Offering hope, comfort and support for survivors of suicide loss.
In the days, weeks and months after losing a loved one to suicide, it’s common to experience fleeting suicide grief attacks. These can be characterized as unexpected waves of severe grief that strike out of nowhere or even without prompting. They can present as depressing thoughts or full-on, tear-filled panics. Generally, they lessen in frequency over time, but they can occur even years later.
I remember a few of my most “severe” cases. The ...
Have you ever felt that tinge of guilt when someone tells you they’ve recently lost a loved one to something other than suicide? This has happened to me a few times this year, usually in response to hearing about a loved one’s hard-fought battle with cancer or even the passing of an elderly grandparent. Before my dad died, I only experienced my grandparents dying from old age. I’ve now started to experience “suicide guilt” when talking to people ...
I wanted to share the opening letter from the August LOSS (Loving Outreach to Survivors of Suicide) support group newsletter. It hit home with me as I know it was difficult for me to see other people around me move on pretty fast after my Dad died. I thought others might be able to benefit from this reflection about moving on after losing a loved one to suicide. I remember how upset I'd be when people would say, weeks and months after my Dad's ...
This weekend marks two years since my dad took his life. Once again, I find myself saying, “I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed.” And, like most, I still have trouble believing that I am actually a survivor of suicide, living in continued disbelief that my dad made this decision. Like Lindsay just wrote, it’s been a week of bittersweet celebration for us. After a year on the market, my mom was able to sell our family home, opting to ...
This past weekend I had another “bittersweet celebration,” an event that was very exciting, but was bittersweet because my Dad wasn’t there to help us celebrate. My brother graduated college in May, and our old neighbors (some of my Dad’s best friends) threw a graduation party for him. It was such an awesome gesture, but it stung knowing that the reason they threw the party is because my Dad isn’t alive to throw the party himself.
Going to the ...
