The presentation is designed to help people who are supporting someone who has lost a friend, work colleague, or loved one to suicide.

1. 10 THINGS YOU
SHOULD KNOW
ABOUT SUICIDE
GRIEF
Bruce Rickard

2. 10 Things You Should Know About Suicide Grief
You may have an opportunity to
support someone who has
experienced the tragic loss of a
friend or loved one to suicide.
Here are
“10 things you should
know about suicide
grief.”

3. 10 Things You Should Know About Suicide Grief
1. It is Unexpected
A person’s suicide
often takes the people
it leaves behind by
surprise.

4. 10 Things You Should Know About Suicide Grief
2. It is Traumatic
The trauma of suicide is so
devastating it has the
potential to shut down normal
coping mechanisms.

5. 10 Things You Should Know About Suicide Grief
3. It Is Insistent
There is an Old Turkish Proverb
“He who conceals his grief finds
no remedy for it.” Avoiding grief
robs us of life.

6. “Only grieving can heal grief; the
passage of time will lessen the
intensity, but time alone, without the
direct experience of grief, will not
heal it.”
Ann Lamott

7. 10 Things You Should Know About Suicide Grief
4. It Is Personal
No two people grieve in quite the
same way...There is no map or
timetable for grief.
What grief looks like and how long
it lasts is an individual journey.

8. 10 Things You Should Know About Suicide Grief
5. It Is Inequitable
The grief journey is a different process
for each individual and the intensity of
the experience can vary.

9. 10 Things You Should Know About Suicide grief
6. It is Isolating
Individuals who have lost someone
they love to suicide feel greater
isolation and stigmatisation than
other mourners. They dread the
possibility of negative reactions.

10. “Silence keeps us separate, behind our own
barriers, wondering at our own reality.
Where does grief untold go?”
Ruth Wajnrib

11. 10 Things You Should Know About Suicide Grief
7. It is Unpredictable
Grief is by nature unpredictable and
may resurface at any stage. You
cannot always tell when something
will trigger intense emotions.

12. 10 Things You Should Know About Suicide Grief
8. It is Transforming
The suicide of someone you love
is a defining moment. It changes
your life forever.

13. “Suicide can shatter the things you take
for granted about yourself, your
relationships, and your world.”
Jack Jordan

14. 10 Things You Should Know About Suicide Grief
9. It is Questioning
People affected by suicide are
plagued by the need to make sense
of the death and to understand why
their friend or family member would
want to end their life.

15. 10 Things You Should Know About Suicide Grief
10. It is Remembering
Making meaning of loss is a major
challenge but in doing so we often
discover important ways to honour
our loved one.
We have a duty to remember and
to celebrate their life.

16. “At first these reminders can be
painful, triggering deep grief all over
again. But eventually, they are
transformed from reminders of a loved
one’s death to remembrances of his or
her life.”
Albert Hsu

17. 10 Things You Should Know About Suicide Grief
hopefortomorrow.info
bruce@hopefortomorrow.info