Suicide Zen Forgiveness

Allyson Byers is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT #135025) in Los Angeles, CA under the supervision of Pam Shaffer (LMFT #91321). She specializes in grief and loss, chronic illness and pain, and trauma. She is also passionate about working with individuals with depression and/or suicidal ideation. As a queer therapist who has chronic illnesses, she draws from both her professional and lived experiences. Instagram Allyson Byers, AMFT #135025 (She/her) e:...

It was March 20th, 1976. It was about two o'clock in the morning. It was really, really horrifically cold and we were still counting our cold and Fahrenheit Back then, it was that kind of weird foggy, you get in the middle of winter, painfully cold, even the fog feels frozen on your skin. It was now Saturday morning Asleep at home, just after midnight, the phone rang. It was someone we knew. He'd been picked up by the police for drinking and driving. There was a time, I guess an awful lot...

Every Woman Counts An initiative in Support of The Royal Ottawa #IWW2023 Thursday evening was my first event as the face of the Suicide Zen Forgiveness Podcast. My quick intro includes - I am not only the host, I am some of the stories therein. I only found out about the event on Monday at another #IWW event, with Sonya Shorey, Vice President of Marketing and Communications with Invest Ottawa and Bayview Yards. It was actually Michael Tremblay, the President and CEO who mentioned the...

My guest, Patrick Chester is a 51 years old husband, and father of two boys. Patrick spent 15 years living in the darkness that is gambling addiction. Patrick is a graduate of the University of Washington, who eventually went on to work for himself as a general contractor. Patrick spent many years building a solid reputation, and was widely respected as a business owner and professional. He threw it all away as his sports gambling addiction took over his life. Everything took a back seat...

Michele Bell | The Grief Warrior® "The creative world is as much a part of my life, and the mental wellness community equally so. My sacred tools bridge these two industries by transforming how we support artists." -Michele Bell Michele is an award-winning screenplay writer, storyteller, and survivor. She is a recovering grieving mother with an extraordinary eye for truth and the wisdom of gifted DISCERNMENT. With her insight and agility, Michele has the power to cut through life's...

Lois Koffi is a transformational speaker/ trainer/ coach/ Ironman Triathlete that has coached thousands of people in business and healthy lifestyles since the year 2000. She has seen so so many people focus on the external DOING of goal setting, new year's resolutions and intention setting and realized that most of our success lies WITHIN. She has had her own awakening journey of working through addictive behaviors, depression/anxiety and struggles as well as many victories and...

Break the Cycle of Despair Joan Baez--: “Action is the antidote to despair.” So this is my taking action to break the Cycle of despair as I see it.. Within my own mind. Hope is defined as a feeling of expectation and desire about a result. Hm. Interesting. And, despair is defined as the lack of hope, or lack of such a feeling of expectation and desire about a result. I want to understand and map a way out of despair.. It seems for some of us.. Despair and its opposite hope are the...

Earnest R. James is a family man, father, and friend, with a heart for people. As a minister, mentor, and speaker, Earnest has dedicated his life to inspiring and uplifting others. His mission is to help others deal, heal and fulfill. “Deal with your problems. Heal from your pain. Fulfill your purpose.” He spreads a message of hope and healing wherever he goes. He believes that, “We must heal ourselves. When we heal ourselves, we heal our families. Our families heal our communities. Our...

Meet Derick Fage Derick is the host of Daytime Ottawa on Rogers TV and you can often hear him on CityNews Ottawa discussing local, provincial and national issues. Over his 18-year television career, Derick has demonstrated an amazing ability to connect with people, young and old. Derick is authentic and isn’t afraid to be vulnerable, which is something guests and viewers have grown to appreciate over the years. In 2012, Derick was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his...

Andy Grant has been helping people for over a decade as a best-selling author, award-winning speaker, Transformational Energy Coach, Healer, suicide prevention activist, and host of the Real Men Feel podcast. He holds certificates in Positive Psychology, the Enwaken Coaching System, Akashic Records, Life Activation, and other leadership programs and energy work modalities. Known as the King of Authenticity, Andy is the founder of Real Men Feel, a movement encouraging men to come out of...

