Suicide-Loss Blog Ranked Top 10

This blog, “Diving into Death,” has just been named “Top 10” for the topic of suicide loss by Feedspot. It’s an honor for me, a woman striving from my isolated home office to connect with other survivors–not just of suicide, but really any type of grief or trauma that completely knocks you off your feet …

Perhaps that includes all of us.

The blog name, “Diving into Death,” refers to both the literal way in which my son Jacob killed himself by drowning, and the psychological way in which we can descend into the abyss, to the point where suicide tempts us, or we feel utterly over-our-head in despair.

 

Why Write About It?

“Diving into Death” began as my coping mechanism for the suicide loss of my son.

Even though I’ve been a writer all my life, it took me a very long time to be able to force myself to bring my experience out, face it, examine it, and type words like these about it. Maybe I had to wait until I got strong enough not to get pulled under by a riptide of sorrow, until I could stop distracting myself to avoid it, sit still and listen, and then reveal.

It’s both therapeutic and informative for me. Articulating my grief feels like a catalyst for healing and evolving, and having a channel through which to unite with others, transforms the process from self-rumination into mutual support.

Additionally, it’s a place to sift through aspects of mental health and healing. Ever since Jacob died, I’ve absorbed hundreds of books, articles, blogs, and podcasts, hoping to grasp a little understanding of what it’s like to be suicidal, how to recognize when someone we love is on the brink, and how we who are left behind can manage to drag ourselves out of bed each day–or maybe even find a way into a new kind of health and happiness. How to build ourselves back from the broken pieces after massive loss.

What I discover in my research gets culled down into facts and updates on suicide loss, because the more we know and share, the more we empower ourselves. The more we can dare to be vulnerable to talk about what happened in our self/family/community, the more we will chip away at misconceptions and judgments about mental health issues.

Conversely, the more we connect with people who’ve gone through similar losses (although each of us has life experiences as unique as our fingerprints), the more we can strengthen ourselves.

 

What You’ll Find Here

You’ll find, in the pages of this website and blog:

• The stark truth about my own son’s descent and death
• Stories from other survivors I’ve met since then (see below to share YOURS)
• Confessions of my guilt, depression, anxiety, and ongoing process of healing
• Objective data on mental health, suicide, grief, and healing
• Resources for reading, listening, therapy, and community

The blog weaves together personal experience and supportive information, like diary entries interspersed with research articles. Examples:

• How Suicide Loss Is Different
• I Felt Happy for a Minute, I’m Sorry
• 13 Ways People Actually Heal from Suicide Loss
• She Seemed Fine: True Story of Suicide on First Attempt
• The Possibility of Heaven

Share YOUR Story

I want to hear about your experience, Why? Because talking about it actually lessens your pain, and all of us joining together nourishes our growth.

So, please, jump over to my Facebook page and post your story there, or email me with your story of survival and allow me the honor of you as a guest blogger here (with just your first name or a pseudonym if you prefer).

Let’s turn this into a two-way channel of communication. I look forward to meeting you.

You We are not alone.

 

Cover image courtesy of hudson-hintze-vpxeE7s-my4-unsplash.jpeg.