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Death by suicide is barred none one of the most difficult ways in which a loved one can die. The aftermath presents an emotionally challenging situation for survivors of suicide loss. This includes facing the prospect of suicide cleanup following a traumatic death of this nature. Survivors of suicide loss, typically family members, face the tremendous task of seeing to the remediation of the scene. The additional emotional toll that suicide cleanup can vest upon survivors underscores the need for compassionate professional assistance.
Leah and Max Cohen are the parents of three children, all of which are enrolled in different colleges in the state of California. Leah and Max reside in Palm Springs, own a popular clothing store, and are active in their synagogue. In fact, Leah’s brother is one of the rabbis at Hillel Temple. The Cohen’s…
The loss of a loved one by suicide can result in a complicated emotional aftermath. As a consequence, frustration can be a significant part of the grieving process after a loved one’s suicide death. Through this we provide an overview of frustration and the death by suicide of a loved one. We also discuss how…
No one ever told me that grief felt so much like fear. – C.S. Lewis Fear is a common response to death and can impact the overall grieving process. This is even more the case when the cause of a loved one’s passing is suicide. The death by suicide of a loved one raises the…
In his book Aftermath, Gary Roe writes: Sadness and anger are the two predominant grief emotions. In suicide deaths, both tend to be deep and powerful. Someone special has been taken from us. We’re designed for relationships and wired for connection. We don’t do separation well. Our hearts scream that this kind of thing is…
In nearly all instances of a person who dies by suicide, family and other loved ones are virtually universal in stating that when they learned of the death, they were in shock. People often time do make statements like “I was shocked” when something alarming occurs in their lives. In some instances, they really may…
Many people presume that there is a definite link between depression and suicide. Facts are that there can be a link between depression and suicide in some instances. In recent years, data regarding the connection between depression and suicide has accumulated and warrants consideration. New Data on the Depression and Suicide Link The U.S. Department…
In his highly regarded book Aftermath: Picking Up the Pieces After a Suicide, Gary Roe addresses the subject of confusion following the death of a loved one – a state of confusion that can be profound and even debilitation. Roe writes: When death invades, confusion is a natural result. Our lives have been struck. Our…
If you have lost a family member or friend as a result of a death by suicide, you undoubtedly wonder what might have happened in that loved one’s life that brought that person to the point of suicide. In a good many cases, some past trauma may be an underlying element that resulted in a…
Losing a loved one as a result of a death by suicide is a traumatic event. When we experience something traumatic during the course of our lives, anxiety is a natural response to that type of incident or occurrence. As a survivor of the suicide death of a loved one, you may find yourself experiencing…
Guilt is perhaps the most painful companion to death. – Elisabeth Kubler-Ross Kubler-Ross’ reflection about guilt and death is magnified when a loved one dies by suicide. The reality is that when survivors of a suicide death or a loved one are asked about the range of emotions they are experiencing or have experienced, guilt…
How suicide is reported, talked about, and portrayed in the media has great influence, especially on those who are vulnerable. – Anonymous If you are a survivor of a loved one who died by suicide, you may be wondering if there is someone amiss in the world that is making this type of death somehow…
Grief and the grieving process following the suicide of a loved one can be particularly profound. Indeed, medical professionals have a term for the level of grief a person may face when they have lost a family member or friends as the result of a suicide death. It is known as complicated grief. With that…
Researchers and historical data reveal that a fairly significant percentage of people who die by suicide or who attempt to commit suicide suffer from substance use disorder. In other words, a considerable number of people who die by suicide have an issue with drug abuse or drug addiction. Through this article, we explore the link…
Time and again, there are media reports about a person dying by suicide and then another person somehow connected to that individual also dying by suicide. This phenomenon happens with such frequency at this juncture in time it has been given its own name: suicide contagion. Because suicide contagion is a recurring and relatively widespread…
Despite the efforts to fight the stigma associated with death by suicide, the reality is that there remains in the eyes of many people a stigma attached to this manner of death. The existence of a persistent stigma associated with suicide in some quarters makes dealing with this type of death especially hard on surviving…
If you have lost a family member or other loved one as a result of a suicide death, you may find yourself dealing with an array of challenging issues. The same may hold true for other members of your family or other individuals close to you. Oftentimes, when people lose a person they care about…
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has developed a concise, direct, plain English definition of suicide contagion: Suicide contagion is the exposure to suicide or suicidal behaviors within one’s family, one’s peer group, or through media reports of suicide and can result in an increase in suicide and suicidal behaviors. Direct and indirect…
