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| Bereaved by Suicide | |||||||||||||
Bereaved by Suicide |
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Bereaved by SuicideWhen someone close to you dies, you go through a mourning process. This process is different for different people. There is no one right way to grieve. Generally people go through various stages – you may feel numb, a deep longing for the person who has died, sometimes accompanied by feelings of distress, anger or confusion. Intense sadness can then follow. In the final phase of grieving, you let go of the person who has died, although you will never forget them, over time you will begin to move on with your life. Bereavement from a suicide can bring additional feelings. Even when the person you cared for has made previous suicide attempts, perhaps been very depressed or self-harmed, their sudden death is still likely to be a shock. Nothing can prepare you for this. You may want to know why someone you loved or cared about took their own life. The emotions that you feel can be powerful, frightening and overwhelming. It can be hard to talk to people about what has happened – you may not be sure about what to tell people, or may be upset by other people’s reactions. Regardless of the circumstances, you will probably need support, perhaps from friends or family, or maybe from an independent source eg a counsellor or support group. The Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) has produced a booklet called After a Suicide which provides help with practical issues that need to be faced after a suicide, talks about the grieving process and suggests places to get further support. It has recently been fully revised and updated in conjunction with Choose Life, and content includes information on: Practical Issues: the organisations you might now come into contact with, their roles, and issues such as registering the death and arranging the funeral The Grieving Process: some common reactions on losing someone to suicide and the feelings that might be experienced Useful contact and resources: bereavement, mental health and practical support "Knowing that this booklet was at hand meant that, although I didn't know anyone else in the same situation as me, there were others out there who had gone through and were going through this experience. It made me feel less alone." (Jacqui, After a Suicide; SAMH, 2009)
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