes Middle Grade fiction as Amy Sarig King, including Attack of the Black Rectangles. She has edited an anthology of weird stories, The Collectors, which won the Michael L. Printz award in 2024, and will release a new YA novel, Pick the Lock, in fall 2024. In 2022, King received the Margaret A. Edwards Award for her significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature. In 2023, she accepted the ALAN Award from The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE for her "artistry, courage, and outstanding contributions to the field of adolescent literature."  She is a former faculty member of the Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA program at Vermont College of Fine Arts and spends many months of the year traveling the country speaking to high school and university students, educators, and humans who care about the mental health of young people. After a decade living self-sufficiently and teaching literacy to adults in Ireland, she now lives in Pennsylvania."_____________________________________________________________________My WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished BUT you can get on the list for the FINAL Group of the year starting August 14 group NOW!!For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling ww suicidal thoughts, reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the Show.

Today I am down the rabbit hole to discuss the concept of a grief hangover. Yep, it's a real thing ....at least I say it is. I did not coin the phrase but i also don't recall ever hearing it before, yet a simple internet search tells me that I am not the only one who thinks it's that 'thing'. The day before, of and after a "day" (birthday, loss, day, holiday...) can be absolute hell and you may be left with a massive grief hangover if you aren't prepared. Let me offer some thoughts that may just help! (turns out, I needed the reminder too!)  Today, I have three top takeaways on this subject:First, give yourself plenty of space and Grace. You need flexibility, time for yourself.... These will all lay a foundation for the other. 2.Second have a backup plan... this will give you a safety net as well as a way out - or at least relief -when a 'hangover' happens3rd, make a plan.... Intentionality and mindfulness go a long way in the prevention. of a hangover, or perhaps keeping it at bay more than if you didn't use these toolsForethought, mindfulness and participation/planning are keys here. Take good care good you, my friend!_____________________________________________________________________My WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 has finished BUT you can get on the list for the FINAL Group of the year starting August 14 group NOW!!For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling with suicidal thoughts PLEASE reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the Show.

Today I have Lenore Matthew, PhD, MSW, back on the podcast -- for the THIRD time! That tells you how much I value what she has to say BUT is also a testament to her own healing and growth - AND her desire to share it with those who need to hear it! Today we discuss her latest endeavor in healing - one that can bring so. much. freedom... welcome to BRAINSPOTTING!    On her website she says that she is "Melding science and spirit to welcome joy, light, and expansion" as well as "Helping creatives, high performers, healers, and lightworkers heal through trauma and step fully into their soul's purpose and full self"IF you currently are looking for healing - whether early acute grief, or later in deeper healing, I have links for you below: Lenore is findable HERE -->  FIND HER HERE - on her websiteWHAT IS BRAINSPOTTING? CLICK HERE to FIND OUTREAD ABOUT Brain/Body/Spirit Research Lab for Post-Traumatic Growth and ExpansionListen to her PREVIOUS 2 Episodes: S1 Ep 30    Are They Really Gone? Alchemy of Science and SpiritS4 Ep 11  Dr. Lenore Matthew; Melding Science & Spirit in Healing after Suicide LossThe resource page she discussed, for others (earlier) grievers is HERELen also recently honored me (& the other 2 authors) by writing the Foreword to the latest Legacy Project Vol. 4.... read it today. Available on Amazon at the LINK BELOW Find ALL Legacy BOOKS HERE Check out the LEGACY PROJECT HERETHANK YOU for listening to this episode. It means so much to me!Support the Show.______________________________________________________________________My WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 is under way BUT you can get on the wait list for the August 7 group NOW!!For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling with suicidal thoughts PLEASE reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the Show.

