Suicide Prevention Sat - Are you lonely?

This is my week for— oh, there it is! Ta-da! Um, sorry, I get all excited. Yeah, I've been having lots and lots of internet issues. So voilà, just like that. This is going to be the weirdest thing because normally I say, hey DJ, because you're the first one to comment. But to be fair, uh, Gun Websites already, uh, commented like 9 minutes ago. Um, and that little beep makes me realize I gotta put my, uh, phone on mute. And since only the replay viewers can watch this part, you know, um, they can fast forward. All right, so hi everybody. My phantom guest over here, DJ, is, uh, helping me and he's gonna help like grab comments and stuff as we all go. So welcome everyone, Saturday night, right? Yeah, Saturday night. So this is Suicide Prevention Saturday. And my name is Brooke Cheney, and I'm not at a Great Start Shooting School today because we have no power at home. So some— a quick shout out to Creative Electric for giving me a place to do our broadcast tonight. I have been online many, many, many hours this weekend. Um, hey MK Joe! Um, it's so weird, I'm on a laptop, so everything's so tiny, so This is gonna be weird. Um, so let's see, Suicide Friends is Saturday because 2 out of every 3 gun deaths you hear about, gun violence, are suicides. If we really want to save lives, we need to talk about suicide on a regular basis. Um, and that's kind of it. So tonight, are you lonely? It's a Friday night. Some people are home lonely, some people are out and lonely. It is interesting how you don't have to be alone to feel lonely. So with that, um, DJ, just say hi to everybody.

Hello everybody.

Because DJ actually has a DJ voice, so you know, I figure everyone should be able to get to hear that at least a little bit. Um, so where are we? So yeah, this is the normal 15-minute kind of short, we're just going to talk about stuff, and tonight is Are You Lonely? Uh, this was inspired because someone had posted, what do you do when you feel lonely? And my answer was, I call people. Because a lot of us are lonely, especially over the last 2 years, because we do not have the connection that we once had because so many people have been in lockdown and sequestered and away from each other. We've missed lots of social gatherings, and we haven't been going to— GW just hates 9mm. 9mm is the loneliest metric. Yes. Um, at least we know how you feel about 9mm. Hey, Gunpowder Beauty. Oh my gosh, I can speak, I swear. Um, so yeah, so loneliness, it's hard. Everybody feels it. Well, not everyone, Many people feel it all the time. Very few people actually will admit to the fact that they are lonely. I also know that you can be lonely in the middle of 100 people. Just 'cause you're with people does not mean you're feeling connection. So when you are lonely, what are some of the things you can do? Call someone. My favorite thing is pick up my phone, open up my address book, And just pick a number. It doesn't have to be any specific number because loneliness is generally losing that feeling of connection and not feeling as though there's anyone there. I know when I was a teen long ago in the '80s of 1900s, um, that I felt very alone, even though people— I had friends, even though people would talk to me, I didn't feel like I was connected to anyone. I felt more like I was a sounding box for people to talk to, and I didn't, didn't have that, ooh, everyone's here because they want to hang out and talk with me. So when I was suicidal, I was very lonely, even though I had friends. One of the things that you will find in suicides is that people are always most surprised at the Robin Williams of the world, someone who looks like they're happy, someone who has hundreds, thousands, millions of fans, and yet you're still empty. And the other ones are like the cheerleader squad, the, you know, the jock who's the captain of the football team, high honors, has everything going for him. And then the next thing you hear about is they are no longer with us. So loneliness comes to everyone. It's not about being around people. It's not about being popular. God knows I've known some really popular people in the world and they are very lonely. So loneliness is not something that really honestly has anything to do with your surroundings. You could have hundreds of people around you and still be lonely. Um, so that's kind of it. Know that you're not alone if you're feeling lonely. Uh, this was part of the conversation we had on Wednesday about believing in God or believing in spirituality or, um, uh, what do you call it? Or any of those things. All right, DJ, you got to put that comment up so I can laugh at it and explain to people why I'm laughing at it. So the folks at 555-1212 and 411- one get tired of my calls. So yeah, when I say reach out to someone, ideally reach out to someone you know, because the other part I put in that was that if I'm feeling lonely, I will reach out to someone because you don't know when someone is feeling lonely. One of the challenges of being at a funeral, listening to people talk, when it's a funeral of someone who's died by suicide. I'm still working on my nomenclature here, so I have to think hard. So many people say, why didn't they reach out? Why didn't they call me? I was here for them. And the truth of the matter is, no, you were not. You need to reach out to someone who is in crisis. And guess what? 90% of the time, you are not going to know who that person is who is in crisis, because they're going to look like Robin Williams. They're going to look like the cheerleader Squad. They're gonna look like the jock who's got everything. They're gonna look like the most successful person out there. They need help too. So that's what I got for this Friday evening on March 12th. DJ, did you watch any of Wednesday's show with, um, with Jake?