Survivors of the suicide of a student or young person face particularly striking challenges. Perhaps these are no more pronounced than they are in the grieving process. With this in mind, there are some key, fundamental steps associated with a healthy grieving process following the death of a student by suicide. These are: Accept the…
The Specialists at the Riverside Trauma Center have developed a set of guiding principles associated with the suicide postvention process. These principles are designed to provide a pathway to assist survivors of suicide of a young person or student in addressing this particularly tragic type of death. The five primary guiding principles are: Avoid oversimplifying…
One of the most traumatic events that can occur in the life of a high school, middle school, and even elementary school student in this day and age is the death of a peer by suicide. Because of the truly harrowing nature of a young person losing a peer by suicide, special attention must be…
The Trevor Project launched its second National Survey on LGBTQ+ Youth Mental Health in 2020. Experts generally are only now beginning to better understand the mental health impact of the multiple crises that we’ve faced during 2020. One fact remains consistent in 2020: suicide remains a public health crisis. Suicide consistently is ranked as the…
Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death overall in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. National Institutes of Health. On average, approximately 48,000 people die by suicide in the United States annually. There are about two and a half times as many suicides in…
In a 2020 research study by The Trevor Project, an astonishing 40 percent of LGBTQ+ people under the age of 25 reported that they had seriously contemplated suicide in the past 12 months. An associated stark reality is that when asked about suicidal thoughts or suicidal ideations, a notable percentage of people will not honestly…
Young people who lose someone because of a suicide death face an array of significant challenges, even during the proverbial “best of times.” Life during the coronavirus pandemic generally cannot be considered the “best of times” for many reasons. The pandemic has had and is likely to continue to have a negative impact on day…
The grief process following the death by suicide of a loved one can be profound, even traumatic. The reality of the complexities and difficulties associated with the grieving process following the death by suicide of a loved one extends to adults, young people, and children alike. When it comes to understanding the grief of children…
“Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate, and to humble.” – Yehuda Berg Yehuda Berg has beautifully explained the words. Simply, words matter. And they matter a great deal when it comes to suicide postvention or dealing with issues following the death…
Suicide is a major public health issue in the United States and in other countries around the world. Ultimately, understanding the facts and circumstances associated with a particular death by suicide are crucial. With that noted, considering broader statistics can also be illuminating and help us to better understand the pervasive nature of suicide in…
Researchers and suicidologists have determined that approximately 150 people are affected when a person dies by suicide. This number represents people who are more directly impacted by the death by suicide of someone with a connection in their lives. In addition to these individuals more directly affected, there is another cohort of people that are…
TAPS is the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. Suicide deaths are the most common types of referrals made to TAPS. More information about TAPS itself is presented in a moment. Through its work with survivors of tragic, untimely deaths of loved ones in the military services, the organization created the TAPS Three-Phase Postvention Model. The…
Suicide postvention is defined as activities that are designed to reduce risk and promote healing in the aftermath of a death by suicide, according to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. There are a set of principles associated with suicide postvention. These postvention principles are: Public health problem Appropriate grief process Proper suicide prevention actions Suicide…
As part of suicide postvention, it is important to understand how a death by suicide impacts certain cohorts of people. For example, the impact of a death by suicide is different on surviving family members than it is on professional colleagues. The Suicide Ecological Model is designed to assist in understanding how a death by…
When a loved one dies, those closest to the deceased individual nearly always have a desire to memorialize or commemorate the person who has passed on in some manner. For many people, there are religious traditions that form the basis upon which a deceased person is memorialized or commemorated. When a person dies by suicide,…
When a student dies by suicide, the school community needs to be defined from a broader perspective. The school community is not just the students and faculty at a particular school. Rather, the school community includes not only students and faculty at a specific school where a young person has died by suicide, but also:…
When a person dies by suicide, including a student or young person, that individual’s social media page or pages become virtual gathering points for family, friends, and others. Moreover, in addition to the deceased individual’s social media page or pages, social media more generally nearly always becomes active with posts and discussions regarding the specific…