Welcome to DJ Dave who's bringing you the coolest chillwave tracks he can get his hands on at the Ostium Network. Sit back and relax to some truly great chill music. If you'd like to submit your own music to be on the show or just drop DJ Dave a line, you can reach him at djdaveostium@gmail.com.Music featured in this episode is all by the incredible artist ESCP. The tracks appear in the following order:PendulumLucid DreamingNebula NostalgiaGoodbye OceanKineticsAmbivertNeonscapesLazy AfternoonLunar LeisureParallel SynthesisBack HomeOver the OceanYou can find out more about ESCP and their music on the following sites:https://www.escp.spacehttps://escp-music.bandcamp.comDJ Dave will be back next month with his next session of chillwave trax.DJ Dave is performed by Alex C. TelanderIf you would like to the support the Ostium Network and all of its shows, you can do so by checking out our Patreon where there are a variety of tiers with a ton of bonus material. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ostium. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are you a late-night grief-insomniac like me? Do you need to escape, or maybe think deeply? I have it all!  New today and a few more on the way...a long overdue episode about what I have watched or read etc. and what my take is on these shows, movies, books & more. There are a few honorable mentions (HM) in most categories that I will not say as much about, but I do talk briefly about why they are mentioned.My Past Podcasts on this same topic (all different shows, etc... mostly): Season 1 Episode 17Season 2 Episode 17 Season 4 Episode 8 Season 4 Episode 28 Must Have APP - Does the Dog DieMovies: Love, Liza (Philip Seymor Hoffman 2002)What Dreams May Come (Robin Willimas 1998)Roadrunner; The Story of Anthony Bourdain (2021)(HM) Coco (2017)(HM) Steel Magnolias (1989)(HM) The Big Chill (1983)TV Shows/Series: The Bear (FX on Hulu at the time of recording - 2 Seasons out, 3# coming in June 2024 with more planned)Dead to Me (Netflix at time of recording - 3 Seasons)(HM always) Scattering CJ (documentary)(HM) Blue Bloods (2010 - current CBS - stream on paramount & Prime) good handling of grief (HM) Somebody Feed Phil - 7 seasons - lighthearted & entertaining (some legacy/honoring of grief) Netflix currently(HM) Friends - ('94-2004; 10 seasons -for caution/curious observation & entertainment) Max currently has all Books/Reads: Get Griefy Magazine available online OR Amazon Suicidal- why we kill ourselves by Jesse BeringDying to be Free by Beverly CobainBecause They Lived...(# Volumes and more on the way)Other: Gaia TV Streaming ServicePlease also hit up my Resource Page for more recommendations/options...._____________________________________________________________________My WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 is under way BUT you can get on the wait list for the August 14 group NOW!!For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling  with suicidal thoughts PLEASE reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the Show.

NEW EPISODE DROP! Today is MOTHER'S DAY 2024. As a special Down the Rabbit Hole episode and to honor a piece of my own journey in motherhood, I am reading my chapter “The Little Tin Man and His Big Heart” - a chapter written (by me) about parts of my son Alex's life. Alex died by suicide on August 7, 2026, but his legacy continues as we tell his stories and speak his name. You can find this story in the book series Because They Lived, plus stories of other amazing kids gone way too soon. Memories and Stories of Amazing Kids Lost to Suicide as Told by the Moms They Left Behind. There is a link on my website and in my Instagram Bio. There are three Volumes out, and a fourth will be out in June. That's 14 Moms who have left permanent legacies of their kids in the world! If you are a mom, there is still time to sign up for the last project of the year - starting in August. Email me today and we will set a time to talk about whether this is right for you....and read all about it (or watch a video) on my website. You can do this too! Remember to take care of yourself and have a gentle day. Talk Soon! Also, look for me again WEEKLY with a mixture of longer conversational episodes and shorter, solo, down-the-rabbit-hole episodes, roundtables, and more... I have missed you, friends, and I am glad to be backFind ALL Legacy BOOKS HERE Check out the LEGACY PROJECT HERE THANK YOU for listening to this episode. It means so much to me! Like what you hear? Support the show ______________________________________________________________________My WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 is under way BUT you can get on the wait list for the August 7 group NOW!!For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling  with suicidal thoughts PLEASE reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the showSupport the Show.

