Hey everyone, welcome to absolutely Daniel
Podcast, and today I have a very

special guest, Taishan Thompson, who
is here to talk about mental health and

mental awareness. He's written an article
that you just really need to read and

take in in order to understand what's
really relevant about the holidays, covid and

the state of the world. Without
further ADO, here is Taishan. Tayshon

went to high school with my daughter
Jillian, who was my youngest. They

went to promised Catholic high school.
Yes, I like high school, and

Taishan Big, big, big guy's
look a little Teddy Barrow, though to

me. He played football along with
his identical twin brother, and they both

became really near and dear to my
heart almost instantly when I saw them taking

care of my little Jillian during football
cheer because she was cheering for the team.

And then, furthermore, they became
also competition cheerleaders, which they were

the base holding up the cheerleaders and
their stunts. So, with that said,

who would know that all these years
later, he'd still be coming over

for positive Sundays and helping me through
some of the most difficult times of my

entire life? And I have to
tell you that's most recent at least.

So, without further ado, I'd
like to introduce Taishan Thompson. Hi,

Taishan, welcome to Daniel TV.
I think you'll thanks for having me on

today. I really appreciate it.
It's my pleasure. So we're taking kind

of a serious tone here when speaking
with Taishan, because he he is now

in Grad School. Where are you
in Grad School, by the way?

Where did you decide to go to
Grad's married university in Scran in Pennsylvania,

Scranton, PA. Mary would right. Yeah, Mary would. So is

his major? is in psychology,
right, or is it psychiatry, psychology?

Not Doing in clinical psychology, clinical
psychology? So I'm going to let

you do all your titles from here
on out. So you wrote Rinse.

Recently you wrote an article which was
published and released, and it's got to

do with, you know, mental
health issues and suicide mainly. was,

you know, one of the topics
that really hit home for me and later

we'll discuss what the relevance is for
me as well. But I'd like to

just ask Taishan a few questions,
like what made you choose a major such

as this? I mean some people
would find it to be, you know,

most challenging because it's psychological. You
know, people have mental issues,

but they also have reasons for doing
certain behaviors that they have. Would you

like to, you know, share
with us what drew you to it was

a personal or was it more about
education and short? So for me with

psychology, I think an answer I
always give a lot of that. I

wanted to understand people on a deeper
level. I think I have a unique

ability to really be able to empathize
with people, but I think more fully,

I means natural psychology was because I
wanted to help people with their suffering.

I think people suffer with mental illness
in a invisible way and I wanted

to help with that and bring more
awareness of that and be able to treat

people with more serious pathologies. It
is so true. I mean very often

I hear people making jokes. So
she's crazy or you know, who cares?

She doesn't know what she's talking about. Those are issues for people like

myself. You know, I'm not
as sensitive to it as I used to

be, but there's Times that I
go through depression still that it will affect

me differently. So you just want
to be really cautious when you're speaking out

loud and you're speaking amongst people,
because you never know what someone's going through

on the inside. Isn't that correct, Taishan? Yeah, I don't know

what they're what they're dealing with.
You don't even know what the ideas they

might be planning and plotting in their
head. Mainly, one of the topics

that was addressed in Taishan's article was
suicide, and I would like for you

to tell me, Tishan, what
how did you come up with the the

thoughts of not blaming, making suicide
a bad thing or making it the one

thing people remember about the person who
is past? It's about the making a

choice to be not be in pain
anymore. Is there a lot of pain

and suffering? So would you like
to share what, personally, this meant

to you, perhaps, and whose
article was a very important to me?

It started off pretty simply. I
lean towards writing in it September and national

suicide awareness month, but it kind
of got pushed off till October and then

it got released in December. But
after that month had passed, after September,

I lost a colleague and a friend
to suicide. That made me more

willing to do this the right way
and to really get this right and really

impart things that I think would have
made my colleague and friend proud and also

would help other people. So when
I took the blame off of suicide,

I really see suicide ads more sober
behavior and not this kind of calisdaction.

