Before You Kill Yourself: a suicide prevention podcast.

What happens when you stop waiting for certainty and simply decide to stay long enough to see what happens next? In this episode, we explore the life-saving shift from passive survival to curiosity, and why tiny reasons to keep going can be more powerful than grand purposes.Key Points:Moving from survival mode to curiosity about the futureWhy you don't need certainty to choose lifeThe difference between hope and curiosityHow depression steals anticipation and possibilityThe power of small reasons to stay aliveLiving for questions instead of answersFinding meaning in what might happen nextThrive With Leo Coaching: If you want to reduce your psychological pain, regain your purpose and forge your own path, go to www.thrivewithleo.com to begin your journey.If you or anyone you know is considering suicide or self-harm, or is anxious, depressed, upset, or needs to talk, there are people who want to help:In the US: Crisis Text Line: Text CRISIS to 741741 for free, confidential crisis counseling. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 or 988The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386Outside the US:International Association for Suicide Prevention lists a number of suicide hotlines by country. Click here to find them.Gambling Addiction: 1-800-GAMBLER

In this episode, I explore philosopher Rivka Weinberg’s (author of "The Meaning of It All: Ultimate Meaning, Everyday Meaning, Cosmic Meaning, Death, and Time") ideas about meaning, purpose, time, and suffering—and how they can offer a different way to think about staying alive during our darkest moments.We often search for one ultimate answer to why we exist, but meaning may not be something we discover. It may be something we create through what we value, who we love, and what we choose to commit ourselves to.In this conversation, we explore:The difference between personal meaning, cosmic meaning, and ultimate meaningWhy life does not need an ultimate purpose to be meaningfulHow relationships, creativity, spirituality, and service create meaningWhy chasing trends and constant novelty can leave us feeling disconnectedHow time—not just death—gives urgency and significance to our choicesWhy "living in the moment" does not mean ignoring the futureHow suffering is often connected to the things we care about mostWhy a meaningful life is not a pain-free lifeHow finding even one reason to continue can become the foundation for rebuilding a lifeThrive With Leo Coaching: If you want to reduce your psychological pain, regain your purpose and forge your own path, go to www.thrivewithleo.com to begin your journey.If you or anyone you know is considering suicide or self-harm, or is anxious, depressed, upset, or needs to talk, there are people who want to help:In the US: Crisis Text Line: Text CRISIS to 741741 for free, confidential crisis counseling. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 or 988The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386Outside the US:International Association for Suicide Prevention lists a number of suicide hotlines by country. Click here to find them.Gambling Addiction: 1-800-GAMBLER

What if connection doesn't always require disclosure? In this episode of Before You Kill Yourself Podcast, Leo Flowers explores what Halloween, masks, and shared experiences might teach us about loneliness and suicide prevention. From concerts and comedy shows to walking groups and low-pressure dinners, we consider how people can belong without having to explain what they're going through.In this episode:Why you might want company without wanting to talk about your problemsHow masks and shared rituals can create a sense of belongingThe difference between participating in life and pretending you're okayHow to create low-pressure opportunities for connection throughout the yearWhy belonging shouldn't require you to perform happinessWhat social connection can contribute to suicide prevention — and what the research doesn't yet establishIf you want to reduce your psychological pain, regain your purpose and forge your own path, go to www.thrivewithleo.com to begin your journey.If you or anyone you know is considering suicide or self-harm, or is anxious, depressed, upset, or needs to talk, there are people who want to help:In the US: Crisis Text Line: Text CRISIS to 741741 for free, confidential crisis counseling. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 or 988The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386Outside the US:International Association for Suicide Prevention lists a number of suicide hotlines by country. Click here to find them.Gambling Addiction: 1-800-GAMBLER

