Emotional Healing: The Benefits of Honoring Emotions May 5, 2014 • 2 Comments I used to love driving my kids to and from school. Elementary school was fairly close, but for middle and high school, I was one of those parents who chose schools that required going the distance. As it turned out, those long drives were encapsulated moments of amazing connection and discovery. The time was precious — we were enclosed in…
Suicide Chat: Making the Topic of Suicide Less Taboo May 2, 2014 • 0 Comments “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because…
Justifying Cyber Harassment as Freedom of Speech April 18, 2014 • 2 Comments “When another blames you or hates you, or people voice similar criticisms, go to their souls, penetrate inside and see what sort of people they are. You will realize that there is no need to be racked with anxiety that they should hold any particular opinion about you.” Marcus Aurelius I want to share an unfortunate lesson in the adage,…
Suicide Awareness: Thinking and Speaking of Suicide April 14, 2014 • 2 Comments As suicide rates continue to climb, I have to think that perhaps the way we think and talk (or not talk) about it are not working. Having spent the last four years acclimating to being a part of this culture, I have fully experienced its taboo nature and the way people emotionally retreat in its presence. It is, without a…
Suicide Resources: Section 504 Support for Children April 8, 2014 • 0 Comments If you are navigating the aftermath of a parent suicide and have school age children, I strongly recommend pursuing Section 504 accommodations as a safety net for them. Simply put, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act guarantees certain rights to people with disabilities and applies to any agency receiving federal funds, such as a school. A child dealing with the…
Share Your Story and Connect to the Healing Bandwidth April 7, 2014 • 4 Comments I spent the last week in New York City, and having not been there in over twenty years, was happily overwhelmed by the noise, hustle and bustle. It is so vibrant — a welcome contrast to sleepy San Diego, and the street art is amazing as well. I could spend hours walking and adrift in the flow of people who…
On Courage, Casseroles and Expressing Sympathy After a Suicide March 26, 2014 • 0 Comments I felt very loved during the first few weeks after the suicide. Friends and family flew in from near and far; even the best man from my wedding, who lives in Belgium, came to visit. People brought an overwhelming bounty of food and flowers and wine. I would arrive home and find breathtaking floral arrangements and casseroles on the outside…
Life After Suicide: Reflections on Healing & the Suicide Epidemic March 21, 2014 • 2 Comments The news has been full of rather grim stories lately. Although I’m not one to watch much television, I got hooked a couple weeks ago trying to learn a bit more about Oscar Pistorius. After a week of obsessing over the mysterious disappearance of the Malaysian jet, my thoughts have turned to the family of L’Wren Scott. I have to…
Blame as Rejection: Strategies to Survive It March 17, 2014 • 2 Comments Have you ever been blamed for something you didn’t do, and no amount of talking changed the other person’s mind or made a speck of difference? I experienced this as a child, which perhaps laid down the tracks for my extreme sensitivity to it in adult life. Being blamed for something I didn’t do would send me into a kind…
Parent Suicide Resources: When Children Grieve February 12, 2014 • 5 Comments In the aftermath of my husband’s death, I pursued every resource I could find to aid in my children’s recovery. They were not particularly fond of their brief foray into therapy because they found talking to a stranger about such an intimate experience “weird.” One of them attended a Survivors of Suicide support group but had a hard time finding…