Yes, ma'am, I did.

All right. So we talked about lots of things. What was your favorite thing? I'm going to put you on the spot.

Well, what I appreciated most was the professional perspective. Um, the observations, many of them, uh, that he made clicked with me from some of my own professional experience working in a group home, developing, uh, behavior programs and dealing with grief issues. Um, those kinds of things. That was a pretty common thing. For me to help my guys, as I call them, with. So observations that he was making from more, yeah, from more the practical and professional standpoint are the things that I keyed in on most. Other than that, there were plenty of great things. Shall I link that for the folks in the chat tonight?

Yeah, I was actually going to suggest that since you're my technical advisor. That would be awesome. For those of you who don't know, on Wednesday, I did a full-hour session here with Jake from Walk the Talk America. And he is a clinical therapist, licensed and all that fun stuff. And while DJ is grabbing that link, I'm going to throw up Gunpowder Beauty's thing. Never alone, but always lonely is a rough feeling for most people these days. Yeah, because this, whether you're on Facebook, YouTube, or however you're connecting, our social media seems to give us this crazy idea that we're connecting. Because someone clicked on something and said, ooh, look, there's a heart. Ooh, look, there's a like. And that's supposed to give us connection. We are definitely missing that a lot. I know that, I don't know, it's like social media is supposed to make us feel connected because here we are all over the country and we are connected. But in actuality, there's not a lot of actual connecting that's happening as far as um, that sort of stuff goes. And I'm clicking on the wrong thing to take that back out. So, and, and Gunpowder Beauty is commenting, with or without sleep, I am not sure right now, because she has a newborn. And the fact that she's online, I'm hoping or assuming that the newborn is sleeping and she actually has some peace, because those first couple weeks, I don't remember getting any sleep. So, and congratulations, and I hope you got all your diapers. So sorry. So my friend Barbecue, who's not here, he's probably sleeping. No, he's not sleeping. Um, you did a fun— how do I call it— a fundraiser for Gunpowder Beauty and getting a bunch of diapers to her. So that's why I was talking about her diapers, not that, you know, a new mom wouldn't know to have diapers. All right, Mr. Gary, what you got? Oops, sorry, I think I hit that the same time DJ did. All right, I'm gonna stop touching things, DJ, I promise. All right, been an empty nester for 9 years except for my cat George. Social media has allowed me to make friends that I would never have before. Yes, so social media is not all bad. Um, goodness knows DJ would not be here if it weren't for social media. I would have no idea who DJ was, or gun websites, or, um, who else? Uh, barbecue, I think I said that. I don't even know. And it is really cool how it can connect people and it can be helpful. It's also horrible on the other side of bullying and things that are helping ramp up teenage suicide and ready for this, preteen suicide is, um, a lot of that has to do with social media. So I think your, your age also depends on how great or not so great social media can be. But this goes back to one of the things that we talked about on Wednesday. Talk, um, Jake was talking about emotional— what the heck was the word, G-Webs? Do you remember? Um, if you go to Walk the Talk America, there is a piece of education in there about all the different emotions that you feel. And I can't remember what the term of it is, but a lot of people don't have a really high emotional IQ. All right. So DJ, pick, catch up. What do we got? From Jake's chat, opinions on the role of religion in society and mental health issues. Are there any correlation? Yeah. So we talked about that on Wednesday and the truth of the matter is with all the research I've done, pretty much any research that I look at, no matter where it's from, will tell you that people who have spirituality, not necessarily a religion because religion gets a bad rap, but, um, they're happier. It is important for us to have an idea that we are not alone in the universe. It is important for us to have an idea that, well, maybe there is something after this. And people with faith of some form generally are happier than those who are without. Um, Gunpowder Beauty, how many kids do you have if it's the only one that actually sleeps? That's what I want to know. Oh, so hold on, I'm gonna grab that one. Such