Surviving Loss Our Journey of Hope Introduction
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[00:00:00] Hi folks. Thanks for joining us. You're listening to Surviving Loss, our Journey of Hope podcast. I'm Milton Dennis, mental health speaker, suicide prevention advocate and author. , our podcast will come to you on a regular basis. The podcast will come to you in two parts. The first part will be the survivor telling you about their story of loss.
They may be hard and it may be difficult to listen to, but it's a great thing to get this message out there so that we can hear that we're not alone and other people have lost someone and are dealing with similar situations that you are. The second part of the podcast will be their survivor telling their journey after the loss and how they've overcome some of the adversities that they faced, and how they continue to press on these podcasts will come to you raw and uncut.
[00:01:00] I don't want to edit the podcast and take out some of the ums and the ahs and the background noises that you'll hear at, at a, at a regular setting, um, because these are, these are just. Hard stories to talk about and I don't wanna mask the feelings, and I, I just, it, I think it's really important to let people know that they're not alone in their feelings as well.
I know I used to feel alone after. After the loss of my family members, and, uh, I did feel like I was alone. And mine started at the, at the young age of, uh, four years old, two months before my fifth birthday, I lost my father to suicide. And after that I was placed into a foster home in, in the foster home.
I had a stepbrother that, uh, at the age of 19, I lost him to. and just as I thought my life was starting [00:02:00] to, um, turn around and things were going to be a little bit different. In, in, um, uh, 2002, I lost my nephew to suicide. . And at that point, I, I partnered with my biological brother who I had really not spent much of my lifetime with.
And, um, we, we talked about always being there for each other and being together and, you know, always supporting each other so that, uh, you know, nothing like this happens in our family again. . And then in 2014 I was out fishing and I got a phone call to return back to the marina. And when I come back to the marina, um, I was told that my, my biological brother in July of 2014 had had died of suicide as well.
So, you know, these, these are. Difficult things to talk about. And, you know, I did feel alone and I felt like, [00:03:00] um, you know, almost, almost a level of embarrassment or shame to share my story. Uh, but then I started sharing my story and you know, that, uh, sharing my story unequivocally was one of the best things that I had ever done.
Um, not only. other people, but from my own mental wellbeing. Um, so I, I, I truly believe that, uh, this podcast is gonna be, um, I think it's gonna be a great benefit to many people out there that are struggling, uh, after a loss and, uh, you know, struggling with the, you know, the, um, the recovery part of it. You know, how do you recover from something like this?
What is your next day like? What do you. . Um, but you can get through it. Um, it's not easy. Uh, there's no part about this. It's easy. But, um, the biggest thing is to talk about it. Um, you know, to have some kind of an outlet that you can share your story [00:04:00] or, you know, have someone to support you through these struggle.
That's one of the reasons why I wanted to start these podcasts. And these podcasts are gonna be very unique. Um, I'm gonna have, uh, people, survivors of loss come in and share their stories and um, and like I said, it'll be in two parts. They'll share their story about their loss and they'll share their story about survival.
You know, the, the, the good thing is, is, you know, my story about survival is advocating, um, for suicide prevention. And I've taken it many steps further and beyond what I really ever thought it would be, um, by becoming part of a group, the Pulse task force in Cumberland Perry County. And then, uh, becoming, uh, certified by NAMI as a family group.
Facilit. And in addition to that, I, uh, started a 5 0 1 [00:05:00] called Cals Hope, um, to where I'll take donations, have events and, and um, you know, uh, you know, build the, uh, build the donations up to where I can provide scholarships to, uh, students, uh, seeking an education and public service and mental. and, um, I'll advertise it here later in one of the podcasts.
But the, uh, website cows hope, uh, you'll be able to go onto that. And there's many different things you can do on that website. You can not only, um, uh, uh, post a donation, but you can also, um, a apply for the scholarship. And in addition to that, you can. To be, uh, be on the podcast and share your story, um, and the many different other things that were going on.
Cow's Hope, uh, website is, um, you know, giving people an opportunity to ask questions. Uh, they'll ask questions that would, uh, pertain to subject matter experts. And [00:06:00] once I get enough of questions on that list, I'll host a subject matter expert here out of the Cumberland and Perry County, Pennsylvania. That will be an able to answer a lot of those questions that are asked on the website.
