Suicide Loss Survivors Archives - Page 2 of 2

“If Only”: Self-Blame After a Loved One’s Suicide

May 7, 2014

299

“I should have _________.” “If only I _____________.” “Why didn’t I ____________?” Different people may fill in the blanks with different words, but the sentiments are the same: I am to blame. I should have been able to stop my loved one…

Unwritten Goodbyes: When There is No Suicide Note

by Stacey Freedenthal, PhD, LCSW

April 23, 2014

325

Suicide causes so much devastation in the living – so many overwhelming feelings, so many should-have-done’s and could-have-been’s, so many questions. Amid such heartbreak, many survivors also agonize about why their loved one did not leave a suicide note. Melinda McDonald, a…

“Shame Festers in Dark Places”: Keeping Suicide Secret

by Stacey Freedenthal, PhD, LCSW

June 30, 2013

27

A friend recently sent me an anguished email about someone she knew whose teenage daughter died the week before. The mother was telling others that the death was an accident, when it was unquestionably a suicide. This saddened my friend greatly –…

What’s Your Pleasure?

by Stacey Freedenthal, PhD, LCSW

June 25, 2013

1

If you are depressed, stressed, or grieving, the term “pleasurable activities” may seem oxymoronic – no activity possibly could bring pleasure. Maybe you cannot even remember what gives you pleasure – or what once gave you pleasure no longer does. You may…

Coping with a Loved One’s Suicide

by Stacey Freedenthal, PhD, LCSW

May 29, 2013

13

The grief, loss, and bewilderment following the suicide of a loved one can be overwhelming. Many reactions are common, ranging from everything from shock to anger to self blame to considering suicide for yourself. There are questions, so many questions. “Why?” “What…

What to Tell Children of a Loved One’s Suicide?

by Stacey Freedenthal, PhD, LCSW

May 5, 2013

19

Often, adults agonize over what to tell children when somebody in the child’s family dies by suicide. The question becomes even more painful when the person who dies by suicide is a young child’s mother or father. But the suicide of a…