The Healing Narratives of Suicide Loss Sue Egan

Kellie lost her son, Chris, to suicide 2 years ago.
Kellie had adopted Chris when he was 3 years old and at 22 years of age, he took his own life after struggles with addiction.
Kellie’s story has many layers and her honesty and bravery come forward in her words.
Hear how:
Kellie and her husband had very different grief reactions. the couple divided but then came back together again by establishing new boundaries. they created a platform for helping others which gave them both hope for the future. Kellie felt that her family foundations were “falling apart” and had to be rebuilt. Kellie is continuing her bonds with Chris by publishing a book, Mount Hope, which she calls a “love letter for the LGBTQI community.” Kellie felt she was ripped apart and had to hit the depths in order to rebuild who she was. Kellie won $75,000 not long after Chris died and how that impacted her journey. faith was a vital part of her healing. Mount Hope is available on Amazon and is a book about faith, sexuality and in the final chapter, Chris shows readers that suicide is not a sin in the religious context.
 
Please listen with care and know there are people out there that can help and support you. 
Within the UK: 
Samaritans - Free on 116 123 
Suicide&Co - Free on 0800 054 8400 Mon-Friday 9aam-9pm 
Within the US: 
Suicide Hotline: Free on 1-800-273-8255 or text 742741 
Anywhere else in the World:
Welcome | Sue Egan Psychology
Contact me here: sueeganpsychology@gmail.com and we will see what is available in your country.
 
Links you need from this episode:
 
https://www.facebook.com/kellie.woolf
https://www.instagram.com/kelliewoolf/
https://twitter.com/KellieKWoolf
https://kelliewoolf.com
Mount Hope eBook : Woolf, Kellie: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

Mary lost her partner, Phil, to suicide 3½ years before recording this podcast. Mary has been a therapist for 30 years but had no idea how significant the loss would be until it happened to her.
“Life has changed forever. I am changed forever.”
We discuss the:
statistics around suicide loss. absence of significant memorial sites - or silence that surrounds them. use of creativity in healing. shift in Mary’s career – from therapist to art student. history of suicide and how it is being played out in society today. silence and stigma that surrounds suicide. open inquest proceedings in the UK and how it affected Mary. lack of pro-active support Mary received. importance of community. physical effects of suicide loss. Mary would like to hear from you about how you have memorialised your loss or how you feel about the memorialisation of suicide loss in particular. If you feel as passionate about it as Mary does, please email Sue at sueeganpsychology@gmail.com and messages will be passed to Mary.
 
 
Please listen with care and know there are people out there that can help and support you. 
Within the UK: 
Samaritans - Free on 116 123 
Suicide&Co - Free on 0800 054 8400 Mon-Friday 9aam-9pm 
Within the US: 
Suicide Hotline: Free on 1-800-273-8255 or text 742741 
Anywhere else in the World:
Welcome | Sue Egan Psychology
Contact me here: sueeganpsychology@gmail.com and we will see what is available in your country.
 

In episode 30, Sara shared how it was losing her son, Billy, to suicide almost 3 years ago. This episode is Keelie’s story - Keelie is Billy’s sister.
Keelie shares what it was like from the perspective of being his older ‘protective’ sister and how difficult it was coping with Billy’s mental health difficulties.
We discuss how:
hard it was grieving with very young children. Keelie was inspired to start a running group, which helped her find herself and cope with the loss. all-consuming Billy’s illness was for the whole family. Keelie’s family made the decision to live a life worth living. resilient she has become. it has affected every area of her life.  
Please listen with care and know there are people out there that can help and support you. 
Within the UK: 
Samaritans - Free on 116 123 
Suicide&Co - Free on 0800 054 8400 Mon-Friday 9aam-9pm 
Within the US: 
Suicide Hotline: Free on 1-800-273-8255 or text 742741 
Anywhere else in the World:
Welcome | Sue Egan Psychology
Contact me here: sueeganpsychology@gmail.com and we will see what is available in your country.
 
