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Suicide up 25% and 95% thought it would never happen to us

Few ever think it will happen to them. I never thought it would happen to me.

Even family members who have a loved one who has attempted suicide, think it won’t happen to them. And even if they are, they are never prepared for it.

A death by suicide is always a shock. Parents often don’t even believe their children who tell them outright, much less kids who leave a more subtle clue. We can’t fathom life would be so bad for our child they would take their life. The same goes for siblings, friends, aunts, uncles, parents. From the outside, everything looks so good.

Charles left clues for years, verbal bread crumbs that left us scratching our heads. Had I even googled one of these conversations I would have had answers. But my brain took a circuitous route through all kinds of rational arguments but never landed on suicide. My brain was an artful dodger.

What’s frustrating is reaching the people who need to hear the message before someone they love dies by suicide. People like me. Like I used to be, that is. That’s the ironic part.

How do you reach someone who thinks your message is irrelevant because it will never happen to them? My answer is I will keep trying even if I have to reframe it and package it as something someone wants to hear.

Published by

Anne Moss Rogers

I am an emotionally naked mental health speaker, and author of the Book, Diary of a Broken Mind and co-author with Kim O'Brien PhD, LICSW of Emotionally Naked: A Teacher's Guide to Preventing Suicide and Recognizing Students at Risk. I raised two boys, Richard and Charles, and lost my younger son, Charles to addiction and suicide on June 5, 2015. I help people foster a culture of connection to prevent suicide, reduce substance misuse and find life after loss. My motivational mental health keynotes, training and workshop topics include suicide prevention, addiction, mental illness, anxiety, coping strategies/resilience, and grief. 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. Mental Health Speakers Website. Trained in ASIST and trainer for the evidence-based 4-hour training for everyone called safeTALK.

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