Mental Margins: Schizoaffective Disorder
Mental Health Rewritten
When Tamika talks about becoming a mother, you can hear how it rewrote her sense of identity. But when her daughter Allegra was later diagnosed with severe depression and psychosis, that identity began to unravel—and reveal something much deeper. Behind the scenes of her family’s history was an untreated illness that had already shaped the shoreline: schizoaffective disorder. This episode dives into the space where psychosis meets mood disorder, where reality and emotion overlap in ways that can feel impossible to untangle.
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Mental Margins: When Mental Health Crashes Like a Car Accident
Mental Health Rewritten
In this Mental Margins segment, we share bonus content and confront a critical question with Jack Register from episode 106: Why do we treat mental health crises differently than physical ones? If someone has a diabetic episode behind the wheel, we rush in with the jaws of life, pull them from the wreckage, and never question their willpower. Yet when a person spirals into suicidality or psychosis, society often steps back—expecting them to “help themselves” before we decide they’re worth saving. This conversation dives into the systemic contradictions at the heart of mental health...
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Mental Margins: Director's Cut-Episode 106
Mental Health Rewritten
A breakdown of episode 106
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Suicide: Rewriting the Conversation Around Those Who Were Left Behind
Mental Health Rewritten
In this episode, we explore the aftermath of mental health crises through personal stories and expert insight. Featuring voices of Tamika Christy, Jack Register, and Ashley Holder, the discussion delves into grief after suicide loss, the challenges within mental health systems, and the emotional toll on caregivers and first responders. We also examine how trauma ripples through communities and the evolving ways we memorialize those we’ve lost online. Key Segments & Topics Grief and Suicide Loss: Author Tamika Christy shares her experience after losing a loved one to suicide,...
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Mental Margins: Before We Dive Back In
Mental Health Rewritten
In this special reflection, Dominic steps away from the usual storytelling format to speak directly with listeners. After the powerful response to Episode 105, where we shared Nia’s story, Dominic opens up about the impact that episode had on his own mental health—and why Mental Health Rewritten exists in the first place. He shares the outpouring of messages from listeners who connected deeply with Nia’s journey, and how those words of gratitude also brought a heavy reminder: that even in telling these stories, healing is not linear. The weight of these conversations can stir up personal...
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Mental Margins: Three A.M. in Mexico
Mental Health Rewritten
The call from the sheriff’s office. The Netflix notification from Baja. The 3 a.m. plea for a room. Each detail reads like a breadcrumb trail—fragile, almost surreal—marking the chaos of a loved one’s unraveling. What happens when systems meant to protect instead withhold? When family becomes both the lifeline and the witness to an impending collapse? This Mental Margin segment pulls us into that liminal space between presence and absence, where silence from a loved one becomes unbearable, and news delivered at the doorstep turns final. This preview sets the scene for our upcoming full...
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Mental Margins: Layers of Suicidality in the Hijacked Mind
Mental Health Rewritten
This Mental Margins bonus segment expands on Episode 105: Rewriting the Conversation Around Suicide. In the full episode, we heard Ashley-Lauren Elrod’s powerful story of surviving prolonged suicidal ideation. Here, Tina Aggarwal offers additional commentary that did not make it into the main release—breaking down the complex, overlapping forces that can drive someone toward a suicide attempt. Tina emphasizes a critical truth: suicidality is never the result of a single factor. Instead, it emerges from a combination of influences—mental illness, racial trauma, childhood sexual trauma,...
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Mental Margins: The Anchor in the Dark
Mental Health Rewritten
In this segement of Mental Margins, we share two perspectives on the hidden weight of high-functioning pain. First, trauma therapist Denise D. Moore shares a testimonial and reflects on dismantling the “strong Black woman” stereotype—reminding us that while not every story ends with a cure, every story can still carry meaning. Then, from Episode 105: Rewriting the Conversation Around Suicide, we check in with Nia—the friend who remembers every birthday, keeps the group chat alive, and always shows up for everyone else. From the outside, she’s the glue holding her circle...
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Mental Margins: Major Depressive Disorder
Mental Health Rewritten
In this week's Mental Margin, we step back from the noise and dig deep into Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)—not just as a diagnosis, but as a lived experience. With over 700,000 lives lost to suicide annually, understanding MDD isn't just clinical—it's critical. We explore how Major Depressive Disorder manifests beyond sadness: in executive dysfunction, in physical exhaustion, in a feeling of cognitive suffocation.
