Death by suicide not only affects the person who died, but it can have a catastrophic effect on the those who cared for the person who took their own life. The grief, loss and utter bewilderment following the suicide of a loved one can be overwhelming and many people experience an array of emotions ranging from shock, anger to self blame, guilt or even considering suicide themselves.

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“WHY – WHAT IF – WHAT COULD I HAVE DONE?“
 

A person experiencing grief may experience all or some of the following emotions during the aftermath of the loss of life of a loved one by suicide:

Shock – “I feel numb, I can’t believe it”
Denial “I feel fine”
Guilt – “I should have stopped it from happening”
Sadness – “Why bother with anything”
Anger – “How could they do this to me”
 

Several circumstances can make death by suicide different from other types of loss – making the healing process often very complex.
 

Stigma and Isolation – Talking about suicide can be very difficult for individuals who have just had a first hand experience of losing a loved one, and therefore it can be isolating as people struggle privately to make sense of their loss.

Needing to understand why – The need to understand the circumstances of a death by suicide can lead people to ask “why?” and this then leads people to second guess actions, speech and anything that they didn’t notice earlier. Some questions may never be answered and this is often a very challenging element of death by suicide for loved ones.
 

DURING THE COURSE OF MY INVESTIGATION, I CAME ACROSS A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE LEFT BEHIND AFTER SUICIDE.

 

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