After my son died by suicide, I kept telling myself I would survive.
I took deep breaths and repeated it to myself several times a day at first. I had no idea how, or when, or what that journey looked like. I honestly didn’t even know if it was true but invested in blind faith that I would. Others had. Why couldn’t I?
That simple phrase was the single most important thing I told myself.
It was a way to offer myself hope at a time when my future looked like it was paved with broken glass and razor wire.
It worked. I did survive. And whatever you are facing, you can, too.
I am the mother of two boys and the owner of emotionally naked, a site that reached a quarter million people in its first 18 months. I am a writer and professional public speaker on the topics of suicide, addiction, mental illness, and grief and currently working on getting a book published. I lost my youngest son, Charles, 20, to suicide June 5, 2015.
As talented and funny as Charles was, letting other people know they matter was his greatest gift. And now the legacy I try and carry forward in my son's memory.
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4 thoughts on “What did I say to myself to keep going?”
Thank you. I say the same every day…I’m actually writing this am about the question: “how are you doing” … I find that difficult to answer at times…and I write for the Highly Sensitive Persons living with grief/loss of any sort…Hugs to you…you’re opening such need dialog for addiction/suicide/etc…and I’m trying to do the same to open dialog for loss/grief of any sort…we need to support each other through life…
Thank you. I say the same every day…I’m actually writing this am about the question: “how are you doing” … I find that difficult to answer at times…and I write for the Highly Sensitive Persons living with grief/loss of any sort…Hugs to you…you’re opening such need dialog for addiction/suicide/etc…and I’m trying to do the same to open dialog for loss/grief of any sort…we need to support each other through life…
We do need to acknowledge grief and not hide it. It is difficult to answer that question sometimes. But we tend to go for the default answer.
Thanks for those encouraging words, Anne Moss.
You are welcome, Leigh