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Suicide is a permanent solution to a crisis point that will pass. If you need to speak with someone urgently, click the button for some resources that will help keep you alive.
Get HelpIf someone you love attempted suicide or admits to struggling with the temptation to end their life you’ve found the right page. I’ve put this post together for you.
Most people don’t know how to react when someone attempts suicide. Your friends may have expressed their remorse to you; they may have shown concern. Still, if the stigma is any indication, they may not be saying much at all. That’s why I’m grateful you found my site. Nobody talks about this stuff, and you need to know a bit about what’s going on in your loved one’s life that brought them to this point.
So first, let me express how sorry I am for what you’re dealing with right now. The confusion, the frustration, the sorrow, and the pain are all things that you didn’t expect to have to endure today, and I know that’s going to take some time to adjust.
My goal in writing this is to point you toward some resources that will shed light on what your loved one with depression deals with on the regular.
It’s been almost four years since I came close to ending my life. The pages of this website contain most of what I’ve learned and felt as I’ve attempted to rebuild the remains left by my depression. As if that weren’t enough, my family continues to rebuild and cope in the wake of suicide. We lost a beautiful soul to mental illness and those of us still here continue to recover and rebuild in the aftermath.
At this point in your life, there are much more questions than answers. My hope is that, by reading this post, you’ll start to find a little direction.
I created Sad Runner so family and friends would know what their loved one is going through, so you’ll find pages and pages of insight, especially in the Depression section. It’s raw and real, so you’ll get a clear idea of what’s happening in their life.
There’s a good chance your loved one may not fully get what’s going on. Hindsight is the only educator here. A lot of people, sadly, get to suicide before they even understand what they’re facing. They lost the battle they never knew they were fighting. It may take time for both you and your loved one to learn what’s going on and how to live with it. But you must know that it is possible to live with depression and to overcome suicide. I and the millions of others dealing with this stuff are proof.
Recovery is a process, and you must remain patient. I had a therapist quote me a minimum of three years to recover from my brush with suicide. Now, staring at four years, I don’t know when things go back to normal. I’m not sure if they ever will. It’s just going to be a process. That’s where the strength of family and friends comes into play. You have to hold your loved one up until they can stand on their own someday in the distant future. Recovery is a journey. Don’t forget that.
I’m going to share a bunch of helpful links here in a bit, but the most important thing I can share that I would like you to remember is this: As someone who has almost killed himself multiple times, the work isn’t over. Family and friends celebrate that they saved their loved one from suicide. It’s a big win. “Yay we stopped it, and he’s still alive.”
Here’s the thing, for me and your loved one who attempted suicide, that’s not the case. From our perspective, we were almost free from our pain, and now we’re being forced to bathe in it and somehow overcome it. It’s like you thought it was the last game of a bad season and now you’re told at the bottom of the ninth inning that you have to play 365+ more games. Keep that in mind. Sure be happy and grateful that they aren’t dead and that you still have them in your life. That’s fine. But realize that this isn’t the last day of the journey, tomorrow is only the first.
Lastly, please continue to remind your loved one how much you value them. How much your happiness and your life depends on them being around (and provide examples). Your loved one needs to know their worth. They won’t believe it, but they have to hear about it because eventually one thing will get through and that might be the thing that makes a difference.
Alright, below are some links that will help give you some insight into what’s happening in the life of your loved one. I hope you learn a lot and that you discover ways to help your loved one heal.
Adam Weitz is a multi-discipline designer, business owner, and founder of Sad Runner. He is passionate about encouraging people with depression and works through Sad Runner to positively impact their lives.
