Offering hope, comfort and support for survivors of suicide loss.
I was recently asked to share my grief journey on the survivors of suicide site, The Gift of Second. I wanted to share my video with our readers in an effort to offer insight and perspective on suicide, mental illness and grief. I have learned a lot about myself in the four years after losing my dad to suicide. While his death caused tremendous pain, it also led to a different outlook on life. Not only has his death made me a stronger, more ...
I've shared about the moment I became a survivor of suicide, but never in great detail. It is now part of who I am and I feel compelled to expand.
“Sorry for your loss.” This dispirited and ambiguous phrase plastered my Facebook Wall in the 30 minutes I stepped away from my office cubicle for a meeting. While I innocently scrolled through the posts, the weight and reality of their context remained unclear…none of them referenced exactly what I ...
Since my dad died by suicide four years ago, I’ve continued to debate how much of a “choice” he really had at the time. On the surface, it seems simple. He chose to take his life and stop struggling with depression and anxiety. He chose not to stay and spend more time with his family and work. He chose the time, place and method to end his life. However, the more I learn about suicide and the crippling effects of mental illness on a person, the ...
I’ve noticed a personal phenomenon lately as I scroll through my Facebook News Feed – I avoid or quickly bypass stories that make me feel uncomfortable. This is a highly subjective practice, knowing everyone has different emotional “triggers” - a term I learned in online forums. (I actually hate the word triggers since my dad took his life with a gun.) But, now I’m wondering if my avoidance of these tragic topics is making me a hypocrite. After ...
What words comes to mind when you hear the phrase “survivor of suicide?” Until recently, I hadn’t given this question much thought. Even as I write this, I don’t know how I’d answer it. Yet, twice in the last month, someone has called me “brave” after I’ve shared my loss story and that honestly surprises me.
I’m an open-book person by nature. It’s a trait I inherited from my father. When something’s on my mind, it feels only right to talk ...
