Ep 004 - Suicide Awareness & Project Semicolon with Recovery Advocate Network (Webinar Rebroadcast)

Welcome to Episode 4 from RAN's Suicide Awareness Month Webinar hosted on September 21^st, 2022. Portions of this episode were redacted due to the sensitive nature of the content at the request of the individuals who participated. 

This episode kicked off with three individuals sharing their personal stories about the semicolon tattoo. 

Camille got a semicolon tattoo after her friend lost their struggle with mental illness, and she shared how it helps her open the door to difficult conversations about the challenges of suicidal ideations, suicide, and the grief surrounding suicidal loss. 

Brittany then shared the story of her semi-colon lotus hybrid tattoo, her struggle with suicide attempts, and the meaning of the lotus flower. 

Kylee shared about The Butterfly Project, which aims to help those struggling with self-harm, and why she chose a butterfly semicolon tattoo to celebrate the first anniversary of her not self-harming. She shared that she loves semicolon tattoos because they allow her to be in community with those who are safe to talk to about historically taboo topics – suicide and self-harm. 

We then heard David's journey through grieving the loss of his son to suicide. He shared its impact on him and provided his thoughts on how individuals can comfort those during difficult times. 

Finally, one of our celebrity supporters, Spencer Garrett, spoke out about mental health and why we must take it seriously now.

Wow, this was an emotional episode for me to edit and publish. I have struggled with suicidal ideations and self-harm due to severe childhood abuse and my kidnapping/hostage experience. Additionally, what David said about grief hit home as I remember the months following the loss of my firstborn son, who was stillborn 23 years ago, and the loss of my service dog, Kuba, earlier this year. 

Which reminds me, if this episode was triggering to you, we encourage you to contact your support system, therapist, national and community support groups, the Global Crisis Text Line by texting 741741, and/or if in the US, dialing 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis lifeline.

Asking for help is not a sign of weakness.

The experiences and advice expressed by these guests are their own stories. RAN is passionate about opening the doors for all voices and experiences – not just those expressed in any particular podcast.  

If you have found this or other podcast episodes meaningful, we encourage you to share them on your favorite social network. It also helps if you give us an awesome rating so that we are more likely to pop up when someone else needs to hear these stories. 

If you want to share your experiences or expertise, we encourage you to be a future guest by emailing us at [email protected]. Or submit a blog post by emailing [email protected].

Thanks for enjoying your coffee with us as we continue sharing these meaningful conversations together. 

In case you are wondering, every individual working with RAN does so on a 100% volunteer basis. All funds raised go to support the mission. So, don't forget to Love, not like, our podcast and subscribe. We have quite a few amazing guests booked for future episodes. Trust me - You won't want to miss them, so subscribe today!

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If you wish to provide feedback, please feel free to leave comments on the episode or email us. Now back to your coffee.

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Additional Resources:

• https://www.projectsemicolon.com/
• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• www.recoveryadvocatenetwork.org
• https://www.facebook.com/OurButterflyProject
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