Surviving Suicide

National Survivors of Suicide Loss Day

Any time there is a forum for people to talk about their shared experiences ā€“ thatā€™s a good thing. Sometimes we just want to be around people who get it ā€“ itā€™s comforting. Having a day set aside to honor or memorialize people who have died by suicide or loved somebody who has, is a [...]

By |2017-02-10T09:32:58-08:00November 18th, 2016|Stories, Suicide Prevention, Surviving Suicide|2 Comments

My Story, Rewritten

Dark Days: I experienced many dark days from the ages of 4 to 40. I experienced various types of abuse and trauma during those years, and I began having symptoms of mental illness as early as 7. The symptoms werenā€™t always consistent, and my behavior was misconstrued as, ā€œshe is just being a bad girl,ā€ [...]

By |2017-02-10T09:33:03-08:00November 15th, 2016|Bipolar, Mental Health, Stories, Surviving Suicide|Comments Off on My Story, Rewritten

And we’re LIVE!

"And we're LIVE!" For two years, I start just about every weekly Suicide Prevention Social Media Chat (#SPSM) livestream with those words. Those words weren't intentional. It's just how things turned out. If you want to do a regular social media event about a topic that everyone says no one wants to talk about, I [...]

By |2017-02-10T09:33:09-08:00November 7th, 2016|Stories, Suicide Prevention, Surviving Suicide|Comments Off on And we’re LIVE!

The Iron Men of October

It is currently October 2016 and, as such, it has been nearly half a century since the formal study of understanding (and preventing) suicide was borne out into its own existence. In these past 50 years there have been many important discoveries and advances, but one thing has NOT changed, suicide remains a leading cause [...]

By |2017-02-10T09:33:14-08:00October 25th, 2016|Stories, Suicide Prevention, Surviving Suicide|Comments Off on The Iron Men of October

Waking Up Dead

Every night, I would wish that the next morning I would wake up dead. Of course this is technically impossible. It was however a reflection of the deep emotional pain, anguish and hopelessness that I felt for so many years. Waking up dead did not mean waking up with the sudden ability to turn off [...]

By |2017-02-10T09:33:26-08:00September 26th, 2016|Stories, Surviving Suicide|Comments Off on Waking Up Dead

This is the Day that Changed Me

It is 8 am.Ā  I shower.Ā  Dress in black.Ā  Get in the car.Ā  Smoke.Ā Ā  Iā€™m shaky.Ā  A little nervous.Ā  I tell myself Iā€™m not.Ā  Deep breathes.Ā  Focus on driving.Ā  Getting closer.Ā  Maybe 20 minutes.Ā  Iā€™m just a person.Ā  I am nobody.Ā  Am I safe?Ā  Do I trust my doctor?Ā  DoĀ  I trust these people?Ā  Do [...]

By |2017-02-10T09:33:31-08:00September 23rd, 2016|Stories, Surviving Suicide|1 Comment

The Alchemy of Healing

For the last fifteen years, Iā€™ve been ā€œoutā€ as a suicide attempt survivor. Iā€™ve shared publicly what it felt like to be unable to live in my own skin, and what it was like to be a patient receiving treatment after suicide attempts. Iā€™ve shared countless times about how the systems that were supposed to [...]

By |2017-02-10T09:33:42-08:00September 9th, 2016|Mental Health, Stories, Surviving Suicide|Comments Off on The Alchemy of Healing

Craig Miller: My Story

ā€œWhy?ā€ As a suicide attempt survivor I canā€™t tell you how many times I have sat with people and tried to give them an answer to that question. When doctors would ask I would become frustrated, because they should be the ones with the answers. When family would ask I would feel guilty, because anything [...]

By |2017-02-10T09:33:51-08:00September 2nd, 2016|Stories, Surviving Suicide|2 Comments

Understanding The S Word

Iā€™ve been here before. When the sadness is so thick it can choke me, and I have terrifying thoughts swirling in my mind trying to seduce me with an escape plan from my pain- it can be horrifying, especially because I am a suicide attempt survivor. Being a part of ā€œThe S Wordā€ documentary has [...]

By |2017-06-30T14:31:31-07:00August 26th, 2016|Stories, Surviving Suicide|Comments Off on Understanding The S Word

Changing the Conversation around Suicide

My name is Lisa Klein and I am currently directing a documentary called The S Word. Try telling someone youā€™re making a film about suicide and see what their reaction is. A long, uncomfortable silence. A concerned look. Clearing of the throat. Then I launch into my spiel ā€“ ā€œItā€™s not going to be a [...]

By |2017-02-10T09:34:02-08:00May 10th, 2016|Mental Health, Stories, Surviving Suicide|2 Comments
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