Ep, 248: Turning Tragedy into Purpose: A Mother’s Mission to Prevent Suicide

Parenting Great Kids with Dr. Meg Meeker

Dr. Meg Meeker

Kids & Family, Education, Parenting, Self-improvement

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 September 2024

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Did you know that having a mentor can reduce the likelihood of young people developing drug and alcohol issues by 80 percent? Substance abuse is often a contributing factor in teen suicide, making mentorship a key element in safeguarding teens from both. On Parenting Great Kids, Dr. Meg Meeker is joined by Leslie Weirch, who shares her deeply personal journey after losing her son Austin to suicide. Together, they explore the protective factors against suicide, including mentorship, and how these can help shield teens from substance abuse and mental health struggles. Key moments: 00:36 A Mother's Tragic Story: The Loss of Austin 02:11 Austin's Life and Achievements 05:03 The Night That Changed Everything 07:26 Turning Pain into Purpose: Leslie's Mission 08:53 Mental Health Awareness and Prevention 16:43 Leslie's Speaking Journey and Impact 19:55 Sources of Strength: A Preventative Approach 25:52 Protective Factors for Mental Health 34:11 Conclusion: The Importance of Connection and Support Need parenting advice? Grab one of Dr. Meg's coaching spots here. Watch today’s episode 📺 Follow us 📲 About our guest: Leslie Weirich is a national speaker on suicide prevention, sharing her personal journey after losing her son Austin to suicide on September 10, 2016—coincidentally World Suicide Prevention Day. She began speaking locally in 2017 and gained national attention in 2018, focusing on youth mental health, especially for young men, student athletes, and the military. Leslie resigned from her job in 2020 to pursue her mission full-time, partnering with Oaklawn Community Mental Health Center and raising over $100K for suicide prevention programs. Leslie is certified in multiple suicide prevention programs and leads Leslie’s Hope, her public speaking initiative to raise awareness and save lives. Our sponsors: Air Doctor: Breathe Easier, Live Better With AirDoctor! Head to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code DRMEG, and you’ll receive UP TO $300 off air purifiers! Phyla Biotics: Visit phylabiotics.com, enter code DRMEEKER at checkout, and start your journey to healthier skin. Field of Greens: Whole, organic fruits and vegetables. No extracts, no lab-made stuff. Just one scoop a day gives you simple, real nutrition. Visit fieldofgreens.com and use promo code DRMEG for 15% off your first order and FREE rush shipping. Wild Interest: Where the magic happens when kids run the show. Wild Interest: find it wherever you get your podcasts. It’s wild! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Introducing Laseldisei by Isemeyaki, a tribute to today's masculinity that gives men the desire to live intensely,
0:11.0	a fragrance inspired by sort, an essential element of nature, an incisive freshness
0:18.4	with a bold blend of woody and marine notes.
0:21.8	Awaken your senses.
0:24.0	Laseldisei, the new fragrance for men.
0:28.0	Issemyake.
0:29.0	Introducing Lasele dei by Issemyake, a tribute to today's masculinity that gives men the desire to live intensely,
0:41.0	a fragrance inspired by salt, an essential element of nature, an incisive freshness
0:48.4	with a bold blend of woody and marine notes.
0:51.9	Awaken your senses.
0:54.0	Loselade say, the new fragrance for men.
0:58.0	Issemyaki
1:00.0	You cannot give your son or daughter the idea of taking their life by asking them about it, okay?
1:06.0	Because you can't plan an idea that's not there, right?
1:09.0	So if I came into your studio and you said, hey Leslie, do you have suicidal ideation or suicidal
1:13.6	thoughts today?
1:14.6	And I'd say, not today, Dr Meg, they're not in my brain.
1:17.2	You can't put it up in there.
1:18.8	But if you have a kid that's struggling, then you're kind of opening that up and what happens is you really, really give them an opportunity then a hard card for
1:26.4	parents to sharpen listen right so you're really giving them an
1:30.3	opportunity to tell you what's going on and they ask those open-ended questions
1:34.6	then you can assess their risk.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in -190 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Dr. Meg Meeker, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Dr. Meg Meeker and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.