Are you grieving and thinking about suicide?
Suicide Prevention – There is a very fine line dividing grieving and depression, and we often cross back and forth between them as we heal.
By the time I (Mary Francis) was 56 years old I had grieved through 6 suicides and one attempted suicide – from a fellow co-worker to family to friends, suicide knew no boundaries. They were males and females, teenagers and seniors, but the one thing they had in common was their loss of hope.
They could not envision their life getting better and they needed more than anything to know that they mattered. If you’re thinking about suicide please seek out help because you matter.
I understand your grief like I never, ever did … or could …“before” my husband’s death. You may not believe this but I want to tell you. You matter – Your existence matters.
To give into suicide means leaving behind an emptiness that will shatter others. They have already lost one of the most important people in their lives. They cannot lose another.
No matter how distressed you are. No matter how much you are grieving each and every day – you matter and I promise you will not always feel so lost. Your pain will not always be this intense, this suffocating, this loss of all joy.
It can be a natural symptom of grief to have some suicidal thoughts but there is no need to act on them. Instead call, yell or cry for help until someone hears, really hears what you are feeling.
Just keep on going, one day at a time because you matter. As you heal you will gain appreciation for what you still have to contribute – not only to the world, but also to yourself.
Resource links for suicide prevention:
Grief support after the death of a child.
Dedicated to preventing youth suicide.
Search on this site for articles on depression and suicide.
Suicide Perspective talks about suicide being tied to a brain disorder.