This week we welcome guest writer, Maggie White, who lost her brother to suicide. Maggie offers a unique perspective as she is not only a survivor, but someone living with mental illness. Born and raised on Chicago’s south side, Maggie resides in Downers Grove, Illinois, with her husband, Sean and their five children, Colin, Moira, Shannon, Aileen and Patrick. She has just published her first children’s book A Christmas Guest, a story which ...
Archives for May 2015
Letting Go of the Anger after Suicide
Letting go of the anger after suicide can be extremely difficult. Our anger can be directed at ourselves, asking, "How could I have prevented this" or at the person we lost questioning, "How could you have left me like this?" While it is important to feel anger, it can be toxic to hold on to it. Anger often lies on the surface, covering up emotions such as pain, hurt, and fear. If we don't let go of the anger, we can't heal the pain ...
Religion and Suicide..Need I Say More.
Religion and suicide. Two words that are often not found in the same sentence. My religious beliefs and my faith have always brought me comfort. I never stressed about it. I never felt that I needed to explain it. I certainly never felt that I would need to defend it. Then my dad died by suicide. This is a topic I have yet to write about. I think it is time to go there...
Faith is often turned to in times of need. Faith gets many ...
Changing Our View on Grief
One of the most difficult aspects of grief comes from the belief that it ends. While the pain becomes less intense, it still manifests itself as we continue to live our life without our loved ones. Changing our view on grief can be helpful as it allows us to be sad without thinking that something is wrong with us. If you are like me, then you still have sad days. You have times when you cry because the person you lost is no longer with you. ...
Why Didn’t I See the Signs of Suicide?
More often than not, I’ve heard survivors say they were blindsided by their loved one’s choice to take their own life. I said the same after my dad’s death. Sure, he seemed to be a little down but we never would have imagined something so extreme was on his mind. He was functioning at full capacity and never mentioned he was feeling suicidal. He had even “warned” us decades earlier as kids that there was nothing so bad in life that we would ever ...