Like and people that speak about it, they really are speaking from a place

of ignorance. You know, when
you're not when you're not educated in this

field, or you haven't personally gone
through it or you don't have a you

know a family member going through it. I have to go out on a

limb here, coming from me personally, and say you have no right to

be speaking about it because you just
you're judging, is what you're doing,

and it's making the problem worse,
because people that are considering taking their lives

as an option of rather than being
here, that means life is really gotten

to them. And whether they're saying
it or they're just doing it, just

consider the people that are giving you
the warning a gift. You know it's

a gift because you they're asking you
to save them. At that point,

like help me, basically. You
know, we can say all the things

we want to say, but you
know, it's not fair that the way

that it's been treated, and I
think that you're dignifying a group of people

I personally have ties with as well. I mean in my in my career,

there has been twenty nine suicides and
reality television. Twenty nine reality starts

killed themselves because of what people do
to reality personalities, and not all reality

personalities are treated the same. Myself, for instance, you know, I

related to each one of them.
The latest that that hit me probably the

hardest because I saw the day before
was gia from the bachelor and you know

the last phone message that she left
me and just knowing that it was just

too rough to be here. And
yet I just spend time with her twenty

four hours prior to that, and
and I have that ability to be able

to see what's going on in somebody, but I missed it. So when

you're ready to go, all those
warnings lead up to now I'm going.

I'm leaving, and how sad that
is. That that saved me a few

times thinking, you know, what
would my children do? And I know

that those thoughts go through everyone's head
that they gets to the point where they

just they can't take it anymore.
They can't be here anymore life. It's

just too cruel and Andy. Aren't
we all put here to be nice to

one another? I mean, I
thought that that's what we were all put

here for the beginning. How do
you feel this is going to impact and

how would you like it to impact
others? Your messages across the Board of,

you know, suicide not being something
that's made into a word. That's

that's a bad word. It should
be discussed. No. Yes, I

think most importantly, I talked about
an article that knowledge is prevention and we

should approach suicide with curiosity and with
empathy and we should take care of our

words. So something as simple as
saying this person permitted suicide, that's majority

of that's incorrect committed, puts the
tone that person's committing some of a crime.

But more readily we should say something
like this person has died by suicide.

More accurately, I'd by suicide.
It's interesting because that twist. I've

never really thought about that, but
people do commit crimes, but to commit

suicide it's sort of redundant because it's
an ending. It's not something you're going

to get punished for your ultimately that's
the final punishment for yourself. So I

like how you put that and not
blaming the person. I mean there's enough

left of devastation left behind. But
do you feel like you're drawing attention to

the fact that, rather than what
they did, what they were going through

that led up to the moments that
it happened? Is that what you're trying

to draw out and draw attention to
people that really need to know in order

to be able to handle it in
their own lives? Perhaps that would be

the information you'd want to share.
Yeah, that's what I kind of try

to empathize an article as well,
that someone we know that may have died

by suicide is going through or has
an unknown depth of suffering. It's something

that I had mentioned because we really
don't know what's going on inside if someone

had are going on in their personal
lives. We never do exactly and the

risk for someone who suicide is pretty
fluid. There's there's no way to predict

a hunderstead of time WHO's gonna die
by suicide and WHO's not. All could

do is pay attention to some of
the respectors and try to be a supportive

as we can be, and do
you think that there will come a time

when everyone will be more responsive and
more accepting to a new chain of thoughts,

that we can retrain people to think
of suicide as a warning and instead

of, you know, a crime? Yeah, I think you're done.

The ultimately a good goal? Yeah, I think so. I to be

to be open and willing to change
in your your convict, the way that

seems easy for you to think,
and Le Challenging yourself and saying, what's

a better way you understand this?
So again, approaching it with curiosity and

with empathy. Empathy is a big
word, it really is. I don't

think people understand that it is a
combination of feeling bad, feeling sorry and

in giving them sympathy and understanding at
the same time. Yea, you you

almost have to feel what they're feeling
just a little bit in that pain will

resonate and guide you into how to
help them. I believe the only people

I really listen to what I'm going
through anything is someone that's empathetic and someone

that's kindnest, you know, and
they're trying to revere me and dignify me

instead of making me for worse.
Than I already feel, and you've always

had that ability to do that.
Taishan, whoever you're around in my family,

we won't mention names, but we
all do sort of get a little

bit therapy from you, and at
such a young age, I find it

to be you know, it's amazing. You're the new generation, you're the

fresh eyes or the fresh look,
and you're a chance for so many who

wouldn't make it without you out there
spreading this word. I have my little

therapy dog right here with me,
so she's gonna going to join me now

so we don't get her her barking. I just want everyone to have a

place, the safe place, to
go and talk about whatever is they need

to talk about, and maybe,
Taishan, you can provide that for us.