And, um, you know, that that will hopefully, um, give people a lot of great answers. But it's, uh, it's a, it's a little bit different than, um, uh, going to sit down talking to a therapist, you know, you can ask the questions just to get an idea of it. . But the, you know, the other thing is, uh, the subject matter experts will be able to discuss some of the resources that are available, uh, not only here in the Cumberland and Perry County PA area, but the resources that are available all over the place.
And there are many resources, um, you know, the new 9 88 number that come out as well as the, uh, continued 200 or 1-800-273-TALK. . If you or anybody you know is in, in need of speaking to someone, please encourage 'em to, uh, to dial those numbers. Um, the [00:07:00] last thing we want is to lose anybody else to suicide.
Um, be because it's, it, it is difficult. It's difficult to deal with. Um, so you know, these podcasts, uh, you know, as, as people come on to do the podcast with me, uh, one unique thing that we're going to do is each podcast will be dedicated to someone that we've lost to. So again, you'll have an opportunity on the website to post someone that you lost to suicide and you'll be able to post a small reflection, um, about the person.
So every time I do a podcast, I will dedicate it to someone that we've lost to suicide. . But I think, uh, you know, some of the great things that we're gonna get out of this is, is hearing the differences of each story, the differences of how each person is surviving, you know, what their coping mechanisms are, what their mindset is, what their level of resilience is, how they're building that resilience so that they can keep pressing on.
There, there's, [00:08:00] there's nothing been more important to me than to have the opportunity to keep pressing on and, and, and move through this. And, you know, I'm clearly not saying Get over it. You will never get over it. You will always be a survivor of loss, but that's the key thing. Being a survivor of loss.
Um, and you can take that to many different levels and you can, uh, you can provide good resources for other people by sharing your story. So I, I think there's, I think there's a lot of great things to come with this. . You know, one of the questions that I get asked a lot, uh, from other people is if I have ever been to therapy, and yes, I have.
And me, like many of you out there, um, I thought, I thought about, uh, therapy, probably the same way most of you do is, you know, what did they know about? How do they know how I feel they've never spent a moment of, uh, of pain like I'm feeling right now. [00:09:00] Um, but I can assure you, um, these subject matter expert, these professionals, they've dedicated their life to.
To helping people like you and I and, uh, I strongly encourage you to speak to someone. Um, get to know them, uh, so they can get to know you. As you share your feelings and your thoughts and uh, and your struggles and what you're going through, uh, they can put a great plan together that can help you.
Through your struggles and through through your future. I still today use a lot of the tools that I have, I have been given in the past. And some of those tools I think are some of the biggest things, um, that I really enjoy working with actually, um, when we're talking about mindset and resilience and coping skills.
And one of the biggest things that I, uh, that I work on here, that I am working on here lately is, uh, forgiving what you can't forget. And that's one of the things. Um, [00:10:00] uh, Don't know how to put it in short words because it's a, it's a really deep subject. But, um, you know, forgiving what you can't forget has a lot of, uh, a lot of impact to it, and it means a lot more than what you think about.
Um, it, it, forgiving what you can't forget does not mean mending a relationship or making things better. Um, it's about, uh, it's about protecting yourself. Showing up, taking ownership and accountability for yourself and, uh, building your own resilience, uh, building your own levels of coping skills. So there's a lot of great things that can come out of some of the, the coaching you can get out of a, out of a support group.
or, you know, through a subject matter expert or, you know, a counseling session. So I strongly encourage you to do that. And, and again, if you or anyone you know is struggling, uh, please feel free to pick up the phone. Dial nine eight eight or 1-800-273-TALK [00:11:00] and, and just have that conversation. Get that help.
It could, it could definitely save a life. Save your life. So stay tuned for our upcoming podcast. Um, we'll, we'll have many podcasts coming out, rolling out your way and, uh, again, I will, I will post the website on the podcast that you can go on and, uh, make your dedication to. There's also a hero wall.
Where you can, um, send pictures of someone, uh, who who is your hero. Um, and, and we can, um, we can talk about that a little bit later. But, uh, if anyone has any questions, you can feel free to hit contact@miltondentist.com and send me a message and I'll be able to answer any questions that you might have.
stay tuned. I'll be getting back to you shortly with some great podcasts and, uh, take care of yourselves and each other and I wish you all the best and I look forward to hearing from you. [00:12:00] [00:13:00]