a good baby. He's the only child we've had that was— is a good sleeper. So that's awesome. Yes, my first child was crazy good sleeper, and my second child, if I had her first, I may not have had a second child because she did not sleep for like her first 4 months. It was brutal. Um, so, all right, well, I'm glad you got all your stuff. That is awesome. All right, for those of you who are on— where am I— on YouTube, uh, DJ just dropped the link for Walk the Talk America. And DJ, if you throw it in the actual chat versus just on YouTube, then the folks on Facebook will get it too. All right, ladies and gentlemen, it's 14 minutes— almost, it's 13 minutes. So I think that's it. That's all I got for tonight unless you all have questions. You got 4 kids? That's very cool. Sorry, Gunpowder Beauty. Um, 4 kids? Yeah, I stopped at 2. I thought 2 was good. If you're feeling alone, realize other people are probably feeling alone too. Call someone. Again, you're never going to know, but probably the most common question I get asked is, how do I help someone? How do I help prevent suicide? Honestly, it can be as simple as picking up the phone and calling someone because chances are you're not going to know. If you are suspecting that someone is suicidal, according to some of the training I've been through, ask the question, ask them how bad is it? Help them find this help that they need. I'm gonna throw up Gary's thing. Loneliness and isolation are real enemies. Social media does help, but you have to keep a perspective on things, and it takes a while to build self-value. Do things, pursue things you are about. Correct. So this kind of goes back to, uh, happiness is an inside job. The first person you need to have a really good relationship with is you. And because you know all the stuff that goes on here— this is why I'm glad mind reading isn't a good real thing— because you know all of the good stuff that you've thought, but you also tend to know all the bad stuff you thought. The good relationship with yourself is often the hardest. I know it is for me personally, um, because it's super hard. It's super, super hard to forgive yourself of all the crap you've done wrong. And it's also hard, at least as a girl, or maybe it's just as a human, to give yourself credit for all the stuff you've done well. Uh, this is a perfect example. Suicide Prevention Saturday. Every Saturday for the past 3 years, give or take a couple Saturdays, I come on 15 minutes or so a week and do this. And people are like, great, good job. And I'm just like, well, I'm just doing it because I do it. I'm not patting myself on the back for it, but I'm here because of you guys. Um, I don't know, I hope that makes sense. Um, and G23, if you want me on your panel, you're gonna have to let me know when it is so I can put on my calendar. And is— is that going to be when you have Jake from Walk the Talk America on there as well? Um, and yeah, I don't know how to communicate with you guys who are on YouTube because I don't know how to be social on there, so y'all have to reach out to me. Go to a Great Start Shooting School. Whether it's the website, the Facebook, or— yeah, go to the website. You can do the contact me thing. All right. Anyway, I said I was going to leave. I always do this at least 2 or 3 times. And I think I got— that's, that's it. DJ, is there anything I forgot? Something I started to say that I didn't finish? Let me know.

I think you hit the points as they were coming in. And it was good to have all these folks out in the chat here today.

All right. Oh, so you help me with this. Is like, you guys are really good at remembering to like mention everybody, thank everybody, you know, say hey, go subscribe, all of that. Do you got like a spiel for that sort of thing?

Um, I can go ahead and give you a roll call. Uh, tonight we've been joined by Gizzard Gary, Gun Websites, G23 has been out there, as has Gunpowder Beauty. Uh, I myself, hey, uh, Makoyo has also been out there. And letting the Maryland folks in the room— I see, and Tactical Fudd, um, better known as Buck to some of us, has also been out there tonight. Uh, Vanessa Kitty stopped in to say hey, and I believe that takes us current for tonight's show.

Awesome, thank you so much for your help, and, uh, adios everybody. Um, Saturdays at 3 PM or 6 PM Eastern. All right, GT3, like I said, reach out to me, let me know um, and I will get back to you. All right, good night all. Have a lovely rest of your weekend, and I will see you next Saturday. Oh yeah, one last request: pray for Connecticut. We have a lot of gun bills coming up on Monday that are not pretty. So, but yes, thank you all. Talk to you later.