Is there personally something that you want
to do as an endeavor to improve

the I guess it's called I guess
it would be a risk to improve the

remove some of the risk of especially
the holiday season. You know, the

depression that comes with the holidays is
in those who are spending the holidays alone,

those who may not be able to
afford the holidays. Even without the

pandemic, without covid welcome back.
I would love to know, with fresh

eyes and a new generation, what
it is that you can bring to the

table for mental health issues and also, please lead right into where people can

find and seek help, not only
just family members but the people in need

themselves. So take it away,
say so. I think being a new

generation, I think are my generation
in particular, is just incredibly active and

proactive and we're really advocates towards the
stigmatizing mental health. A Post I saw

one of my colleagues posts recently is
she said that we're all considered mental health,

but we all they forget about mental
illness. So I think encouraging people

that mental illness is a part of
pushing for better mental health and some resources

could be your local state organizations,
for examples. Article our mode came from

the Pennsylvania Psychological Association. They have
resources where you can find the psychologist.

In terms of there's tons of suicide
hotlines out there. The one I mentor

article is Suicide Prevention Lifeline that you
could go to that org and even prevention

dot Org. Right, you start
preven your lifeline dot org, then even

a lifeline dot org, Yep,
and then even a website of psychology.

Today you can find local psychologists in
the area and one of the posites that

have come out of this pandemic is
a lot of providers are providing telehealth services

and some of them are providing services
at reduced rate. So it could be

affordable for someone that it might have. Other we do is rates is big.

Tison. That's big. Yeah,
it could be pricey, very expensive.

Not that young deserve it, but
it is expensive and it does that.

Do you think that sometimes stops people
from being able to get the proper

hell, I think calls could be
a deterrent sometimes, but I do know

there's usually a good amount of research
out there that could be affordable for people.

Okay, and there are so also
social workers as well. There's people

within like the you know, their
towns and their their government that can help

them. Yeah, so, whatever
we we look at it. Preventing it

and starting with knowledge and being educated
on it is one thing. And what

do you think about the social media
effect and impact on people? Are Those

who have mental health issues and even
the holidays, what are they? What

is the impact of that? Sure, so I think social media could put

some pressure on us as individuals.
Between compare comparing ourselves and just maybe seeing

things that aren't accurate or life like
and that can comparison could affect their mood.

But I think in terms of the
holidays, I think it's always point

to be mindful that every holiday is
a first or somebody, whether it's thinking

about a loved one, someone they
have a maybe it's a new house.

That could be a positive, maybe
it's losing a house, which could be

a negative. So always the first
or someone in some aslects. Always being

mindful of that. Do you feel
that sometimes social on social media, that

sometimes the biggest of users are those
who are in the most pain or some

form of paint, or do you
just think they're just bullies? I don't

know, I'm not sure about that
one. I'm actually definitely I could see

it both ways. Yeah, but
do you think that that has a big

impact on people? They should just
not be on maybe avoid going on social

pages when they're not feeling they're,
you know, mental healthiest. Yeah,

it's important to be able to be
mindful of our state in terms of what

we can handle and what we can
handle and setting bounties for ourselves. So

if we feel that our social media
take is becoming too much. Maybe sitting

a boundary of I'm going to take
an hour group and social media once a

week or something like that, and
maybe just not pay too much attention to

it, don't put a lot of
relevance into it, and perhaps you'll feel

better. I find for for me
personally, meditating is very soothing, and

and music. You can listen to
certain kinds of music and it does all

for you mood a bit. But
also find noise can be troubling to me

at times. You find that that's
something that you you often or no,

like just loud noises when people are
not feeling their best. It's kind of

like a headache that goes on for
me. Yeah, yeah, I'm going

to even remember our own ability factors
and the things we are more sensitive to

when where are in different states.
Yeah, I mean it. There is

an illness about it. So do
you put a lot of emphasis on that

when you're speaking or thinking about these
articles and how you're going to rite?

