We’re Doing Mental Health All Wrong
Breaking the Cycle: A Fresh Perspective on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention with Ricardo Zulueta
In our latest episode of The No Half Cakes podcast, I had the privilege of sitting down with Ricardo Zulueta, a passionate advocate for mental health and suicide prevention who’s challenging everything we think we know about these critical issues. Ricardo brings a unique perspective shaped by personal loss – his brother’s suicide – and his work through both his inspirational clothing line and nonprofit foundation.
Rethinking Suicide Prevention: From Reaction to Proaction
One of the most powerful insights Ricardo shared is that we’re doing suicide prevention all wrong. “No one is doing suicide prevention; they’re doing suicide reaction,” he explained. Using a compelling metaphor, he asked listeners to imagine trying to prevent obesity by waiting until someone weighs 500 pounds. True prevention, he argues, requires proactivity – just like preventing cavities by brushing your teeth daily, not waiting until you need a root canal.
Ricardo emphasizes that suicide prevention should start long before someone reaches a crisis point. It’s about building mental resilience and healthy thought patterns from the beginning, not just responding when someone is already on the edge.
The Power of Accountability and Perspective
A cornerstone of Ricardo’s approach is personal accountability. While this might sound harsh at first, he explains that accepting accountability actually gives us power over our situations. “When you say you’re accountable, you’re not going to act the same way. You’re going to change. You’re going to ask, ‘What am I doing that’s making me feel like this?'”
He challenges the common advice to “live in the present,” comparing it to trying to reach a destination while only looking at your feet. Instead, Ricardo advocates for using the future to guide us, the past to learn from, and the present as our opportunity to execute daily.
The Evolution Cycle Framework
Drawing from his startup experience, Ricardo introduced his Evolution Cycle Framework, consisting of four key steps:
- Envision: Know where you’re going – create a vision of your future self
- Execute: Take action with “Minimum Viable Behaviors” – small, manageable steps
- Evaluate: Honestly assess what’s working through feedback and data
- Evolve: Pivot or persevere based on your results
A Message of Hope
Perhaps most importantly, Ricardo normalizes the experience of having dark thoughts. During our conversation, I shared my own experience with fleeting suicidal ideation – those moments of wondering “what if” while driving. Ricardo’s response? These thoughts are more common than we realize, and having them doesn’t make you broken or crazy.
The key is shifting our perspective from seeing depression and anxiety as permanent conditions to understanding them as temporary emotional responses. As Ricardo powerfully stated, “Your life isn’t crap; your perspective on your life is.”
His final advice? “You have to say f*** it more – live life without regret and accept challenges worth the risk.”
This conversation reminded me why having these difficult discussions matters. Mental health isn’t about eliminating all negative emotions; it’s about building the tools and perspectives to navigate life’s inevitable challenges with purpose and resilience.
