Don’t hold back when we have a support group.

The program yesterday is something that I was really very grateful for, especially when you started by saying “LET’S CLOSE OUR EYES”.  Meditation and prayers give a sense of giving respect to myself spiritually. I see the sacredness in talking about our loved ones. There is sacredness in remembering those who have gone before us through suicides.

To all my fellow survivors,
We love to hear our loved ones’ names mentioned… even if a tear falls.

The more you mention your loved ones’ names and retell their stories hundreds of times, the more you’ll feel at ease and comforted. Don’t hold back when we have a support group. It’s a safe place for all of us, it’s our wailing tent to shed ocean of tears and express our feelings about our loved ones and who they are when they were still with us.

I really think of my son 24/7 in a week and that has become my new normal for the past 7 years. For everyone around me, please be patient with me and to anyone else who has lost a loved one to suicide. Unless you have been through it, it’s difficult to understand.

For the survivors & bereaved, we can feel excruciatingly alone and sad because our loved one decided to leave us. They chose to end their painful world and we can never fully know how they felt when they were still with us. Remember it’s NOT their CHOICE to feel that way.

I did NOT choose to live without my son, but I decided to join all of you in this world of support and go on healing; to carry the legacy of love that our loved one left to us; to use the experiences they shared with us to make a difference to the lives of others and relieve suffering to help break this cycle.

So please mention your loved one’s name even if tears fall from your heart that covers your soul.

Daphne