In this episode of Casual Fridays, Von shares his experiences and reflections from the past week. He talks about leading a meeting and speaking at a class, sharing his personal story and recovery journey. Von also discusses his first session with a new therapist and the importance of reaching out for help and seeking resources. He shares his struggles with managing anxiety and ADHD, as well as dealing with noisy neighbors. Von contemplates a job transfer and reflects on Easter weekend and triggers. He emphasizes the need for rest and a laid-back approach.(00:00) Introduction and Casual Fridays (01:31) Leading a Meeting and Speaking at a Class(05:23) First Session with a New Therapist(06:23) Managing Anxiety and ADHD(07:49) Reaching Out for Help and Seeking Resources(09:16) Dealing with Noisy Neighbors (11:24) Considering a Job Transfer(13:57) Easter Weekend and Triggers(20:08) Embracing Rest and Laid-back Approach Follow Me on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/thevoncastshow/https://www.instagram.com/shibavon/ https://www.tiktok.com/@wowshibavon

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a challenging condition, but the good news is that it's highly treatable. The key to effective management and recovery lies in understanding the condition, embracing the right treatment approaches, and adopting a supportive mindset. This article distills essential guidance and expert insights, aiming to empower those affected by OCD with knowledge and strategies for their treatment journey. YOU ARE BRAVE FOR STARTING OCD TREATMENT Taking the first step towards seeking help for OCD is a significant and brave decision. Acknowledging the courage it takes to confront one's fears and commit to treatment is crucial. Remember, showing up for therapy or seeking help is a commendable act of bravery. YOU CAN GET BETTER WITH OCD TREATMENT OCD treatment, particularly through methods like Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), has shown considerable success. These evidence-based approaches are supported by extensive research, indicating significant potential for individuals to reclaim their lives from OCD's grasp. The path may not lead to a complete eradication of symptoms, but substantial improvement and regained control over one's life are highly achievable. OCD TREATMENT IS NOT TALK THERAPY OCD therapy extends beyond the realms of conventional talk therapy, involving specific exercises, homework, and practical worksheets designed to confront and manage OCD symptoms directly. These tools are integral to the treatment process, allowing individuals to actively engage with their treatment both within and outside therapy sessions. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS “BAD” THOUGHTS A pivotal aspect of OCD treatment involves changing how individuals perceive their thoughts and their control over them. It's essential to recognize that thoughts, regardless of their nature, do not define a person. Attempting to control or suppress thoughts often exacerbates them, which is why therapy focuses on techniques that allow individuals to accept their thoughts without judgment and reduce their impact. YOU CAN NOT CONTROL YOUR THOUGHTS, BUT YOU CAN CONTROL YOUR BEHAVIORS You will have intrusive thoughts and feelings. This is a part of being human, and it is not in your control. However, you can learn to pivot and change your reactions to these intrusive thoughts, feelings, sensations, urges, and images.  YOU HAVE MANY OCD TREATMENT OPTIONS While medication can be a valuable part of OCD treatment, particularly when combined with therapy, it's not mandatory. Decisions regarding medication should be made based on personal circumstances, preferences, and professional advice, acknowledging that progress is still possible without it. In addition to ERP and CBT, other therapies such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), mindfulness, and self-compassion practices have emerged as beneficial complements to OCD treatment. These approaches can offer additional strategies to cope with symptoms and improve overall well-being. The accessibility of OCD treatment has expanded significantly with the advent of online therapy and self-led courses. These digital resources provide valuable support, particularly for those unable to access traditional therapy, enabling individuals to engage with treatment tools and strategies remotely. For those without access to a therapist, self-led OCD courses and resources can offer guidance and structure. Engaging with these materials can empower individuals to take active steps towards managing their OCD, underscoring the importance of self-directed learning in the recovery process. TREATMENT WILL NEVER INVOLVE YOU DOING THINGS YOU DO NOT WANT TO DO I am usually very clear with my patients. Here are some key points I share I will never ask you to do something I do not want you to do I will never ask you to do something that I myself would not do  I will never ask you to do something that goes against your values. RECOVERY IS NOT LINEAR Recovery from OCD is not a linear process; it involves ups and downs, successes and setbacks. Embracing discomfort and challenges as part of the journey is essential. Adopting a mindset that views discomfort as an opportunity for growth can greatly enhance one's resilience and progress in treatment. There will be good days and hard days. This is normal for OCD recovery.  There will be days when you feel like you are making no progress, but you are. Keep going at it and be as gentle as you can SETTING CLEAR TREATMENT GOALS Clarifying treatment goals is crucial for a focused and effective therapy experience. Whether it's reducing compulsions, living according to one's values, or tackling specific fears, clear goals provide direction and motivation throughout the treatment process. BE HONEST WITH YOUR THERAPIST The success of OCD treatment is significantly influenced by the honesty and openness of the individual undergoing therapy. Without reservation, sharing one's thoughts, fears, and experiences allows for more tailored and effective therapeutic interventions. IT IS A BEAUTIFUL DAY TO DO HARD THINGS.  No question. You can do hard things!  