What does it mean to truly support someone you love without trying to fix them?

Neil Adams joins Francesca to share the extraordinary story of his longtime friend Michael Dorian—a gay man living with HIV who became a first responder on 9/11 and spent 24 hours on the pile helping firefighters.

Michael’s life was filled with challenges, but Neil remembers him most for his joy, resilience, humor, and determination to experience as much of life as possible.

In this conversation, we explore grief, friendship, boundaries, hope, supporting someone through illness, and what happens when telling someone else’s story becomes part of your own healing.

Neil also shares how setting a boundary temporarily changed their friendship, how he learned to let himself grieve while writing Michael’s biography, and the lessons Michael left behind.

A conversation about loss—but ultimately, a conversation about how to live.

Connect with Neil Adams (guest): https://www.readneiladams.com/

Connect with Francesca Reicherter (host): francescareicherter.com

What happens when you tell your therapist you’re having suicidal thoughts?

For many people, the fear of the answer is enough to keep them quiet. In this episode, therapist Kirsten Davidson and I talk about what actually happens when suicidal ideation enters the therapy room—from the difference between passive and active ideation to confidentiality, safety planning, family involvement, and what therapists are really assessing.

I also share my own experience with suicidal thoughts, self-harm, and the fear that being honest would mean losing my autonomy.

Most importantly, we talk about how you can begin the conversation even when you’re scared to have it.

Because you don’t have to understand everything you’re feeling before you ask for help.

Connect with Kirsten Davidson (guest): https://mindthegaps.co/

Connect with Francesca Reicherter (host): francescareicherter.com

What if the goal isn’t to stop having difficult thoughts, but to change what we do with them?

In this episode, Francesca Reicherter talks with Lauren Rosen, an OCD and anxiety specialist, about why we get stuck in thought cycles and why trying to control our thoughts can sometimes make things worse.

They explore rumination, intrusive thoughts, anxiety, uncertainty, mindfulness, and the difference between having a thought and actively engaging with it. Lauren also shares a simple practice for when you catch yourself spiraling: notice, drop, and shift your attention.

This conversation is a reminder that you don’t have to solve every thought, eliminate every uncomfortable feeling, or achieve certainty before you can move forward.

Sometimes, you can feel the anxiety, and still live your life.

Connect with Lauren Rosen (guest): https://theobsessivemind.com/

Connect with Francesca Reicherter (host): francescareicherter.com