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: lisasugarman@hotmail.com

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
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• 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:

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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

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Furkhan Dandia Therapist and Coach

I am a men's coach, therapist, group facilitator, podcaster and author. My journey began five years ago when I was going through a separation. I found myself alone and in a shame spiral that our culture and society covertly exert on people due to the perceived "failure" of a marriage. Unfortunately, I personalized that message which led me to fall deeper into a hole, causing me to surround myself with people that did not serve me and engage in substance abuse. While seeking therapy, I was not making the wholesale changes I needed.

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I thought I was giving something back when I started the men's group. However, I quickly realized I was getting substantially more from the connections I built than I initially anticipated. It was also something I needed because I was going through another breakup.

At that point, I also realized that I had not taken the time to heal, and I was outsourcing my healing through romantic relationships, substances, material acquisitions and superficial relationships. I decided to step away from the outgoing lifestyle and started to focus on my healing which was another phase of evolution for me on my journey. Over the last year and a half, I have become mindful of the people I spend my time with. I have cleaned my lifestyle of substances, toxic environments and behaviours. I have focused on my sleep, my health and my knowledge. I have improved my spiritual relationship with myself, which was lacking the most over the past five years. This is the best I have felt.

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