Kintsugi Heroes
Lena Papadopoulos · 42 min
After losing her closest confidant to suicide — the very friend who had helped her through her own suicidal crisis — Lena Papadopoulos turned grief, guilt, and a dysfunctional childhood into a lifelong mission to create safe spaces where people can discover their purpose and be wholly accepted.
Lena Papadopoulos grew up between two worlds. Her parents were Greek, but she was raised in the US, and she never felt like she truly belonged in either place. At home, her father was absent or violent, her mother violated her boundaries, and everything felt unstable. By age 12, severe depression set in. She wanted to die.
Then came Ned. He was an older student in her summer art program, and unlike everyone else in her life, he listened to her darkness without flinching. He didn't make her feel broken for being suicidal. For the first time, Lena felt safe enough to be wholly honest. A few months after the program ended, Ned took his own life. He had never told her he was struggling. Lena was shocked, then consumed by guilt. She had been so caught up in her own pain that she hadn't noticed his. That guilt transformed into something else: a mission.
She became determined to create spaces where people could speak the full truth of themselves, including the parts they were most ashamed of. She studied sociology and psychology, then cultural anthropology, then coaching. In 2017, she started her own business helping people discover their purpose by examining their lived experiences and the pain points that shaped them. She calls this the Purpose Blueprint.
Lena still cycles through depression every four to five years. But her sense of purpose acts like a lifeline in the darkness, keeping her tethered to reasons to stay. To anyone listening who is struggling with suicidal thoughts, she says this: you matter. Your pain could be the very thing that saves someone else.
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses suicide & self-harm prevention, which some listeners may find distressing.
If you need support, you're not alone. Help is available: • Lifeline (24/7 crisis support): 13 11 14 · lifeline.org.au
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