I fought back tears on the dance floor tonight. But I couldn’t stop them. As I followed the step sequence, I tried rubbing the pressure from my eyes. Maybe nobody noticed my distress. But then I felt my face squishing up into the squeezed-eyes-pursed-lips called anguish, and a few drops…

Christopher Neal in The Taoist Online published an article I couldn’t help but read. The title poses one of the major questions that crosses the mind of most suicidal people — religious or not: Why does Got hate me? I eagerly dissected his article to see what wisdom and insight…

I describe myself as an anti-self-help writer. I’m not opposed to self-help in principle. But we need to be cautious about recommending self-help as an antidote to suicidal ideation. Self-help puts all the pressure on you. Firstly, self-help places the onus of improving “the problem”, whatever that may be, on the self. Self-help’s focus on the individual…

We live in a self-help-crazy culture. From seeking better time management habits to searching for light in dark times, self-help provides suggestions and support. But we also need an anti-self-help approach to suicidality. Some of the readers sifting through piles of advice on how to be a better version of…

People who commit suicide are selfish. They’re thinking only about themselves. They didn’t think about the pain they’re inflicting on other people. Sound familiar? Nothing better than blaming those who were quite literally served up more than they could handle, eh? The funny thing is, in our self-help obsessed culture…

Do you have five minutes for the written word to heal your pain? Would you like to come with me on a journey of healing? Who am I? I Am That I Am. I am not the writer, nor am I the voice in your head. I gift these words…

In amongst life’s ups and downs, sometimes we have experiences we just don’t think we can recover from. We don’t even want to recover. The pieces have been too badly shattered — pulverized actually, maybe even powdered, and the concept of kintsugi — mending the cracks in broken pottery with…

We tell people facing the darkest days of their lives that they must reach out for help. Call someone. Contact a hotline. Phone a friend. But (surprise! surprise!) people who are suicidal will bring those difficult emotions to you when they come seeking help. Anger. Hopelessness. Despair…a deep darkness swirling…

“There are ten thousand joys and ten thousand sorrows.” Chuang Tzu, Daoist Philosopher They shared one of their ten thousand sorrows with you. And you listened. Thank you. Thank you for being there when someone was suicidal. When they were at their limit. When they knew they were in danger…