Said With Courage

Category: Essays

  • The CS Survival Guide: What I Wish I Knew For Suicide Prevention

    The CS Survival Guide: What I Wish I Knew For Suicide Prevention

    Introduction  When I sat down to take my first call as a Lifeline volunteer, I thought; “This must be a huge mistake.” Was I really ready? What if I said the wrong thing? My supervisor leaned over and gave me a line I still carry with me to this day: “Just trust the process, Said.”…

  • The Secret Behind My Bulletproof Resilience In Crisis Support

    The Secret Behind My Bulletproof Resilience In Crisis Support

    When I started volunteering in suicide prevention, growth hurt. So badly. Now? My work improves with ease. I used to ask: why is it so difficult to just… get better? Some calls would go super well and I’d feel like I did a great job. Only to connect the dots later and realise I’d projected…

  • EEAAO Is Too Subtle A Sledgehammer

    EEAAO Is Too Subtle A Sledgehammer

    For anyone who didn’t get the hype about Everything Everywhere All At Once, this is for you. You’ll read this essay and know exactly what the big deal is. The film has so much going on, it’s easy to lose the thread amidst the chaos. Kung fu fighting with dildos sticking out of butts (spoiler…

  • Social Media Made Me A Better Person?!

    Social Media Made Me A Better Person?!

    Socials have a bad rep for a good reason. They ruin lives. But! It doesn’t have to stay that way. It took over 60 years before cars had seatbelts! Imagine the lives lost while legislation caught up. So too is our use of social media growing up. Sadly, social policy always takes a few decades…

  • How Reflective Practice Improved My Suicide Prevention Skills

    How Reflective Practice Improved My Suicide Prevention Skills

    More than anything, this is what helped me grow. I’ve made a lot of mistakes and hope you can learn from them. This article breaks down how reflective practice systems changed the game for me in suicide prevention and crisis support. Self awareness, skillset growth, competence and confidence all greatly improved. It covers my experience,…

  • Using Abstraction In Suicide Prevention

    Using Abstraction In Suicide Prevention

    There’s a powerful, hidden skill in suicide prevention. Read this article and you’ll be able to practice it in every day conversation – maybe even with people in distress. Who knows, it might help you support someone down from the edge. It’s called ‘Abstraction’. Abstraction is very popular and well understood in other fields like…

  • Healing Trauma With Journaling: An N=1 Experiment

    Healing Trauma With Journaling: An N=1 Experiment

    Hello, this is a write up for a long term behaviour change and transformation experiment. Please hit me up with any questions, feedback, input etc. I will do my best to remain not-too-emotional-yet-still-authentic. TL;DR: I’m going to identify my problem behaviours, trace them to core wounds, tear them open in a controlled journal setting, knit…

  • Said Bouziane’s 2023 End Of Year Review

    Said Bouziane’s 2023 End Of Year Review

    I closed my eyes to shut out the countdown. Images of humiliation flashed by. You’ve completely forgotten the rest, you’ll have to walk off the stage in shame. Everyone will know you as the one person who only got half way through. I’d spent probably over 60 hours for this chance. And there I was,…

  • How To Fight Less With Your Lover – Flow Chart

    full blog post is coming soon ??‍♂️?

  • How To Write With Life Saving Clarity In Digital Crisis Support

    How To Write With Life Saving Clarity In Digital Crisis Support

    In learning suicide prevention there’s a tonne of obstacles and challenges. It’s hard, scary work and you’re here remove some of those obstacles and equip yourself with tools, skills and mindset to lower the barrier for others too. Long term this kind of work – preventing suicide – changes people, changes families, changes communities and…