OCD is a complex but treatable condition. By understanding the essentials of effective treatment, including the importance of evidence-based therapies, the role of mindset, and the value of self-directed learning, individuals can embark on a journey towards recovery with confidence. Remember, every step taken towards confronting OCD is a step towards reclaiming control over one's life and living according to one's values and aspirations. TRANSCRIPT There is so much bad advice out there about OCD treatment. So today, I wanted to share with you the 11 things I specifically tell my patients on their first day of OCD therapy.  Hello, my name is Kimberley Quinlan. I'm an OCD specialist. I specialize in cognitive behavioral therapy, and I have helped hundreds of people with OCD over the course of the 10, 15 years I have been in practice.  Now, whether you have an OCD therapist or not, my goal is to help you feel confident and feel prepared when addressing your OCD treatment and symptoms, whether you have an OCD therapist or not. That is the big goal here at CBTSchool.com and Your Anxiety Toolkit podcast.  Make sure you stick around until the end because I will also be sharing specific things that you can remember if you don't have a therapist, because I know a lot of you don't. And I'll be sharing what you need to know so that you don't feel like you're doing it alone.  Now, if you're watching this here on YouTube, or you follow me on social media at Your Anxiety Toolkit, let me know if there's anything I've missed or anything that you were told on your first session that was particularly helpful, because I'm sure your knowledge can help someone else or another person with OCD who is in need of support and care and advice. So let's go. Here are the 11 things that I tell my patients on their first day of OCD therapy. Number one, I congratulate them for showing up, because showing up for OCD treatment is probably one of the most brave things you can do. I really make sure I validate them that this is scary, and I'm really glad they're here. And I'm pretty impressed with the fact that they showed up, even though it's scary.  The second thing I tell them is that OCD treatment is successful. You can come a long way and make massive changes in your life by going through the steps of OCD treatment, showing up, being willing to take a look at what's going on in your life, and making appropriate changes so that you can get your life back, do things you want to do, spend more time with your family, your friends, the things you love to do, like hobbies, and that OCD treatment can be very effective. We're very lucky that OCD is a very treatable condition. It doesn't mean it'll go away completely, but you can have absolute success in getting your life back.  Now, one thing to know here is, how do we know this? Well, OCD treatment research and OCD treatment articles. If you go onto Google Scholar, you will find a lot of articles that show a meta-analysis of the OCD treatments available, where it shows that ERP and cognitive behavioral therapy are the gold standard of treatment. And using a meta-analysis, that basically means that they've surveyed all of the large, well-done research articles and found which one shows the most results and shows that they have the most repeated results over periods of time. And that's why it is so important that you do follow the research because there is a lot of bad information out there, absolutely.  Now, the third thing I tell my patients on their first day of therapy is that OCD treatment is not talk therapy. It's not just talking, that it requires OCD therapy exercises and homework and lots of worksheets. I have a packet that we give our patients at the center that I own in Calabasas, California. Everyone gets a welcome manual. And in the welcome manual, it's got worksheets on identifying obsessions and compulsions. It's got mindfulness worksheets. It's got logging worksheets. And I will send you home with those to do for homework. You'll come back. Let me know what worked, what didn't work, what was helpful, what wasn't. And you will be doing a lot of this work on your own.  Now, again, as I mentioned at the beginning, if you do not have access to OCD therapy or you don't have the resources to get that, we have an online course called ERP School. It is a course specifically for people with OCD, where I walk you through the specific steps that I take my patients through. And all of those worksheets are there. They have worksheets on identifying your obsessions, identifying your compulsions, mindfulness, self-compassion worksheets, things that can remind you and prompt you in the direction of setting up a plan so that you can get moving and make the steps on your own. The fourth thing that you need to know on the first day of your therapy is that there is no such thing as bad thoughts. Let's just sit with that for a second. There is no such thing as bad thoughts. Your thoughts do not define you, nor do your behaviors, that you might have these thoughts that you think are going to really freak you out. You might have this idea, these thoughts, these intrusive, repetitive, scary thoughts, and you might think, “Well, I can't even tell Kimberley about them yet.” I will often tell my patients like there is nothing these walls haven't heard, and you probably won't shock me because I haven't been shocked in many, many, many years working as an OCD therapist. I've heard it all. I've heard the most, what people perceive as the grossest thoughts. It's a normal part of the work that we do. And your thoughts are neither good nor bad and they do not define you. And I really make that point made because, as we move forward, I want you to know that I've seen a lot of cases and that “your thoughts aren't special” in that they're not something that I would be alarmed by.  The fifth thing that I would tell my patients is that you cannot control your thoughts. And I bet you believe it because you've probably tried over and over again, and all you found is the more you try and control it, the more thoughts you have. The more you try to suppress your thoughts, the more thoughts you have. There are, as we've already discussed, OCD treatment options that will really solidify this concept. Now, the most important one is exposure and response prevention, which is the type of treatment that we use for OCD and is the type of treatment that all of those research articles I discussed before show and direct to as a really successful treatment for OCD.  