Ep. 402 Grief After a Suicide Death: My Personal Story with Karen Wyatt MD

Learn the story of my journey with grief after my father’s death by suicide and how it may differ from other grief experiences.

In this solo episode I share the story of my own grief experience after my father died by suicide 34 years ago. This is an ongoing journey that has shifted and changed over the years, teaching me a great deal about life, death and grief. The week this episode airs is the anniversary of Dad’s death, so I’m currently processing it once again and thought I would share the story with you. Hopefully this will be helpful to others who are dealing with grief after suicide or trying to help someone who is grieving. I want to decrease the stigma and shame that surround suicide so that we can get better about asking for, receiving, and giving help to those who are suffering. (Note: There are slides that accompany this talk if you watch on YouTube.)

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This episode includes:

• The shock and numbness of my first year of grief
• What I needed from others during my early grieving process
• Why I couldn’t talk about my father’s death for a long time
• How hospice opened me to finally begin embracing my grief
• Why allowing myself to feel anger was difficult but pivotal in my grief process
• Why it didn’t really matter what other people said to me during my grief experience
• Why I have compassion for people who couldn’t be there for me
• How I used rituals and travel to help me with my grief
• The devastating guilt that accompanies grief after suicide
• How my grief has changed over the years

Links mentioned in this episode:

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