A candid, compassionate and hopeful conversation with Media Producer , Speaker and Activist Cal Campos, Senior Editor Mikaela Brewer, and 'Life Outside the Box' hosts Asante and Abbigale.

Activation Warning: This episode discusses mental health, including discussing suicide and suicidal ideation, loss, and grief. Our discussion may activate folks with similar lived experiences, beyond what feels safe to spend time with. Please engage with this podcast episode how/whenever it feels safe for you.

Resources:
Ontario non-police mental health services
Canadian Centre for Suicide Prevention + research roundup
Toronto Community Crisis Service - Call 211
Call & Text 988
ANCHOR (Alternative Neighbourhood Crisis Response)

Statistics:
Per year, a range between 1/10 - 1/20 have considered suicide (5-10% of the population) & ~4,000 die. The number of total deaths per year has increased, but deaths per 100,000 have decreased from ~12 in 2000 to ~9 in 2023. These statistics are not necessarily inclusive & are categorized by M/F (CSP Cross Canada Statistics, 2023)
Trans & non-binary communities: 30% reported suicidal ideation & 4% reported a suicide attempt (Santos et al., 2025), though this is a decline.

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Thanks for listening! And let's keep the conversation going on Youth Mental Health.

"It's [the 'manosphere'] an appealing message, because on the surface the message is, what we're offering is freedom. We're offering you freedom to be a man again, to be a young dude–it's okay, you don't have to watch your language, it's not so tense[...]. But the reality is, it's a bait and switch. Because they sell you freedom, but when they pull you into the movement it's restrained. It's, 'you have to act a certain way. It's the only way to be a man. You can't act like this, you can't look like this. That's 'weak', that's 'soft'."

In this powerful conversation with speaker, writer and facilitator Jeff Perera, our hosts take a deep dive into the influences that shape our ideas of gender and masculinity; as well as how to build and train your emotional muscle and develop emotional literacy. There are so many pockets of practical wisdom in the episode, don't miss this one!

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On November 5th, Donald Trump won his second term as President. On January 20th, Elon Musk gave a Nazi salute at Trump's inauguration. On January 31st, Trump announced 25% tariffs on Canada. On February 27th, Ontarian's went to the polls to vote for a new Premier. On April 28th, Canadian's went to the polls to vote for a new Prime Minister.

It has been a rocky start to 2025. ​

The May 29th live podcast discussion focused on navigating the current political climate, non-stop barrage of news, and how people can take action and build emotional resilience in uncertain times.​ Dive into the discussion during this episode, where a diverse panel of people with lived experience in politics and organizing spoke to our hosts and took questions from our live audience following the discussion.

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Activation Warning: This episode of the 'Life Outside the Box' podcast discusses suicide and self-harm. If you feel safe & well-resourced to do so, we'd love for you to listen to this conversation. Please also note the difference between feeling uncomfortable and being activated/triggered outside of your window of tolerance.

In this episode we welcome back to the pod multi-disciplinary writer, poet, speaker, and researcher Mikaela Brewer. She discusses her research and work in suicide prevention, and talks about the launch of her new project 'Murmurs' - a poetry-album, available now on Spotify.

To take a deeper dive into Mikaela's work visit: https://mikbrew.substack.com/p/murmurs

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Brennan Jackson is a 16 year old high school student with cerebral palsy. The interview discusses ableism, Jackson's experiences with disability advocacy, and his own mental health journey.

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"Focus on finding those small wins as [much as] possible, because it gives you that confidence.". Our hosts take an in-depth look at the ups and downs of podcasting, sharing life experiences, and how to keep challenging yourself with the host of the "Oh My Curry Goodness", Hamza Isalm

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"Everybody wants results. We all want to be better at whatever we do." In episode 13, acclaimed Performance Psychologist Dr. Dana Sinclair talks with our co-hosts about staying calm and focused under pressure, and how to use your head to get the best out of yourself whatever the situation - whether it's in sports, school, work or life.

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In this pivotal interview with athlete, mental health advocate, non-profit founder and survivor of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash Ryan Straschnitzki, our co-hosts get into a deeper conversation about facing adversity, finding strength and the mindset needed to push forward despite overwhelming odds.

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Thanks for listening! And let's keep the conversation going on Youth Mental Health.