Now, in addition, there are other OCD treatment options. One of those treatment options is OCD treatment with medication. Now, again, when you do that meta-analysis, we have found that a combination of CBT and ERP with medication is the most successful. Now, that doesn't mean you have to take medication, though. I'm never going to tell my patients that they have to take medication.  So we can have OCD treatment with medication. We can have OCD treatment without medication. In fact, some of my most difficult cases, the clients, for medical reasons or for personal values reasons, chose not to go on medication. You can still get better. It might make it a little more difficult. You may want to speak with your therapist, or if you're doing this alone, you might need to put in a little extra homework, have a team of support, and people who are really there holding you accountable. Absolutely. But medication is another treatment option that you may want to consider as you move through this process. Now there are also new treatments for OCD recovery. They might include acceptance and commitment therapy, mindfulness practices, self-compassion. We even have some research around dialectical behavioral therapy as other OCD treatment interventions. I will be implementing those as we go, depending on what roadblocks show up. And again, if you're doing this on your own, there are amazing resources that can also help you, and I'll share about those here in a bit. Again, as we've talked about, there is also OCD treatment online. Since COVID-19, we've done a lot of growing in terms of being able to utilize CBT via the internet, via our computers, via our smartphones. A lot of people come to us because they've looked for OCD treatment in Los Angeles, which is where we are. And even though they only live a few miles down the street, they're still doing sessions online because it's so convenient. They can do it at home between sessions with their work or between getting their kids to school. So, OCD treatment online has become a very popular way to also access treatment. And I give these to my clients as we go, because sometimes they're going to need a little extra help.  Now, as I've mentioned to you earlier in there, if you don't have access to OCD treatment, there are tons of self-led OCD courses. Again, one of the ones that we offer is ERP School. Now you can go to CBTSchool.com, or you can click the link below in the show notes, where we have all of these courses for OCD and other anxiety disorders. But there are others as well—other amazing therapists who have created similar products.  When we're really looking at treatment depending on your age, the treatment does look very similar for OCD treatment for adults and OCD treatment for children. They are very, very similar. With children, we might play more games, have more rewards, use those strategies, but to be honest with you, adults are just big kids in adult bodies. So I really believe that we want to make this as fun as we can. Have rewards. Have there be something that you're working towards. Make it fun. Make it a part of a game. I use a lot of games in treatment and a lot of ERP games because why do we want to make everything boring all the time? Why not make it a little bit fun if we can? Number seven, the main thing I'm going to tell you here, and this is really, really important, is I will not ask you to do something that you don't want to do. I have this in our welcome manual. We don't ask people to do things that go against their values, and we don't ask people to do things that I myself would not do. There are a lot of TV shows that sort of use ERP and exposure work as sort of like doing your worst, worst, worst, worst, worst case. And that's fine. But often we're not doing that. We're doing exposures, we're facing your fears so that you can get back to functioning, so you can get back to doing the things you want to do. So again, I'm not going to have you do anything you don't want to do. You're in charge. If you're taking ERP School, we do the same thing. You create your own plan. You create a hierarchy of what you want to start with, and we work our way up. And we do the same thing in therapy as well.  Now the eighth thing that I will tell you, and by then you're probably getting a little tired and overwhelmed. We might take a little tea break really quick, but I would tell you that recovery is not linear. While we do have effective treatment for OCD, it will be an up-and-down process. You'll have really good days, and you'll have some hard days. And those hard days don't mean that you're doing anything wrong. It doesn't mean that your treatment's not successful. It just means we have to take a look here and see what's going well, what's not going well, what do we need to tweak, do we need to make a pivot here. Or do we need to reassess something and maybe apply some additional tools—mindfulness tools again, self-compassion skills, some distress tolerance skills, maybe? But just remember, your recovery will not be linear, and that is okay.  Now the ninth thing I'm going to tell you is that your OCD treatment goals must be clear. You are going to get really clear on why you're here, what you want to do, why you're doing this treatment because it is hard work. Again, there's homework. I'm going to be giving you some things to do at home, and they're going to be a little bit difficult. They're going to cause you to feel some feelings that maybe you don't want to feel, some sensations you don't want to feel.  And so, really again, I will ask them, like, what are your goals for treatment? Now, some common OCD goals for OCD therapy is to reduce compulsions. “I want to be able to not be doing these compulsions for hours and hours.” Other people say, “I want to live my life according to my values. I don't want to let fear constantly be telling me what to do.” Other people will say, “I want to learn how to tolerate this discomfort and this uncertainty because every time I try and run away from it, it just gets worse. It makes it worse. And now I'm stuck in this cycle.” So it's important that you get really clear.  