Suicide Attempt by Friend

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A close family friend (who is a social support worker) suggested that telephone support programs might help reduce the emotional burden on my family and our friends. She said that although challenging, recovery is possible. Two years later, I’m doing much better. For one thing, I needed to realize that Steve’s suicide attempt was not my fault. For a while I had vivid nightmares of the incident, even some showed the aftermath of if Steve succeeded. Now Steve is a mentor at his gym in British Columbia, where he moved to after the end of that year. He tells me stories of kids and teens who come to him in times of need and how knows how it felt to be me when he attempted suicide. You can only do so much to help a loved one when they are suffering from suicidal thoughts. We want to protect our friends and family members, but we also need to protect ourselves. And, suffering alone doesn’t work. Withholding your thoughts after a traumatic event can compromise body health as many people turn to food or substances to erase the feelings. For me I found coping with a loved one’s suicide attempt not easy. For days and even weeks after I would text him every other day to make sure he was okay and when I didn’t hear back I often assumed the worst, I would sit on my couch and eat, eat and eat just to change the focus to something else. It’s much easier to cope when you have a trusted ally by your side. Like Steve there are many others out there going through something, all you have to do is stop and listen.