Guts, Grit & The Grind of Being a Man Episode 206, October 6, 2020
Psychologist, speaker, entrepreneur, and suicide loss survivor, Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas, joins us to discuss the problems most men face at some point and what we can all do to keep men alive.
“We have far more connection in our humanity than we have differences.” ~ Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas
Dr. Sally speaks of her life long comfort around men, and the loss of her brother, Carson, to suicide. She and Andy discuss the impact of labels, prejudicial language, the fears it can trigger, and the stigma around mental health and what can decrease it.
Sally shares what’s working well in suicide prevention, what needs more support, and the pandemic’s overall impact on mental health. We need to broaden the framework in suicide prevention to move away from a fear-based approach. Only by including policy, advocacy, human rights, social justice, economics, workplace, peer support, storytelling, and spirituality will we see suicide rates decline.
We explore what you can do to help the men in your life who are struggling, as well as self-care, ManTherapy.org, and the men’s mental health book series, Guts, Grit & The Grind.
Grab the Real Men Feel Guide to Friendship for a list of places you can meet more male friends and get on the Real Men Feel weekly newsletter.
Highlights Include:
- (3:37) Sally’s disclaimer: “I am not a man.”
- (4:28) Do you get flack for speaking up for men’s mental health?
- (6:55) How did you get here? What pulled you into suicide prevention work?
- (15:25) What research on stigma shows.
- (16:30) In the realm of suicide prevention, what’s working well?
- (20:09) What sort of impact on mental health do you see from the pandemic?
- (27:41) How do you maintain your mental, emotional, and spiritual health while working on such heavy subject matter as suicide?
- (29:30) What aspect of suicide prevention needs more support?
- (35:24) What are common drivers to despair?
- (40:58) Storytelling and the men’s mental health book series called: Guts, Grit and The Grind
- (47:16) What are things that people can do to help men that appear to be struggling?
- (50:51) Tell me a bit about ManTherapy.org
- (52:30) What’s the best way to learn what you are up to?
“After losing a brother to suicide, I don’t want anyone to die in isolation and despair.” ~ Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas
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Listen here:
Learn more about Sally at SallySpencerThomas.com. Connect with Sally on Facebook, LinkedIn & Instagram. Visit WorkplaceSuicidePrevention.org and take the pledge.
Check out the books, Guts, Grit & The Grind, plus other mentioned title An Unquiet Mind.
Explore ManTherapy,org.
Need to talk about getting out of your own way? Visit TheAndyGrant.com/talk.
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