Sometimes people will come in and they'll say, “I've never been to Paris. I want to be able to go to Paris with my family. And so, that's the goal.” That's fine too. You could have a large goal like that, or you could have a really simple goal like, “I just want to have more space in my life to paint,” or “I don't want to feel like I'm on edge all the time, like the scariest thing is going to happen all the time.” And that's fine too.  Now, the 10th thing that you're going to need to know and need to remember is, our recovery is really dependent on how open and honest you are. As I said at the beginning, some people don't feel yet like they can trust to tell me the depth of their intrusive thoughts, and that's okay. But throughout therapy, I'm going to need you to be really honest with me and really honest with yourself, because if you're not disclosing what's going on and the thoughts you're having, we can't actually apply the skills to it. And then it puts a wrench in the success of your treatment.  So we want you to be as open, honest as you can. And I often will say to them, there is nothing I haven't heard. In fact, if you have taken ERP School already—a lot of you have—we actually play a couple of games where we play a game called One Up, which is where no matter what thought you have, you make it a little worse or little more scary. And I give some demonstrations and show like I'm not afraid to go there. I will go to the scary, yucky place just to show you that that's what I want you to do as well. Again, it doesn't have to be all serious. We're allowed to play games, and we do that in therapy as well.  Often people will ask like, how do I tell my therapist about these horrible thoughts I'm having? Like, how do I share? If you're having a specific type of thought that you feel is particularly taboo or very scary to share, or you're afraid of the consequences of sharing, what I would encourage you to do is do a very quick Google search. There are some amazing websites and articles online of your obsession. Print it out and bring it to your therapist, and say, “Hey, this is what I'm dealing with. I'm too scared or I'm too vulnerable to share. It's so horrendous in my mind, but this is what I'm going through.” And chances are, again, the therapist, if they're a trained OCD specialist, will go, “Ah, thank you for letting me know. I've treated that before. I'm good to go.” Again, if they're a newer therapist, it's still okay because they're getting the education about really common obsessions that happen a lot in our practice.  Okay. Here we go—drum roll to the last one. And I know you guys are probably already guessing what it is. It's something I say to my patients and to you guys all the time, and it's this: It's a beautiful day to do hard things.  We have been taught that life should be easy, shouldn't be scary, shouldn't be hard, and that you should be Instagram-ready all the time. But the truth is, life is hard. And today is a beautiful day to do those hard things. I have found that those who recover the fastest and the most successful over time are the ones who see discomfort as a challenge, something that they're willing to have. They'll say, “Bring it on, let's go. Bring my shoulders back. I know it's going to be here.” And they're really gentle with themselves when they have this discomfort. And I want you to really walk away feeling empowered that you too can handle some pretty uncomfortable things because you already are. So again, it's a beautiful day to do hard things.  All right, let's round it out because I know I promised you some extra things here. Now, what have we covered? We've covered the mindset shifts that you need for OCD therapy, behavioral changes that you're going to need to make. We've talked about complementary tools, the most important being self-compassion. And also, guys, you can also follow Your Anxiety Toolkit because we have over 380 episodes of tools and core concepts, and everything like that.  Now, for treatment, just so that you get an idea of what this would look like, I share with my patients what treatment looks like. So usually, once I've told them all of this, I send them home with their welcome manual, and I'll say, “The next two to three sessions, I'm going to be training you for this treatment. And a lot of that is going to involve psychoeducation, me giving you tools, giving you strategies, putting a plan together.” And again, for those of you who don't have therapy, we do exactly that in ERP School. So if you feel like you need some structure, you can go to CBTSchool.com and access ERP School. We can go through that.  Now, for those of you, again, who don't have an OCD therapist, does OCD therapy and treatment work for you too? Yes. We actually have some early research to show that self-led programs can be very successful for people with OCD and with other anxiety disorders. So, if you don't have access to therapy, you could take ERP School. You could buy some workbooks that you buy from Amazon or your local bookstore. There are a ton of workbooks out there. Shameless plug, I also wrote one called The Self-Compassion Workbook for OCD. You can get it wherever you buy books. There are also online groups. I'm a huge, huge proponent of online groups. So if there are support groups in your area, by all means, use those because just knowing other people who are struggling, what you're struggling with can be so validating and inspiring because you're seeing them do the hard thing as well.  But either way, treatment requires a lot of homework. So, as I say to patients, showing up here once a week isn't going to get you better. You're going to have to practice the skills. And if you don't have a therapist, you're going to be doing that anyway. So I want to really hope that you leave here with a sense of inspiration and hope that you can get better even if you don't have OCD therapy at this time. So there you go, guys. There are the 11 things I tell my patients on the very first session. I will usually end the session by encouraging them and, again, congratulating them for coming in and doing this work with me. Let them know I'm so excited for them.  I hope that this was helpful for you, and my hope is that you too will then go on to learn all the tools that you need in your tool belt and go on to live the life that you want to live because that's the whole mission here at Your Anxiety Toolkit.  Have a wonderful day, everybody, and I'll talk to you next week.

