Coping With a Loved One's Suicide

Video Transcript

"The feelings after a loved one completes a suicide are overwhelming and confusing. I'm Sandi Sunter, I'm with the Hospice of Florida Sun Coast. When someone in your family completes a suicide the feelings are just overwhelming. People do not know what to do or what to say. Because People don't talk about suicide. People don't talk about suicide because so often it is associated with other types of issues such as mental illness, genetic challenges, personality disorders, addictions, and family traumas and past experiences. People who are survivors of a suicide are so isolated because they have no place to turn, or think they have no place to turn. However in so many communities there are support groups and peer groups of others who have a loved one who has completed a suicide. For survivors what is important is that they want to try to make some type of a sense out of why this happened. They want to be able to find some reason and take the blame away or find some responsibility. They want to get some information as how do they talk to other people, and how do they communicate and how do they manage the disruption in their family. What is recommended for people who have had a loved one complete a suicide is to find support in the community. Go for individual or family counseling, find a peer to peer support group, find resources in the community on the internet. What is important is that postvention is good prevention for the future. I'm Sandi Sunter I'm with the hospice of the Florida Sun Coast."