Submitted by guest author Laura A Thor, DMin, LCSW
It is important for those of us who've lost someone to suicide, that we examine the awful guilt we take on. We feel guilt when those we tried so hard to protect manage to escape our efforts to manage their depression, addiction or self-hate and despair. We feel guilt for what we could not control: their inability to keep themselves safe and have hope through perhaps years of suffering. ...
Suicide Prevention Provides Hope
Suicide Prevention Awareness Month can be difficult for survivors of suicide loss due to ongoing messaging about suicide being preventable. I have read a number of posts and responses recently about how hurtful these campaigns feel because they are reminders to survivors of how they lost someone. In addition these survivors are convinced prevention campaigns do not work, because they sincerely believe there is no way their loved ones would have ...
Reframing “Suicide is 100% Preventable”
By Guest Author Nicole
Eight months after my dad
died from suicide in 2017, I was walking on a college campus when I saw a sign
that stated, in bold letters: Suicide is 100% Preventable. That message felt
like a punch in the stomach.
I wanted to ignore it, but I couldn’t. It felt insensitive and offensive to me, so I took a picture of the sign, searched for the organization who posted it, and sent them an email. I told them how hurtful ...
I wish you would have told me before you took your life…
This week we welcome guest blogger, Cheryl Lynn, who writes about what she wishes someone would have told her before losing her father to suicide. We want to thank Cheryl for sharing her words on how a death following a suicide is so much different than that of a natural death.
“Daddy, these are the things I wish you would have told me before you took your life…”
“Even when I am not alone, I am alone. I wonder why I am relevant. ...
Dealing with Guilt after Suicide
Dealing with guilt after suicide is a topic I often write about on our blog. It is described as the "crippling" emotion; an emotion that leaves a person feeling a sense of remorse. On my own grief journey, I found guilt to be the most difficult emotion to work through. Hence why I write about this topic so frequently. I have not only questioned my own role in my dad's suicide, but also how much control I actually had in preventing this tragic ...