Healing requires Understanding

Do you find yourself asking why?

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Are you overwhelmed with trying to understand how this could happen?

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Survivors of suicide are often consumed with trying to understand why they lost their loved one or how their loved one could die by suicide. We often experience an additional layer of pain as we try to make sense of what has happened.

The misconception that suicide is a choice can prevent some individuals from truly grieving for their loved one. While I understand why this misconception exists I'd like to help everyone understand that for an individual to die from suicide it would require their natural instinct to survive be broken. Suicide is the result result of a person who's brain function is so compromised that they are no longer able to make rational decisions. Their ability to make choices has been taken away. 

Every organ in the body has the potential to fail ... even the brain. 

The words we use to describe depression and suicide impact our perceptions and our responses. I would encourage everyone to think about the words you use when describing your own experiences and try to be aware of how the phrases you use impact the way you feel.

Phrases that Perpetuate the Stigma

He took his own life │He committed suicide │He chose to die │He killed himself

Phrases that Focus on the Illness

I lost him to suicide │He died by/from suicide │Depression caused his death

My dad didn’t kill himself – depression killed my dad.