Offering hope, comfort and support for survivors of suicide loss.
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. ...
Mourning the loss of a loved one to suicide is hard. Not just because it is unexpected, but because there is no manual telling us what is right and wrong. If we cry too often we feel we are stuck. If we don't cry enough, we feel like we are in denial. The thing about grief is that there is no manual; no right or wrong way. We all need to do what we need to do to get through the day. I often tell the people I work with that not thinking ...
I hear it all too often when speaking to survivors of a suicide loss. "I was doing so well" they will say, "and then I had a day where I couldn't help but cry." I am not sure why we think tears are a sign of weakness. Tears are similar to laughter; they are a way to express an emotion. A way to communicate that we have been deeply touched by a sound, smell, image or memory. They remind us that we are human. Crying does not mean that we ...
We often believe that our relationship with our loved one ends the day they take their life. It doesn't end, it changes. This perception often complicates an already complicated grief process. We think that moving forward means getting over the person and the relationship that we lost to suicide that day. When we can't let go, we think we are stuck. Changing our perception can offer tremendous relief. It isn't about letting go; it's about ...
As a survivor of a tragic loss, you will never forget the moment that you found out (or for some of us found) that your loved one had left this Earth. It is burned into our memory, leaving a scar on our heart. What we rarely discuss is the pain associated with the what would have or should have been. Whether we are conscious of it or not, we had already created future memories with the person we lost. We never thought that they would not be ...
