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People chat and eat at many tables close to each other in a crowded restaurant

Where is It OK to Speak of Suicide?

October 7, 2025

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I was mid-sentence when someone slid a sheet of paper across the table to my friend Sam. “This is for you,” a female-sounding voice said to Sam, and the messenger slipped away without my ever seeing her. We were lunching at a…

The author's hand holding a stone heart for mindfulness

How I Survived the Trauma of My Daughter’s Suicide

by Jay E. Valusek

September 3, 2025

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The last time my daughter, Beth, was seen alive was at 8:01 a.m., July 18, 2018. I know this from the time stamp on a grainy, black-and-white surveillance video taken inside the visitors center of a popular tourist attraction in south-central Colorado.…

White doodle puppy with red ball under paw

To the People at My Suicide Prevention Talk Last Week…

by Stacey Freedenthal, PhD, LCSW

August 29, 2025

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First, I’m sorry Luna barked while I was being introduced. It annoyed me, too. To the person who wrote in the chat, “Like children, you should have someone watching them while you work” — you’re right. I’ll do better next time. To…

Silhouette of woman texting behind curtain, symbolizing talking with AI about secret suicidal thoughts

Suicide, Secrecy, and ChatGPT

by Stacey Freedenthal, PhD, LCSW

August 26, 2025

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Decades ago, when I was 25, I wrote in a suicide note to my parents: Never, ever, ever blame yourselves or question if there was something you could have said, could have done, could have noticed. There wasn’t. It’s all me. I…

People in crowd at concert holding their hands up in the shape of a heart

What Helps You Want to Stay Alive in Times of Despair?

by Stacey Freedenthal, PhD, LCSW

February 9, 2025

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These days, anyone of any political persuasion can find reasons to despair. Dramatic social upheaval. Climate change. Wars. Artificial intelligence. Mondays. If you wish you could die, or if you outright think of killing yourself, what keeps you going? In another post,…

Toxic Positivity Doesn’t Fix Depression or Suicidal Thoughts

by AnneMoss Rogers

February 3, 2025

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In 2014, about a year before my son Charles died by suicide, we were sitting on the deck outside of our home in Virginia. He had just posted a rap video online. He was so proud of it, and I think with…