And I just I know that reading
your article and again I want people,

as many people as possible, to
go and read your article and pull it

up and just get all the information
that that you you had submitted in your

and your references as well, which
were very interesting. I dug into those

as as I just a point of
interests and, you know, the people

that you're mirroring and that you're trying
to even like get their information and build

upon it even more. It was
amazing for me to find that. So

I want as many people as possible
to go to that and and be able

to, you know, relate to
it. So the people that are of

healthy mind, do you think that
they would benefit just as much as anyone

that would have? I mean,
you're lucky if you're not experiencing this in

your own life. So do you
think that they would gain knowledge from this

and be able to help, you
know, maneuver through their own lives?

Maybe even better, because we we
walk the earth with sometimes very difficult to

figure out, you know, even
the healthiest of times. What do you

think that? Does that benefit people? Yeah, folutely. I wrote this

article with kind of my audience being
everyone, through general public, and think

about how this copy of suicide could
increase people's knowledge base and that would also

that would prancer over into prevention and
empathy and all those things I kept mentioning

before. Yeah, well, I'm
couldn't be prouder of you. And I

know there was, you know,
personal difficult time for me as well most

recently, and I've been sharing a
little bits and pieces of it. But

you know, I was I was
pretty broken and I didn't really you know,

I wasn't really I was kind of
floating. I wasn't really doing much

about it because I couldn't. The
situation was handling me. And I remember

you calling Jillian a few times and
checking on me, and just really wasn't

ready to talk. And one time
I did get on the phone and talk.

It was right after the breakdown and
the events that occurred, and I

just fed you so much crap.
But I want to know you didn't buy

any of it. Anyway, I
did you. You knew I still wasn't

okay, but just yeah, you
know I figured as such and you know

I knew it. And too,
I just wasn't ready, you know,

to talk about it and and ironically, I knew that you knew that.

But it means so much to me
that you cared and that you checked in

and that you made me feel it
was a sense of safety, like somebody

gets me, you get it.
Yeah, and I didn't want to be

a burden. So of course I'm
used to playing the hey, I cooked

post and you're coming over to eat
role, but this, this is a

very serious role that you've taken on
and I admire that for such a young

person to take on the wounds that
have been, you know, festering and

and building in people. That that's
it. That's quite the undertaking and I've

no doubt that you're going to change
the world and make an impact somewhere in

here, because you have for me
already and my family. I know you

do more than you know, more
than you know, tayshion. So I

just I couldn't be happier having you
here as my one of my first guests

on my TV and also we're running
you through all my channels. But I

would love to have you back when
you do anything more with this and want

to keep up with you. So
if you have articles that you want us

to to, you know, put
out for the public consumption, listen.

I want people eat and drinking as
much knowledge as they can when it's helping

others, because to save one life
is saving many. You know, it

starts somewhere, you know. So
you make a difference in one it's bills.

We're back with Tyshon Thompson and I
just really feel it's relevant to this

conversation that we we build up on
the whole relevance of holidays and Covid combined

this year and how difficult it's been
on so many just covid itself, and

then you bring the holidays into the
mix, it can be quite depressing for

some people that you know are finding
it hard to provide right now. What

do you think that impact of this
is going this holiday is going to be

for people that are suffering silently or
out loud? I mean, what are

your thoughts on that? Tayshon?
It's certainly going to be different being at

this is kind of the first time
you're experiencing this at all levels for everyone.

I think the truth of the psychological
consequences of this pandemic aren't really known

yet, but we can't we do
have some insight into that. People are

suffering in a unique way. So
I would encourage people to lean on their

supports and try to find a little
things that they enjoy to help with their

mood and to help with their own
mental health. Yoga, meditation, going

to Church, whatever it is going
to tea with somebody, but that kind

of routines. Right. Does a
routine help? Yeah, I think it

depends at all. For some people
routines are how they thrive. Other people

they thrive in chaos. It's they're
very much person dependent. Yeah, I

like well, I like a little
of both, to be honest with you.

