Category: Suicide

My son is ‘not the type’ to kill himself

I wish I could tell you that those who suffer those thoughts always wear green shirts and orange and white striped socks, that they have a particular color hair or a certain shaped nose.

But they don’t.

Given that suicide for ages 10 to 24 increased nearly 60% between 2007 and 2018 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and there is a disturbing increase in pre-adolescent suicide attempts. So we need to know those signs. Because anyone in our circle of friends could be at risk.

If you had told me Charles suffered from thoughts of … Read more...

Social media and suicide

by Jody Betty

We are consumed with technology. It surrounds us at every corner. We not only cannot tear ourselves away from our cell phones, but simply being away from them causes us stress. After all, most of our lives are stored on that tiny device, from our banking information to the ability to lock your car or front door.

We avoid talking on the phone like it is the plague, I mean after all, why speak when you can communicate via text, so much easier right?

Social media is much the same, once we jump in, it tends to … Read more...

Living in Fear of the next Crisis

by Allison Whitley

She wakes up before 9:00 am and comes out of her room. She eats breakfast. She takes her medication on her own. She engages in conversation. Most importantly, she smiles and laughs. Today is a good day. So why am I fearful this won’t last?

My daughter suffers from mental illness. She is diagnosed with major depressive disorder, anxiety, and PTSD. She also has a secondary diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder. She returned home from her first semester in college and everything fell apart; the illness took over.

After she shared wanting to kill herself, she spent … Read more...

Looking for a school speaking sponsor

A number of schools have reached out for me to speak. The ones out of town often can’t afford to even fly me to the location much less pay any kind of fee. I would love to say yes, especially to the ones where a teen reaches out to me to speak to their school. Then sometimes it’s a school counselor who is already so overworked, they don’t have the manpower or the hours to search for a sponsor.

Because I like to eat and sleep indoors, and these offers are now competing with paid offers, I thought I’d try … Read more...

6 reasons why kids don’t tell you they want to die

I have several articles out on the web on both this site and The Mighty to capture young people who are googling certain questions related to mental illness, drug use, cutting, and suicide. No one in their lives is answering or addressing the issue, so they look on the internet to ask Dr. Google.

One of those articles is, “How to tell your parents you want to die?” We are always telling people to call a number or “reach out for help” but rarely to we give specific instructions on how to do so.

Now that there are … Read more...

3 suicides in 1 week. All shared the trauma of a school shooting

Sydney Aiello, Calvin Desir, Jeremy Richman

This is such painful news. To have had your child survive a school shooting and then die a year later by suicide is unimaginable. Within the same week, a Sandy Hook mom who lost her daughter in that Connecticut school shooting also lost her husband to suicide.

Calvin Desir, 16, who took his life late Saturday, March 13, 2019, was a second survivor of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School to die by suicide in a week. Nineteen-year-old Sydney Aiello, who recently graduated from the school, took her own life only a … Read more...

A hug stopped me from killing myself

by Don Shetterly

I remember those days when life was more than I could bear.  I felt trapped and exhausted.  No matter what I did, life seemed hopeless.

There was no one I could talk to because I trusted no one.  I wasn’t sure what I needed to talk about because everything was swirling in my head. 

Then there was the shame

How could I even say what I didn’t want to acknowledge?  How would others take it if they knew?  Would they notice my shame and make me believe I was nothing more than the lowly piece of garbage … Read more...

My son couldn’t leave me alone with my grandson

by Emily Warner

I’m a 57-year-old mom, grandma, and sister.

I suffer from chronic pain from what my doctors referred to as a “life-changing” bike accident. Little did I know how much damage that bicycle accident in January of 2011 would do, not only physically but emotionally and cognitively. I had started riding my bike three months earlier and found this freedom and peacefulness in my new activity. I took safety seriously and always wore a helmet.

On that Saturday afternoon, I told my husband I was going for a ride in the neighborhood. I was going down a hill … Read more...

Surviving my son’s suicide with depression

by Gray Maher

It has been 6 years since my only child, Whitten, died by suicide. I am still seeing a grief therapist every 5-6 weeks. When I started seeing her, I was still in shock. I had barely started to process what had happened and what it would mean for my life. A dear friend got me in to see her, because she knew that if I didn’t get help, things could go very badly for me.

Surviving suicide is considered traumatic grief and is more complex than most. Losing a child is also considered traumatic grief. And all … Read more...

TEDx Showing Up Follow Up

Sun, 03/31/2019
7:00 pm-9:00 pm
The Darkroom Lounge at The Hof
2818 West Broad, Richmond, VA, 23230

Being together was magic. So maybe you didn’t get a ticket to TEDxGraceStreetWomen. Or maybe you did. This is the after party to extend the fun and camaraderie.

We are going to watch 55 minutes of some of the talks and there will be a panel and then Q & A.

My talk will be screened and I will be on this panel event. If you are in Richmond, VA I hope you can come!

register
The stickers that made me cry
… Read more...

The edge of grieving season

I feel it rolling in. It’s so subtle at first– a little extra heaviness and the tears are just a bit closer to the surface.

When the harsh daily news hits my ears, mass shootings, terrorist uprisings, more suicides and overdose deaths, they all resonate more. How much more grief can our culture endure? I wasn’t even paying attention to the date or the fact that the upcoming month, April, is a so close. But I looked up and there it is just days away. It’s Charles’ birthday month and he would have been 24. What would he look like? … Read more...

Speaking at Millwood School this Thurs, March 21

:54 second Invitation!

Getting Comfortable with an Uncomfortable Conversation- Breaking the silence on mental illness and suicide

Thursday, March 21, 2019 from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM (EDT)

Millwood School – Robinson Hall 
15100 Millwood School Lane 
Midlothian, VA 23112

Register

This is a community event! This presentation is about my journey to healing by dragging an unpopular topic into the spotlight, how parents can discern normal teen behavior from mental illness, the transitions that can cause problems for teens, and strategies for helping children build resilience.

Takeaways:
• What are the signs of suicide and how does someone … Read more...

#MythBustingMondays The world would be better without me

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, this is what your brain is telling you. But it’s a myth. A lie. It can be so intense, so convincing, and you probably struggle to keep yourself from following through.

Another myth is that thoughts of suicide mean you are weak. To have survived this intense pain takes a lot of strength and endurance.

More than anything, I want you to tell someone or ask for help. I miss my son Charles every single day.

SUICIDE HOTLINES
USA 988
USA Crisis Text 741-741
Canada 1-833-456-4566
United Kingdom 116 123
Australia … Read more...

In memory of Zuka Mabior who died by suicide

by Jennifer Morris

Zuka Mabior 11/10/1999 – 08/20/2018

I didn’t know the meaning of unconditional love until Zuka came into my world. He was born in fall of 1999 and looked up at me with those giant brown eyes. I knew right then I would do anything for that boy.

Zuka was an amazing person. He was an athlete, played football, ran track and won the Maine state wrestling champ in 2018. He had many friends and loved having a good time. He was a prankster, always sporting that impish smile. He was kind, never wanting to see anyone hurt. … Read more...