Katie Thornton MSW, LCSW My guest is Katie Thornton, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and EMDR trained therapist, licensed in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Maine, North Dakota, Texas, Nevada, and Wyoming. Katie has extensive experience working with individuals, families, and groups through a variety of challenging circumstances. Katie believes that change happens when people are given the support they need to draw on their strengths and realize their potential to live...

I'm thrilled to begin the new season with my amazing guest, Coach Nathaniel J Brown. From childhood I was always curious. Taking the time to disassemble things for the sake of seeing how they work, and questioning things that didn't quite add up. But, at the age of 8 something happened that silenced me and for nearly 3 decades. I was sexually molested. The fallout from that trauma had taken its toll on my entire world. I battled with PTSD, night terrors, mis-identity, inferiority, anger,...

This episode is a little different... With this being the Holiday Season 2022, I want to talk a little about some of the holidays that happen this December. We are taking a hiatus until the 10th of January so this is the final show of season 3... I’m going to mention a few of the holidays coming up..with a little info on each of them. Dec 18th Hannukah began Dec 18th this year and continues for 8 nights until de 26th The Jewish Festival of Rededication, also called the Festival of...

My guest today is Michelle Gil An author and speaker normalizing conversations about grief and loss, mental health advocacy and disability awareness. Her upcoming memoir, Don't Tell Me to Get Over It: A Father's Love, A Daughter's Grief comes out in ebook form soon. When she's not writing, she's trying new recipes from around the world, holding space for those who are hurting, and trying to convince her two cats, who think they're Egyptian gods, that they've already been fed. Michelle A....

In this episode we discuss the difficulty and the emotional toll on the family and those suffering with mental illness and other issues. My guest, Cindy watson, is an amazing powerhouse, committed to social justice for all. She walks her walk and believes that justice starts with family. Cindy Watson is a highly sought after international speaker, and TEDx Ocala speaker, known for her passion, commitment, deep caring and ability to inspire. Cindy has been called the female Tony Robbins of...

In today's episode we discuss losing a parent as an adult.. And the pain and guilt it can cause.. even though its not your fault. Learning how to go forward. Cynthia Shelton Youthful Aging Advocate CEO at Vibrant Living Former Director, Career & Technical Education at Oak Harbor School District Former Director Applied Learning at Shoreline School District Former Director Vocational Eduction at Federal Way School District Former Executive Director at Private Initiatives in Public...

This episode is about delving into my self-limiting beliefs and finally finding the root of a really huge one…Being locked away. I always thought you could get locked up for your weirdness or negative thoughts... I unravel the story of that belief and mourn the consequences of the actions of society back in the 60s and 70s. My friend Michel was one such casualty. In this episode I discuss the Rideau Regional Centre,known to me as the Rideau regional Hospital School: located in Smiths Falls,...

Lisa Sugarman is a mom, a parenting author, a nationally syndicated humor columnist, and a podcast host, creating content that helps empower parents, especially moms, by giving them permission to embrace their perfectly imperfectness. She’s also a survivor of suicide loss, losing her father at age ten, an advocate for suicide awareness & prevention, and a member and ally of the LGBTQIA+ community. Lisa writes the syndicated opinion column It Is What It Is and is the author of How To Raise...

Carling is an event planner by trade, step mom to two kids, fur mom to five dogs, and aunty extraordinaire! Carling followed the straight agenda for most of her young life and accidentally married a man (possibly the worst one) before leaving and living life as her truly authentically self. Podcast: https://www.ididnotsignupforthis.ca/ https://www.instagram.com/ididnotsignupforthis.podcast

I find that all of us have a single emotion which is our fall back. I realize this sounds odd but hear me out. In any given day one can run through the gamut of emotions. I find I seem to always gravitate to one emotion: NOT that the particular emotion actually fits the scenario it just seems to be the comfort zone of emotion. for many many years that emotion was anger. It wasn't always appropriate. in fact, probably most of the time, 'anger' was not the emotion that fir the scenario. It...