Today is MONKEYS DAY, where I'm returning to the rabbit hole to discuss the third (& final) piece in my current series, "Mindset, Motivation & Monkeys."So now you have your mindset (or at least know what you would like it to be; goals are a first step), you have picked your guidance word of the year, and you have discovered your motivation. So what now?In this episode, I discuss MONKEYS! Ok, as you may have guessed, not actual monkeys (flying or otherwise) but rather boundaries! (aka - 'not my circus, not my monkeys')Setting boundaries after loss is much more complicated than before, like everything, right? But for many of us, there are hurdles we can't overcome after the mindset and motivation part, and then we end up feeling stuck. Today, I discuss this at length to give you some actionable ideas that may help.In this episode, hear me discuss: the myth that boundaries are there to stop usThe next step - how to startRecognizing your monkeys - name themDefining themEnforcing them Real grief examples and more...In the end, we are truly only limited by what we believe, and we have a choice in what we think and choose to believe.  Our possibilities for life 'after' loss are only limited by our own mind. Yep, there's a LOT in those two sentences. Read them again. (And I know it's extraordinarily hard, but we can do hard things!)Some BONUS follow Up READING - just food for thought & for fun: A Person Without Boundaries ... (a post from The Daily Stoic)Setting Healthy Grief Boundaries (an easy read about a difficult thing!)THANK YOU for listening to this episode. It means so much to me! ______________________________________________________________________My WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 is under way BUT you can get on the wait list for the August 7 group NOW!!For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling  with suicidal thoughts PLEASE reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the showSupport the show

The secrets to ensuring trust, confidence, and continued relationships between photographer and client. Learning how to find the right people to work with from both sides, client and photographer. Plus, the key to getting the most out of both parties while learning how to spot “red flags before you're stuck.   Song: Manhattan Twist Performed by: Avocado Junkie Written by: Sander Kalmeijer (ASCAP 100%) Published by: A Soundstripe Production (ASCAP 100%)

 Today, I welcome Bobbi Smith. At 22, this brave young woman is actually a two-time loss survivor. She actually first lost her best friend AND then, a few years later, her husband to suicide, yet the hope in her voice is inspirational. She is wise beyond her years - that happens after trauma, but she is not shrinking away from the very raw & complex parts of her experiences -- she is standing up & drawing attention to them."Her best friend since childhood, Racelyn, died on Feb. 20, 2018, at just 16 years old. While she felt the support of family & adults in her life, Bobbi's world was completely rocked. She even ended up completing her schooling online due to the bully-like, insensitive behavior of her peers after Racelyn died.Bobbi met Quentin through Racelyn; they were online friends for years! After Racelyn passed, they became closer after Quentin contacted her over social media to offer support and say he'd always be there to talk. It turned out he was, and their connection grew.After a road trip to visit Bobbi in October 2020, he asked her to be his girlfriend, and they married in December 2021. At the time, Quentin was a Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton from 2018 to 2022. Quentin Reed Smith was a 0331 Machine Gunner (Infantryman) in the United States Marines. He served one deployment to Japan. When he left the military, he was an E-4 corporal. He died from suicide by firearm in their backyard on Aug. 14, 2023, only 4 months short of turning 24, and he had only been out of the military for 9 months."You will hear us discuss many of the things listed above, but also:What was different the day he died...or was anything? Hear her describe (what sounds to me like) how his 'brain broke' in the moments before he died as she witnessed (audibly) his break...but having no understanding of the cause...part of the unanswered 'whys' many of us have.The detrimental "figure it out & hold your own" attitude toward mental health care while enlisted is a contributing factor to military & vet suicides.Why does she blame the military and their lack of support [for his death]- including but not limited to the fact that they do such a poor job reacclimating soldiers back into civilian life once they get out. The dehumanization she (& her family) felt at the hands of first responders.Fear & ignorance - what she believes would help or could be done differently (for soldiers) & through it all - how (she thinks) we can all make a difference by just saying their names...and more!THANK YOU for listening to this episode. It means so much to us! ______________________________________________________________________My WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 is under way BUT you can get on the wait list for the August 7 group NOW!!For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HEREIf you, or someone you know, is struggling  with suicidal thoughts PLEASE reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the showSupport the show

