Offering hope, comfort and support for survivors of suicide loss.
This week marks an unbelievable three years since my dad’s death. As I was developing this post, I almost included the word “anniversary” in my title. However, I realized that term usually has a happy connotation – like with a wedding – and I didn’t feel like using it this time around. Some days, it feels like he left us only yesterday, but on other occasions, it feels like so much longer. I’ve had new jobs, a new house, a new car and a new baby ...
I was introduced to this TED talk, JD Schramm: Break the Silence for Suicide Attempt Survivors (click underlined portion to watch), a few months ago, and wanted to pass it along to you all. The speaker happens to be a man who attempted suicide, and was fortunate enough to be blessed with a second chance at life. I know that our readers, myself included, were not this lucky as our loved ones were successful in their attempt. After the loss of my ...
One feeling that has resurfaced since my Dad’s death is anger towards him. As I said in my last post, my husband and I recently bought a house. After selling my Dad’s house the year after he died, my husband and I stored all of the family heirlooms that used to be in my parents’ basement (family pictures, family China, my Mom’s Snow Babies and other knick knacks she collected, as well as a few boxes of stuff from my Grandparents). The boxes added ...
What do you think about when you hear the term "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?" The first thing I think about is the military. We so often hear about our veterans returning home from war with symptoms of PTSD. We are also all aware that this untreated PTSD often leads to suicide. But, what we do not often think about is PTSD experienced by survivors in the aftermath of a suicide. In fact, I believe that PTSD after a suicide is more prevalent ...
No matter how much time has passed, I still can’t seem to get over the fact that life continues to progress without my Dad here to be a part of it. It seems like the past few months have brought constant reminders that he’s gone and won’t be able to experience all of the exciting things that are happening for me right now. In May, my husband and I sold our condo in the city and bought our first house in the Chicago suburbs. It was a big step, but ...
