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In this heartfelt episode of Survival in the Trenches: Life Beyond Loss, Stephanie Battelle opens up about losing her son Dale to suicide and the profound journey of grief, healing, and advocacy that followed. Stephanie shares her personal story, from Dale’s early life and struggles with mental health to the devastating moment that changed her world forever. Through candid reflections, she highlights the importance of mental health awareness and breaking the stigma surrounding it.
This episode is for anyone touched by grief, mental health challenges, or suicide loss—whether directly or through someone they love. Listeners will gain insight into navigating grief, practical advice for finding support, and inspiration from Stephanie’s resilience and mission to honor Dale’s legacy.
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️ Introduction and Background (00:00 – 12:01)
Family Dynamics and Dale’s Challenges (12:02 – 21:32)
Grief and Coping Mechanisms (21:33 – 34:22)
Moving Forward and Finding Joy (34:23 – 44:35)
If you’re facing mental health struggles, emotional distress, alcohol or drug use concerns, or just need someone to talk to, call or text 988.
Caring counselors are there for you. You are not alone.
The EMTs allowed me to go say goodbye to my husband. And when I did, I promised. I thanked him, number one, for our life. I thanked him for the best five years of my life. And I promised him that I would take care of our family and that our baby would be a happy baby and that she would be born into love and light and not tragedy and negativity.
“So we got through the TAPS and, and I remember the doctor said, ‘I’m not here to make anybody feel better. I’m here to make sure you feel.’ So what a lot of people do is they forget to feel. They forget to feel the pain.
“A lot of people are familiar with Elizabeth Kubler Ross’s stages of grief. And a lot of therapists don’t even really like the term stages because it makes it seem like it is this linear path. Like you go through anger, you go through bargaining, you go through depression, you go through acceptance. And you might go through all of those things, you might not. So I like using, like phases or states of grief. This is a state of grief you might be in. Some people don’t go through bargaining, some people don’t go through anger. And that there is no right or wrong way to grieve.”
“Darkness is a breeding ground for creation. In order to see the light, we have to go through the darkness.”
It was 11:02pm. And it was Dale’s phone calling me. It was his friend. She found him in his apartment, and basically told me that he was in really bad shape. He was really hurt. I asked if she could help him, and she said, “No, I can’t.” And I just said, “Help him! Why can’t you help?”
I couldn’t even comprehend what she was trying to tell me. And a police officer got on the phone and confirmed who I was and then confirmed the news that Dale was gone. And so there I was in my hotel room, out of town, by myself.
