Offering hope, comfort and support for survivors of suicide loss.
When I lost my dad to suicide I spent a great deal of time running from the pain of suicide. The interesting thing about my pain was that it took time to actually hit. I always refer to this time as "the distracted period." We often think we are doing pretty well. Then something happens. The bottom falls out, the ground we are standing on no longer seems sturdy. The pain becomes intense and feels overwhelming. We don't want to feel it. ...
A new fear is created when you lose a loved one to suicide. The fear that you will lose someone else in the same manner. My grandmother died of cancer, yet I don't fear that someone else will meet the same fate. With suicide, the same is not true. Suicide creates a new type of anxiety, one that wasn't present prior. As a survivor four years out, I can say that it does get easier, yet it never goes away. This week, we welcome Andrea who ...
I have written a few posts on why grief following a suicide is so hard. It is that lack of closure that makes it difficult to move forward. We ask the same questions over and over..."Could I have prevented this?" "Why didn't I see the signs?" "How could they have left me like this?" It's like a record playing over and over in your head. It makes it difficult if not impossible to look forward when you are mentally stuck in the past. I ...
Lately, I have been thinking about a segment of survivors who are not discussed or supported nearly enough: those who have attempted suicide. While I fall under the “survivor of suicide” category for experiencing my dad’s death, I know there are others who have survived by living to talk about their own attempt(s).
Survivors of a suicide attempt are in a unique and often foreign place of acceptance by society. I’ve seen this firsthand with a ...
As a survivor we often struggle with guilt and shame after losing a loved one to suicide. How did I not see the signs? Michelle joins us today to discuss how she overcame the guilt and shame of losing her only son to suicide. Thank you Michelle for sharing your story.
Six years ago, my husband and I lost our only child to suicide. He was 21, had a long-term girlfriend who was the love of his life, and the love and support of a very close-knit ...