The links you need from this episode:
Keelie| Running 🏃🏼‍♀️ (@running.swimming.bubbles) • Instagram photos and videos
Run4Rene | A mental health community that runs.
Get running with Couch to 5K - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Andrea lost a good friend to suicide 8 years ago and shared her story of this in episode 28 Andrea is back to share what it was like telling her 7 year old twins and how she has coped with the mental health difficulties of her son, Isaac.
We discuss-
how to tell the children of a suicide loss and how to support them in grief.
the effect suicide loss had on Isaac.
how Andrea coped with Isaac’s suicide attempt and strategies she used to support him.
how Andrea started to look after her own mental health and find her own support.
the compassionate use of language around mental health.
school ‘refusal’ and how to cope.
how as parents and caregivers we need to understand the impact on ourselves in order to become assertive with other people about our children’s best interests.
 
Please listen with care and know there are people out there that can help and support you. 
Within the UK: 
Samaritans - Free on 116 123 
Suicide&Co - Free on 0800 054 8400 Mon-Friday 9aam-9pm 
Within the US: 
Suicide Hotline: Free on 1-800-273-8255 or text 742741 
Anywhere else in the World:
Welcome | Sue Egan Psychology
Contact me here: sueeganpsychology@gmail.com and we will see what is available in your country.
 
The links you need from this episode:
 
Andrea on Instagram
Andrea on Facebook
Andrea's website
Parenting Mental Health Website

Cindy lost her 19 year old son, Andrew, the youngest of her 5 children, to suicide 4 years ago.
Cindy speaks openly and honestly about how being a mum defines who she is and, since losing Andrew, how she has managed the physical and emotional manifestation of grief.
Part of Cindy’s journey has been to start a charity – the Aslan foundation – in order to support others with teenagers struggling with their mental health.
Cindy’s story is both moving and heartfelt – showing us how a mother’s love endures through everything and how Andrew will forever live on in her.
 
Please listen with care and know there are people out there that can help and support you. 
Within the UK: 
Samaritans - Free on 116 123 
Suicide&Co - Free on 0800 054 8400 Mon-Friday 9aam-9pm 
Within the US: 
Suicide Hotline: Free on 1-800-273-8255 or text 742741 
Anywhere else in the World:
Welcome | Sue Egan Psychology  
Contact me here: sueeganpsychology@gmail.com and we will see what is available in your country.
 
The links you need from this episode:
The Aslan Foundation – Offering Help For today, Light for tomorrow, and hope a the future
Instagram - The Aslan Foundation Mental Health Page
Instagram - Aslan’s SurvivorsofSuicideLoss Page

20 years ago, Nick lost a friend at high school to suicide. Nick’s friend, Zaf had struggled with what was known as Manic Depression at the time (now recognised as Bipolar) and Nick discusses the struggles Zaf faced as a teenager.
Nick shares the effect grief and guilt had on him and, without any support available to him or his friends at the time, why he had no idea how (or even why) to process his feelings.
We hope that by Nick sharing his story, we can understand how adolescents may process grief and how we can best support them. For example, we discuss how it is best to foster open emotional relationships with adolescents so that when events like this happen, talking about emotions is acceptable and safe.
Nick has learnt how to embrace his feelings and feels he is more emotionally mature due to what happened to Zaf. In particular, Nick has channelled some of his guilt into becoming a Samaritans listening volunteer and discusses the charity’s values and beliefs about suicide and how they support suicidal people.
Listen with care and know there are people out there that can help and support you. 
Within the UK: 
Samaritans - Free on 116 123 
Suicide&Co - Free on 0800 054 8400 Mon-Friday 9aam-9pm 
Within the US: 
Suicide Hotline: Free on 1-800-273-8255 or text 742741 
Anywhere else in the World:
Welcome | Sue Egan Psychology
Contact me here: sueeganpsychology@gmail.com and we will see what is available in your country.