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Suicide: Rewriting the Conversation Around Suicide
Mental Health Rewritten
In this episode of Mental Health Rewritten, we tackle the subject of suicidal ideation with care, nuance, and urgency. Through a combination of real survivor stories, fictionalized scenes, clinical insight, and historical framing, host Dominic Lawson guides listeners through what it means to live on the edge of despair — and what it takes to survive it. We hear the stories of: Nia, a high-functioning professional whose emotional unraveling is invisible until it’s too late. Ashley-Lauren, a survivor navigating abuse, chronic illness, and a suicide attempt that ultimately catalyzed her...
info_outlineIn this episode of Mental Health Rewritten, we tackle the subject of suicidal ideation with care, nuance, and urgency. Through a combination of real survivor stories, fictionalized scenes, clinical insight, and historical framing, host Dominic Lawson guides listeners through what it means to live on the edge of despair — and what it takes to survive it.
We hear the stories of:
Nia, a high-functioning professional whose emotional unraveling is invisible until it’s too late.
Ashley-Lauren, a survivor navigating abuse, chronic illness, and a suicide attempt that ultimately catalyzed her healing.
Sean, a veteran who faced combat trauma, alcoholism, and stigma in the military before becoming a suicide awareness trainer.
Vernon, a comedian whose laughter masks a legacy of trauma dating back to childhood — and who now saves lives one conversation at a time.
Clinician Tina offers expert insight on how we understand suicidal ideation, the brain’s escape mechanisms, and the ripple effects of silence. The episode reframes suicide not as a selfish act, but as a signal — one we must learn to recognize with compassion, not judgment.
Key Themes
The Diathesis-Stress Model as a framework for understanding breakdowns under compounded trauma
The language of suicide and why shifting from “committed suicide” to “died by suicide” matters
The invisibility of high-functioning depression and what it means to check on the “strong” ones
The interplay of PTSD, survivor’s guilt, and stigma within veteran communities
The power of disruption — how a call, a laugh, or a knock at the door can save a life
The legacy of silence, especially in BIPOC and male communities, where vulnerability is often punished or pathologized
Mental Health Rewritten, created by the OWLS Education Company, in collaboration with theUmmah Collective Group is hosted, written and produced by me, Dominic Lawson
Executive Producers Kenda Lawson and Dr. Whitney Howzell
Cover art was created by Alexandria Eddings of Art Life Connections.
Some music was provided by DJ Krate Digga of the Mighty SoundChampz Crew
Sources Cited
Global Suicide Statistics
World Health Organization. (2021). Suicide worldwide in 2019: Global health estimates. Geneva: WHO.
Youth Suicide Rankings
World Health Organization. (2021). Suicide: Key facts.
Terminology ("Died by Suicide" vs. "Committed Suicide")
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. (n.d.). Recommended language about suicide.
National Alliance on Mental Illness. (n.d.). Suicide.
Great Depression Suicide Spike
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (1999). Historical Statistics on Suicide in the U.S., 1900–1999.
Liu, Y. (2004). Macroeconomic conditions and suicide rates in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 94(5), 768–773.
Prevalence of Suicidal Ideation
Nock, M. K., Borges, G., Bromet, E. J., et al. (2008). Cross-national prevalence and risk factors for suicidal ideation, plans and attempts. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 192(2), 98–105.
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) Diagnostic Criteria
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.) (DSM-5). Washington, DC
Ingram, R. E., & Luxton, D. D. (2005). Vulnerability-Stress Models. In B. L. Hankin & J. R. Z. Abela (Eds.), Development of Psychopathology: A Vulnerability-Stress Perspective (pp. 32–46). SAGE Publications.
Veteran Suicide Data
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2023). 2023 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report.
Military & Digital Suicide Prevention Tools
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (n.d.). REACH VET: Recovery Engagement and Coordination for Health – Veterans Enhanced Treatment.
O’Reilly, K. B. (2018, Oct). How AI is helping detect and prevent suicide. American Medical Association (AMA).
Murder-Suicide Case (Bay Area, 2024)
Gafni, M. & Baum, G. (2024, Feb 28). Former Meta employee kills wife, twin sons, self in San Mateo. Mercury News.
Domestic Violence and Suicide/Homicide Risk
Campbell, J. C., et al. (2003). Risk factors for femicide in abusive relationships: Results from a multisite case control study. American Journal of Public Health, 93(7), 1089–1097.
Listener Resources
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, you are not alone. Help is available.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (USA) – Call or text 988 any time, day or night
https://988lifeline.org
Veterans Crisis Line – Call 988, then press 1
https://www.veteranscrisisline.net
Crisis Text Line – Text HOME to 741741
https://www.crisistextline.org
The Trevor Project (LGBTQ+ youth support) – Call 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678678
https://www.thetrevorproject.org
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) – https://www.nami.org/help