Now you say it that way,
I'm like, I'm I can navigate

through both. I enjoy a routine, but I can navigate through both.

Yeah, I don't think we should
navigate through chaos, but I think some

of us have to. What do
you think the outfall if you were to

have to take a gas what do
you think the outfalls going to be?

Combining the holidays and Covid I know
it's just a guess, but do you

think that maybe it'll be nice knowing
that the families that maybe don't have enough

understand that now the world is in
a different place? I mean I myself

and not celebrating the same way.
I know many of my friends are not

celebrating the same way. Its people
don't have it. And you know what,

getting back to the point where we're
acknowledging what the Hollidays are supposed to

be about wouldn't be the worst thing. What are your thoughts on that?

Yeah, I think that's also very
true. I think you're people that felt

like they were missing out on the
holidays for not having they might feel a

little more included now. And it's
sad to say, but even some people

that were suffering more, even seeing
other people suffering, that might just bring

them a little consolation. It's absolutely
true, and it's not because you'd wish

it upon them, but it's here. YEA, and I think it's I

think it's a fact and I also
think it helps you to blend. Yeah,

so you're not standing out for just
being home or are being sad.

Everybody's kind of sad. You know, everybody's gone through a change. Do

you think that this? Do you
think this big change for people that haven't

been through a lot of trauma and
their life? Do you think that will

spill out in the end of all
of this somewhere, somehow, like kids

not being in school and home all
the time? I mean it's can't be

the easiest on these MOMS and these
DADS who are working remotely. Do you

think that that's going to be a
major spillow? Do you think that that's

going to bring people maybe to a
calm or place knowing that your family safe

in their home, or do you
think it's a combination of both? I

can certainly see it being a combination
of a boat in a situation like I'm

just I think we know the psychologs
the complete psychological consequences of this pandemic,

but I know researchers are going to
be a off it as research happening now,

thinking about looking at what's happening as
a result psychologically, because of this

pandemic. There's going to be a
ton of literature and public based on it.

So what do you think you're going
to write about next? What do

you think is it you're going to
dive into next? I don't know.

I kind of I think these topics
in these articles they've kind of they come

to me and it's I just feel
passionate about them and I sit down,

I write them, I look at
I look into the literature that everything exists

and try to make it as evidence
be as possible, but also as helpful.

Right and also it was a good
read. It wasn't. It wasn't

difficult to understand, to comprehend.
You just put it into reading words.

Yeah, as as opposed to you
know, terms couldn't understand. Yeah,

so I appreciate that. Yeah,
it was very relatable and I hope you

stay that way and I hope nothing
changes about that. You know, just

be relatable, be yourself and you
know everyone will love you. Anything that

you would like to share with the
audience before we have to say goodbye to

you? Is it anything that you
would like to share where you'll be,

what you'll be doing and how we
can find you? Well, I encourage

you got to check out on the
Pennsylvania Psychological Association and check out their public

resources stage. If you go to
the website and you go over to the

resources tab, there's a public education
page and you could find more articles like

the one I've written. And again, I just encourage people to take mental

illness and seriously as they've been taking
mental health lately, and just try to

approach thing, but you don't understand, with more curiosity, with more compassion,

with more empathy. That's incredible.
Would you mind providing a link so

I could put it up for people
when I when I when I put this

up for consumption and I could put
a link up there for people. So

I'm going to include a link from
Taishan and that will take you right to

your article. Maybe we could do
that? Yeah, yeah, let's do

that. So we're going to drive
your right to his articles so you can

begin reading it and dig right into
it and then you'll be connected. And,

Taishan, I hope you continue to
do God's work here and I wish

you nothing but the very best,
and I know I personally love you,

but I want everyone to see how
much love you have in your heart and

just stay, you know, stay
eyes on you and ears on you,

because I think you have a lot
to bring to the new world and the

new way we are and you're the
beginning of all of that. Young man,

just starting out. Just go impact
the world, honey. Thank you

so much. Get them to God. You're very welcome, very proud of

you, and you take care now. Thanks so much, Taishan. I

appreciate you being here. Thanks for
you