Bereaved by suicide

Every year many young people feel that they cannot bear to go on living. Most will survive a suicide attempt; a few will not. The death of a child is always shattering, but suicide is a particularly cruel form of death for the surviving family and friends who are often left not knowing why. Even if a note has been found which attempts to explain this drastic action, many people feel guilt and regularly go over what could have been done to prevent the tragedy.

For families of children who have died from suicide, there may be the additional stress of coping with the police, post-mortem, inquest, media and reactions of others. Unfortunately, suicide is still viewed unsympathetically by people who may make thoughtless and wounding comments about the selfishness of taking one’s own life.

Sadly numbers of suicides amongst young people continue grow but many bereaved parents have found help, support and comfort from knowing that others are able to share their unique pain and grief. There can be relief in knowing that others understand immediately 'how it feels' and feelings of isolation, guilt and stigma are shared and lessened.

TCF holds support groups for parents bereaved by suicide in London, Bristol, Cambridge and Glasgow. These support groups meet in a safe space to share in confidence thoughts and feelings and to support each other through and share our grief. Contact our Helpline on 0345 123 2304 helpline@tcf.org.uk for more information about the groups around the country and to be put in touch with the group facilitator.

There is also a private Facebook group for parents bereaved by suicide where we can talk to each other online, find support and feel listened to. We share photographs, commemorate birthdays, anniversaries, other difficult dates (Mothers’ Day or Fathers’ Day, Christmas, New Year, the holiday seasons) and also explore many other areas of grief. Please contact Marie at info@tcf.org.uk to join this Facebook group.

When possible we offer parents bereaved by suicide a retreat weekend each year at Woodbrooke, Birmingham. (This is now postponed to 2022 due to coronavirus). We are running some online specialist support groups for bereaved parents and more details can be found on our online events page.

You can also find more information and help in our leaflet, After Suicide, which covers in greater detail important areas relating to bereavement by suicide. The leaflet Coping with Judgemental Attitudes may also be helpful. We also publish a leaflet especially for siblings bereaved by suicide and you can find it at this link - When our sibling has died by suicide.

The postal library has many books on bereavement and suicide and Support After Suicide has published a comprehensive booklet entitled ‘Help is at Hand’ which can be downloaded from their website.

 

The Compassionate Friends are members of the Support After Suicide Partnership (SASP). We collaboratively work within the SASP network of organisations and charities who strive to provide appropriate and timely support to those bereaved by suicide.