If this landed for you, I’d be so grateful for your support on Ko-fi (more details in the show notes).

I recorded this the morning I heard about a recent death by suicide connected to a close friend. I didn’t know the woman, and still — I have been her. That’s what this episode is about: the strange intimacy of grief and how tiny practices help me stay with it. This is about company, not spectacle.

What’s inside (quick)
• A short, honest piece of my story: why I make these practices and what suicidal thinking looked like for me.
• A plain grounding practice + a gratitude micro-exercise (not fake sunshine — specific, tiny things to hold).

Why a tiny gratitude practice? Short answer: it helps. Research shows structured gratitude exercises (think “counting blessings” or short gratitude meditations) reliably nudge mood, lower anxiety/depression symptoms, and help attention shift toward what’s nourishing. PubMedPMC
There’s also neuroscience that links gratitude and related practices to activity in brain regions tied to reward, value, and connection — basically, practicing gratitude helps your brain notice and value connection more often. PMCFrontiers

A few things to be very clear about
• This is not therapy and not a crisis intervention. It’s a short, companion practice recorded as an MVP — minimally edited, offered now because “now” matters.
• If you feel like you might harm yourself, call emergency services (9-1-1) immediately. For anyone in Canada, call or text 9-8-8 for 24/7 suicide crisis support. Canada.ca 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline
• For Toronto local support, Distress Centres of Greater Toronto are available at 416-408-4357 (408-HELP). Distress Centres Of Greater Toronto

If this helped (or didn’t) — please tell me. A short rating, a DM, or a line on Ko-fi helps shape the next episode and keeps this work ethical and human. If you can, support me on Ko-fi , or commission something personal. Your support allows for me to do what I love, and gives sliding-scale access for listeners who can’t afford to donate.

Thanks for being here. I’ll keep making these small practices, as messy and human as they are. — Dani Eve (therapised, messy, stubbornly hopeful)

Quick research reads (short list in notes): Emmons & McCullough (counting blessings experiment); systematic reviews/meta-analyses of gratitude interventions (see 2023 review); accessible neuroscience summaries on gratitude and reward network changes. PubMedPMC+1PMC+1