We spend so much time trying to get ourselves "in tune" through therapy, meditation, sobriety, exercise, and self-improvement. But what if feeling better isn't just about tuning ourselves? Inspired by a scene from a movie about piano tuning, this episode explores the difference between being in tune and being in harmony. Sometimes the problem isn't that we're broken or out of tune—it's that we're disconnected from the people, places, communities, and purposes that help us feel like we belong.In this episode, we discuss:• Why being healthy and feeling connected are not always the same thing• The difference between self-improvement and meaningful connection• How loneliness can persist even when you're doing all the "right" things• The ancient idea of harmony and what it can teach us about mental health• Why purpose, relationships, and community are essential to suicide prevention• Questions to help you discover what—or who—you want to be in harmony withThrive With Leo Coaching: If you want to reduce your psychological pain, regain your purpose and forge your own path, go to www.thrivewithleo.com to begin your journey.If you or anyone you know is considering suicide or self-harm, or is anxious, depressed, upset, or needs to talk, there are people who want to help:In the US: Crisis Text Line: Text CRISIS to 741741 for free, confidential crisis counseling. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 or 988The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386Outside the US:International Association for Suicide Prevention lists a number of suicide hotlines by country. Click here to find them.Gambling Addiction: 1-800-GAMBLER

Nightmares can leave us feeling anxious, exhausted, and alone—but they may also be our mind's attempt to process fear, grief, uncertainty, and unresolved emotions. In this episode, we explore how nightmares affect our mental health, why they matter for suicide prevention, and practical tools for reducing their power.In this episode, you'll learn:Why nightmares are linked to emotional distress and suicide riskHow sleep deprivation impacts mood, hope, and resilienceThe surprising history of dream-sharing across culturesHow keeping a dream journal can help process difficult emotionsWhy talking about nightmares with others can reduce their intensityHow Imagery Rehearsal Therapy can help rewrite recurring nightmaresSimple bedtime practices to influence healthier dream experiencesThrive With Leo Coaching: If you want to reduce your psychological pain, regain your purpose and forge your own path, go to www.thrivewithleo.com to begin your journey.If you or anyone you know is considering suicide or self-harm, or is anxious, depressed, upset, or needs to talk, there are people who want to help:In the US: Crisis Text Line: Text CRISIS to 741741 for free, confidential crisis counseling. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 or 988The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386Outside the US:International Association for Suicide Prevention lists a number of suicide hotlines by country. Click here to find them.Gambling Addiction: 1-800-GAMBLER

A simple sentence may be one of the most powerful ways to make someone feel seen: "If it weren't for you..." Drawing from Jennifer Wallace's The Science of Mattering, this episode explores our deep need to know that we matter, why gratitude isn't always enough, and how sharing the impact someone has had on your life can transform both of you.Topics include:The difference between gratitude and matteringWhy humans need significance more than happinessThe "Five People" exerciseWhy we avoid telling people they changed our livesHow moments of mattering suspend timeThe people who may never know the impact they've had on usThrive With Leo Coaching: If you want to reduce your psychological pain, regain your purpose and forge your own path, go to www.thrivewithleo.com to begin your journey.If you or anyone you know is considering suicide or self-harm, or is anxious, depressed, upset, or needs to talk, there are people who want to help:In the US: Crisis Text Line: Text CRISIS to 741741 for free, confidential crisis counseling. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 or 988The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386Outside the US:International Association for Suicide Prevention lists a number of suicide hotlines by country. Click here to find them.Gambling Addiction: 1-800-GAMBLER

In this episode, we explore one of the most haunting lines from Kurt Cobain’s suicide note: “Why don’t you just enjoy it?” and the devastating response: “I don’t know.” We unpack why human beings struggle to feel joy through the lenses of neuroscience, psychology, evolution, trauma, addiction, overstimulation, and modern culture. From dopamine and cortisol to loneliness, achievement addiction, and the pressure to perform happiness, this episode examines why so many people feel disconnected from their own lives — and what history, philosophy, pop culture, and human connection reveal about truly feeling alive.Topics include:Why the brain adapts to pleasure and noveltyThe difference between stimulation and fulfillmentTrauma, stress, and the nervous system’s impact on joyEvolutionary reasons humans struggle with contentmentWhy modern life can make us spectators instead of participantsThe role of relationships, meaning, awe, and shared strugglePop culture references from Nirvana to Black Mirror to Ted LassoHow to reconnect with ordinary moments and meaningful experiencesWhat we might say to someone who can’t “just enjoy it”Thrive With Leo Coaching: If you want to reduce your psychological pain, regain your purpose and forge your own path, go to www.thrivewithleo.com to begin your journey.If you or anyone you know is considering suicide or self-harm, or is anxious, depressed, upset, or needs to talk, there are people who want to help:In the US: Crisis Text Line: Text CRISIS to 741741 for free, confidential crisis counseling. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 or 988The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386Outside the US:International Association for Suicide Prevention lists a number of suicide hotlines by country. Click here to find them.Gambling Addiction: 1-800-GAMBLER

