Offering hope, comfort and support for survivors of suicide loss.
My previous post, "The Stages of Grief" continues to be one of the most viewed posts on our page. On a daily basis a number of individuals are "googling" these terms, searching for something or someone to direct them through the grief process. In this post, I want to revisit the stages of grief after a suicide. Grieving the death of a loved one who died this way is extremely complicated. There are a number of elements that come into play. As a ...
Celebrating holidays after the loss of a loved to suicide can be extremely difficult. Becky and I wanted to take the time to talk about how we mark Father's Day after dad died and how it impacts us. While our fathers are no longer with us, their memories are strong. We continue to honor them on this blog and celebrate the lives they lived.
Becky's Story
It’s hard to believe another Father’s Day weekend is upon us. I still find it difficult to ...
Until my dad died, I had never heard the concept of a “new normal.” Ok… I guess I had heard it in my marketing life as a way to describe the way consumer behavior changed after the recession. But, I didn’t expect it would take on an entirely different connotation in my own life. Days after my dad took his life, I began attending Loving Outreach to Survivors of Suicide (LOSS) support group meetings. During those gatherings, I heard many attendees ...
In a previous post, I wrote about the Stages of Grief after suicide and how they relate to survivors (click here to revisit the post). I challenged the notion that these stages apply to a survivor in the same manner that they apply to someone who loses a loved one "naturally." As a psychotherapist, I understand that the stages are a blueprint to be used to help others understand their grief journey. However, as a survivor I continue to question ...
The title of this post is a bit misleading. Any survivor will explain that feeling normal again after a suicide is something that never happens. We often talk about our “new normal” – the way we adapt to live on after being rocked by such a traumatic experience. Emotions, traditions and even the way we move about our day changes. However, the old adage “time heals” does ring true for us, too. By no means am I suggesting that I am “over” my ...