NEW EPISODE DROP! In this episode (2 of a 3 part series) I go back down the rabbit hole to discuss the second piece in the series called “Mindset, Motivation & Monkeys” ...today is motivation day!I know -- it sounds super hard; nearly impossible, right? Stick with me - we will get there.So now you have your mindset (or at least know what you would like it to be; goals are a first step) ... you have picked your guidance word of the year. Great. NOW WHAT...? How do you find a way to actually be motivated you ask...well, we explore this idea today!In this episode I discuss: how to find motivation achieving balanceusing tools & understanding the traumawhy this even mattersflowery chasms, tiny villages, a bridge & more...Remember to look for me again WEEKLY with a mixture of longer conversational episodes and the shorter solo down the rabbit hole episodes, roundtables and more.... I have missed you friends and am glad to be back!THANK YOU for listening to this episode. It means the world!Check out ALL of my books including the lastet legacy book (and there's more on the way!) -- CLICK HERE!!PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 is under way BUT you can get on the wait list for the August 7 group NOW!!For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HERE______________________________________________________________________My WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.The latest Legacy projects are NOW published BOOKS -- GET THEM HERE!!!ALSO, my first two books (tools I have created for you!) in the "Facing Life After Suicide" series are available on AmazonIf you, or someone you know, is struggling  with suicidal thoughts PLEASE reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

 Today I go (deep) into the rabbit hole to discuss a haunting question -- haunting for anyone, but even more so for us suicide loss survivors. Everything is harder now, right? (but that's NOT the question).Sing with me “I can do hard things. I can do hard things...” (it may just be the weirdo in me, but yes, I sing it out loud to myself often ...when I feel frustrated or discouraged), and then I DO “it” -- whatever the current “it” is. Or at least TRY to. How about you? (STILL NOT THE QUESTION though).I want to know if you have asked yourself this question I ask in the episode-- now, in your “after loss” life OR before? Should you? (pssst....the answer is “yes”) YOLO is what Alex would say and he was my kid after all...I hope this episode is thought provoking & motivating....and YES, you have to listen to the episode to actually HEAR THE QUESTION!Today I touch base on: Why risk and hard things are easier for some ...or are they? Why asking this question mattersHow Rita Wilson factors inAnd an update on life in Puerto Rico ....and moreListen to the TedX Talk I reference HERE and for the joy of it (& because you will be left feeling like "I want to hear the song" So...HERE is the song she sings at the end (it's not part the original TedX recording) Remember to look for me again WEEKLY with a mixture of longer conversational episodes and the shorter solo down the rabbit hole episodes, roundtables and more.... I have missed you friends and am glad to be back! THANK YOU for listening to this episode. It means the world!Check out ALL of my books including the lastet legacy book (and there's more on the way!) -- CLICK HERE!!PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 is under way BUT you can get on the wait list for the August 7 group NOW!!For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HERE______________________________________________________________________My WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is support central.The latest Legacy projects are NOW published BOOKS -- GET THEM HERE!!!ALSO, my first two books (tools I have created for you!) in the "Facing Life After Suicide" series are available on AmazonIf you, or someone you know, is struggling  with suicidal thoughts PLEASE reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show

Today I am sharing a poignant & heartfelt conversation I had with an amazing woman named Jessica Timmerman. She lost her brother to suicide & everything changed. Jessica & Zach were not a typical brother and sister.... losing both of their parents before they were 18, they became each other's whole family and also the very best friends. Zach died by suicide in 2022 while serving his country (he was 15 years in when he died) - leaving Jess to pick up the pieces and figure out how to live without him AND honor his amazing life.  This is a bold conversation with a brave lady & it's my honor to share it. "Jessica Timmerman is a married mom of three kids and a military mental health advocate, currently residing in Edmond, Oklahoma. Sergeant First Class Zachary M. Brown lost his life to suicide on Mother's Day 2022 while on active duty in Germany. He was Jessica's baby brother, a proud Infantryman, a combat veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, a devoted Dad with a huge heart and made an impact on so many. Zach BELIEVED in a life of service and Jessica intends to continue that code".Today, we talk about: There are programs to help -- like the Army's A.S.E. Program --but they come with very human limitations.How the military failed Zach in life and his family & memory in deathBeing Hope Growers! How siblings (& others) become disenfranchised grieversWhat she became a Death Doula (& what it is) but where she feels drawn to help now.Some of her favorite things about ZachFind Jess at INSTAGRAM - please follow her & support her efforts for change And look for me to add a link to her (currently being updated) website in the next month or so to my resource page. THANK YOU for listening to this episode. It means the world!Check out ALL of my books including the lastet legacy book (and there's more on the way!) -- CLICK HERE!!PS....The FIRST SESSION of the Legacy Writing Project in 2024 is under way BUT you can get on the wait list for the August 7 group NOW!!For a way to leave a Legacy of your child - GO HERE______________________________________________________________________My WEBSITE "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" support central.The latest Legacy projects are NOW published BOOKS -- GET THEM HERE!!!ALSO, my first two books (tools I have created for you!) in the "Facing Life After Suicide" series are available on AmazonIf you, or someone you know, is struggling  with suicidal thoughts PLEASE reach out:CALL 988   OR, you can also TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USASupport the show