In this episode, we explore the idea that meaning often comes after action. Inspired by a lyric from Robyn’s new album Sexistential, we unpack the difference between therapy, philosophy, poetry, and relationships — and why artists, rappers, writers, and improvisers often don’t fully understand what they’re creating until after it’s made.We discuss why overthinking can block transformation, how freestyle rap reveals unconscious truth, and why some of life’s deepest insights can only be discovered through participation rather than analysis.Topics include:Therapy vs existential sufferingWhy philosophy answers different questions than psychologyFreestyling, flow states, and unconscious creativityCarl Jung, Sartre, Kierkegaard, and existentialismWhy meaning is often retrospectiveThe danger of waiting for certainty before taking actionRelationships as the ultimate test of self-awareness“You live your way into new thoughts”Thrive With Leo Coaching: If you want to reduce your psychological pain, regain your purpose and forge your own path, go to www.thrivewithleo.com to begin your journey.If you or anyone you know is considering suicide or self-harm, or is anxious, depressed, upset, or needs to talk, there are people who want to help:In the US: Crisis Text Line: Text CRISIS to 741741 for free, confidential crisis counseling. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 or 988The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386Outside the US:International Association for Suicide Prevention lists a number of suicide hotlines by country. Click here to find them.Gambling Addiction: 1-800-GAMBLER

In this episode, we explore why mystery isn’t something to eliminate from life — it may be the very thing that keeps us moving, connecting, hoping, and growing. Beginning with a two-year mystery involving peanut shells appearing outside a house, the conversation expands into relationships, neuroscience, detective stories, fear, curiosity, and the courage to enter the unknown.Topics include:Why humans are drawn to mysteries, whodunits, crosswords, and haunted housesThe psychology of curiosity and how uncertainty activates the brainWhy new relationships feel electric and emotionally aliveThe difference between healthy mystery and painful uncertaintyHow “let’s find out” can become a philosophy for livingWhy certainty can sometimes lead to boredom, paralysis, or emotional deadnessReflections on rejection, risk-taking, creativity, science, and wonderThe idea that hope only exists when the future remains unwrittenMysteries(Listen) Mistletoe Murders: https://shorturl.at/qftcN(Read) Fresh Water For Flowers: https://shorturl.at/mcjtL(Watch) Chestnut Man: https://shorturl.at/R5qxKThrive With Leo Coaching: If you want to reduce your psychological pain, regain your purpose and forge your own path, go to www.thrivewithleo.com to begin your journey.If you or anyone you know is considering suicide or self-harm, or is anxious, depressed, upset, or needs to talk, there are people who want to help:In the US: Crisis Text Line: Text CRISIS to 741741 for free, confidential crisis counseling. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 or 988The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386Outside the US:International Association for Suicide Prevention lists a number of suicide hotlines by country. Click here to find them.

How do we cope with the mental, emotional and physical pain? Survivors of lightning strikes and electrical shocks have lessons for us.Key coping mechanisms: salt packetssaunamassagegroup therapymindset shiftThrive With Leo Coaching: If you want to reduce your psychological pain, regain your purpose and forge your own path, go to www.thrivewithleo.com to begin your journey.If you or anyone you know is considering suicide or self-harm, or is anxious, depressed, upset, or needs to talk, there are people who want to help:In the US: Crisis Text Line: Text CRISIS to 741741 for free, confidential crisis counseling. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 or 988The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386Outside the US:International Association for Suicide Prevention lists a number of suicide hotlines by country. Click here to find them.Gambling Addiction: 1-800-GAMBLER