(With AI assistance:) *Content Warning*:

This episode contains open and honest conversations about suicide, grief, and mental health. While we aim to support awareness and healing, some content may be triggering for listeners. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out to a mental health professional or call a local support line. In the U.S., the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available at 988. You are not alone.

In this raw and courageous conversation, I sit down with Thomas Brown—artist, mental health advocate, and founder of RisePhoenix.org—to explore one of the most difficult, personal, and often stigmatized topics: suicide. What emerges is not just a discussion about pain and loss, but a heartfelt journey into awareness, integration, and the deep work of healing through mindfulness, art, and presence.

Thomas shares his own lived experience with suicide—not in abstract or clinical terms, but from the real place where inner crisis meets the human need for connection. With deep honesty, we discuss what it means to show up for ourselves and others in moments of despair, and how acknowledging the full spectrum of the human experience can open a path toward wholeness.

We unpack how our culture often avoids the difficult conversations—especially around mental health—and how platforms like his Inner Monologue podcast aim to give voice to what’s often kept in silence. Thomas speaks about the delicate balance of showing up publicly in these conversations while protecting the sacredness of what cannot always be put into words.

Throughout the episode, we explore:

• The difference between talking about suicide and integrating the experience
• How to sit with heavy emotions without judgment
• The importance of reclaiming language around grief, healing, and inner awareness
• Using art, creativity, and solitude as therapeutic practices
• Recognizing our own "warning signs" with compassion rather than shame
• The spiritual and existential layers beneath mental health narratives
• How community, even a quiet one, can support lasting integration

We also touch on the significance of contemplative spaces like the desert, and how slowing down can allow us to hear the truths that often go unnoticed. Thomas reflects on what it means to “follow your bliss” not as escapism, but as deep attunement to your own inner world.

This episode isn’t a how-to guide or a set of neat answers. Instead, it’s a living, breathing exchange about what happens when you face the darkest moments of life and decide to stay—to listen, to heal, and to help others do the same.

http://www.risephoenix.org

https://www.tiktok.com/@rise_phx

https://www.facebook.com/risephoenix2012

https://www.instagram.com/_rise_philosophy

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

(Ai assist:) In this conversation, Phyllis Levitt, a psychotherapist with over 30 years of experience, discusses her book 'America in Therapy' and the importance of collective mental health in addressing societal issues. She explores the impact of childhood trauma, the dynamics of family systems, and the role of therapy in healing both individuals and communities. Levitt emphasizes the need for multi-level interventions to address the roots of violence and dysfunction in society, advocating for education on mental health and the importance of love and belonging in fostering healthy relationships.

00:00 Introduction to Phyllis Levitt and Her Work

03:06 The Impact of Childhood Trauma on Adult Life

06:04 Understanding Family Systems and Community Dynamics

08:45 The Role of Symptom Bearers in Society

12:00 Addressing Psychopathy and Perpetrators in Power

15:01 The Need for Psychological Education

17:57 Multi-Level Interventions for Healing America

20:57 The Core Issue: Injury to Love and Belonging

24:04 Understanding Love and Belonging in Families

28:49 Navigating Judgment and Discernment

36:05 The Impact of Media on Family Dynamics

45:34 Self-Responsibility and Healing

Takeaways:

• Phyllis Levitt emphasizes the importance of collective mental health in societal healing.
• Childhood trauma significantly impacts adult behavior and relationships.
• Family systems theory can help understand societal dynamics and dysfunction.
• Therapy serves as a crucial tool for healing individual and collective trauma.
• Identifying symptom bearers in society can reveal underlying issues.
• Psychopathy and power dynamics complicate societal healing efforts.
• Multi-level interventions are necessary for effective change.
• Injury to love and belonging is a core issue in human dysfunction.
• Healthy relationships are built on love, acceptance, and support.
• Discernment is essential in navigating judgment and compassion.

https://www.phyllisleavitt.com

https://www.facebook.com/phyllis.leavitt

https://www.twitter.com/PhyllisLeavitt2

https://www.youtube.com/@phyllisleavittpodcasts1053

https://www.instagram.com/phyllis_e_leavitt

https://www.linkedin.com/in/phyllis-leavitt-630179255

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.