The Riverside Trauma Center has developed a 10-component array of comprehensive primary postvention tasks that are recommended following the death by suicide of a student. The 12 primary postvention tasks are: Verify death and essential facts surrounding the death Coordinate internal and external resources Disseminate accurate information Specific support for those impacted by the death…
A 2011 study revealed that approximately 70 people are intimately or directly impacted by the suicide of a young person. Research further underscores that the effects of a young person’s death by suicide extend beyond more immediately or directly impacted survivors. A more comprehensive study on the subject indicates that 115 people are exposed each…
The aftermath of a student’s death by suicide among his or her peers can be complicated and even somewhat confounding. There is a need for a coordinated, comprehensive postvention strategy to be in place in a school setting to address issues that might arise among student suicide loss survivors. Is There a Need for Postvention…
Research has shown that the manner in which the media portrays death by suicide can play a role in the prospect of others contemplating and even acting upon suicidal ideations. Larry Berkowitz is the Director of the Riverside Recovery Center is an example of a specialist in the field of suicide prevention and postvention, including…
Sadly, suicide loss in schools across the United States is a grim, recurring reality. An array of unique challenges follow in the wake of the death of a young person by suicide, including those that confront those involved with our schools. With this in mind, there is vital information that needs to be understood when…
In recent years, the media has broadcast an increasing number of stories that link bullying and suicide. However, researchers are still looking to establish a concrete connection between these two behavioral phenomenons. The world’s suicide rates are on the rise. Meanwhile, bullying is declining around the world. The stark contrast between these statistics has helped…
Are you struggling to understand non-suicidal self-injury? Is someone you know self-injuring? Here is a comprehensive guide to non-suicidal self-injury. Read along for information and resources about NSSI. What Are Non-Suicidal Self-Injuries (NSSI) According to the International Society for the Study of Self-Injury, non-suicidal self-injury is deliberate, self-inflicted damage to body tissue. These sorts of…
Bullying, suicide and even being LGBTQ are commonly depicted as being connected in the media. However, one need not be LGBTQ to be bullied into suicide. One need only look up stories of Billy Lucas, Tyler Clementi, Phoebe Prince or Hope Witsell to see how often “outsiders” committed suicide. Prince was an Irish girl who…
Bullying in all its forms, including cyberbullying, is a significant problem among elementary, middle, and high school students: 31.6 percent of students are bullied online and in school 11.5 percent of students are bullied at school only 10.5 percent of students are bullied online only 4.3 percent of students report no experience with bullying The…
Bullying is a significant problem in schools across California and throughout the United States. A grim reality in the 21st century is that student suicides oftentimes are connected to bullying. There are a variety of crucial facts and factors that teachers, administrators, and other school personnel must understand when it comes to bullying and suicide.…
Nine-year-old girls in fourth grade should be enjoying time with their families, playing with friends, going to school. Sadly, the life of McKenzie Adams took a tragically different route during the holiday season in 2018. The Alabama girl took her own life by hanging herself in her grandmother’s home. In the aftermath of her suicide,…
Bullying is when someone intentionally causes another person harm or injury. Bullying behaviors tend to be repetitive. If it seems as though bullying-related suicides are becoming more prevalent, that’s because they are. Children who reported being bullied or were reportedly bullying others are at risk for developing suicidal tendencies. However, the relationship between suicide and…
California residential landlords face a myriad of problems at any given point in time. Some of the more complicated situations for a landlord occur when a tenant dies by suicide. The situation becomes more complex when the tenant that dies by suicide has a surviving relative but that relation is unable or unwilling to deal…
The United States has the highest number of incarcerated individuals in the industrialized world. Suicide is a major issue in jails, prisons, and other correctional institutions in the United States. Suicide is considered a serious health problem in U.S. correctional facilities. Suicide is the second leading cause of deaths in jails and the third leading…
An understandably considerable amount of attention is paid to suicide prevention among young people, including high school age students. The vital necessity for ambitious, comprehensive suicide programs directed towards high school students cannot be overstated. With that important reality recognized, attention also needs to be paid to suicide postvention in a high school setting. Specifically,…
Oddly during the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, a work by a poet from Ancient Rome named Ovid is a highly acclaimed literary masterpiece called Metamorphoses. Metamorphoses is an epic poem in an extraordinary of almost 12,000 lines that chronicle the history of the world from its inception to the exaltation of Julius Caesar as…
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