Facing the Unseen: A Daughter's Mission to End the Stigma Around Suicide

In this episode of the EZ Conversations Podcast, Lisa Sugarman, a Boston-based content creator dedicated to mental health and suicide awareness, shares her riveting journey of surviving suicide loss. Lisa recounts the profound impact of losing her father twice—first at ten, under the belief it was a heart attack, and later at 45 upon discovering it was suicide. She discusses the stages of processing such trauma and her path to becoming a mental health advocate. Lisa delves into her work, including writing, creating a YouTube series, and counselling with the Trevor Project, emphasizing the importance of vulnerability, compassion, and continuous dialogue to break the stigma around mental health and suicide. Lisa Sugarman is an author, a nationally syndicated columnist, a 3x survivor of suicide loss, a mental health advocate, and a crisis counsellor with The Trevor Project. She writes the opinion column We Are Who We Are and is the author of How To Raise Perfectly Imperfect Kids And Be Ok With It, Untying Parent Anxiety, and LIFE: It Is What It Is. Lisa is also a storyteller with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and a contributor to the Mental Health Television Network (MHTN), Healthline Parenthood, GrownAndFlown, TODAY Parents, Thrive Global, LittleThings, and More Content Now. Lisa lives and writes just north of Boston. Visit her online at lisasugarman.com. Author & Columnist | 3x Survivor of Suicide Loss | Crisis Counselor with The Trevor Project | Storyteller with NAMI | Grief Group Facilitator | Mental Health Advocate email: [email protected] website: lisasugarman.com linktree: linktr.ee/thelisasugarman youtube: youtube.com/@thelisasugarman tiktok: tiktok.com/@thelisasugarman facebook: facebook.com/thelisasugarman instagram: instagram.com/lisa_sugarman linkedin: linkedin.com/in/lisa-sugarman-16925b69 amazon author page: www.amazon.com/stores/Lisa-Sugarman/author/B00JY0DY28?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true Timestamps: 03:52 Introduction and Welcome 04:50 Lisa's Background and Journey 05:17 Discovering the Truth About Her Father's Death 05:57 Impact of the Truth on Lisa's Life 06:34 Navigating Trauma and Changing Beliefs 17:18 Conversations with Her Mother 27:26 Finding Purpose and Advocacy 44:57 Spiritual Connection and Healing 49:31 Final Thoughts and Resources Sponsors of the Podcast: BetterHelp: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://betterhelp.com/ez10⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for 10% off your first month of therapy WeShape: https://weshape.postaffiliatepro.com/scripts/dcfogwyuk?a_aid=FurkhanDandia&a_bid=d7508fa8 for 35% all plans. Aura: https://aura.com/ez10 for a free two-week trial Plunge: https://plunge.com/ez Mint Mobile: ⁠https://trymintmobile.com/ez10⁠ for 15$ for an unlimited cell phone plan Mental: ⁠https://getmental.com/ez If you would like to support EZ Conversations, here are all the ways you can do that: Instagram⁠⁠:⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/eunoiazen⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://m.facebook.com/eunoiazen⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrqBp_zdRiIfBRV4wURSZ2A⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/furkhan-dandia-macp-mba-072a8a1ba/⁠ Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/EzConversations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Or find Furkhan's Book, Pursuit of Self Love: 30 Uplifting Messages and Reflections. The Kindle version is available on Amazon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.amazon.ca/Pursuit-Self-Love-Uplifting-Messages-Reflections-ebook/dp/B0C4D1XYL1⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to the EZ Reflections Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ez-reflections-newsletter.beehiiv.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices