I asked my Facebook followers what my next article should address, you voted and I listened!

I must admit that I cringed with each vote for this topic. I was nervous about placing that mirror up in front of myself to face my own journey. I’m also not sure that I’m far enough through to express my path as eloquently as I would like, but I will do my best. Facing our own journey builds character, integrity, and helps us forge ahead with more clarity and compassion for ourselves; the lessons we can learn are priceless. It is important that you know no one is feeling what you’re feeling in exactly the same way you feel it. Your feelings are your own; as are the lessons and path you choose to take moving forward.

What’s different when someone close to you commits suicide is that it’s this terrible thing, seemingly worse than death, to talk about. It’s like a black eye on death itself; the black sheep of the family. There’s a stigma surrounding suicide that is shameful, hurtful, sinful, and weak. Even when the health care provider asks the question of whether or not a person has suicidal thoughts, it appears a kin to a law enforcement officer trying to obtain a confession from a guilty party so as to lock them away. The whole subject has a connotation of shame and guilt. It’s almost hard to say that someone you love committed suicide because you don’t want those labels thrown on your loved one.

Prior to hearing the details of my father’s suicide.........(Read More)