As a therapist, I am honored to walk fellow suicide-loss survivors through the tragedy of losing their loved one. The range of emotions these individuals feel is so unique and yet, the similarities are what makes a support group so powerful. I recently taught to a room of survivors at a grief conference. We did a hands-on experiential type of … Read More
If I asked you to name the signs of an individual thinking about suicide, could you name them? If someone you know was contemplating suicide, would you know how to get them help? Would you know how to save their life? I recently asked a group of friends these very questions and they all stared at me with a blank … Read More
It was December of 1989 and I was eight years old. My Christmas wish list was full of toys and books and one item I wanted more than anything else…an alarm clock. I remember specifically asking my mom for “a clock that lights up in the middle of the night.” On Christmas morning, I ran downstairs and tore through all … Read More
I typically do not get too worked up over the comments people make. Most people are ignorant to the words they speak or the impact they have. Most people have not experienced the horror of a suicide and so they cannot possibly understand the pain attached to the flippant comments they make. I cannot get worked up over every insensitive … Read More
Losing my youngest brother to suicide eight years ago changed my life forever. I know things now that I could never have known if I hadn’t experienced this terrible loss. HERE’S WHAT I THINK YOU NEED TO KNOW. 1. YOU’LL NEVER KNOW WHY, AND NOTHING GOOD COMES FROM SPECULATING. One of the most frustrating things about losing a loved one to … Read More
This morning we learned that Anthony Bourdain, famous chef and TV host, has died by suicide. This comes just a couple of days after the well-known fashion designer, Kate Spade, also died by suicide. It’s tragic and devastating to say the least. The amount of media coverage that each of these suicides receives is understandable because the world feels as if … Read More
Please don’t get me wrong, I am so saddened to hear of the death of Kate Spade. It hurts my heart physically to hear the word suicide in any situation. However, I am so conditioned to look for it when certain groups of people die. Were they young? Did they have an illness? Was an accident reported in the area … Read More
Dear Why, You have traveled this journey with me as an ever-present companion. We have traversed through this terrain, so unfamiliar and unsteady. But like a Dear John letter, I write to say that we have reached the fork in the road. I want to travel on without you. The hardest and simplest truth is this: For my father, living hurt too … Read More
Dear Dad, April 20th is coming. I hear it, like a soft drumbeat in the distance, inching ever closer. Soon it will be three years since you died. I blink, and it feels as if time has just flown by. I draw a deep breath and it feels like only yesterday. How can it be that the passage of time … Read More
30 years ago you left us, you left me. I don’t remember the sound of your voice, I don’t know what your eyes looked like or how tall you were, I don’t know what your favourite song was or which football team you supported. So many moments, opportunities and memories were stolen from me. And I’ve been lucky, I have … Read More