Suicide Aftermath

When someone attempts or completed suicide, it becomes traumatic event and painful to their family members or friends. A variety of emotions may emerge such as anger, fear, worry, guilt, shame, all which are normal. After returning from hospital treatment, some people will be more prone to repeat attempts, and others won’t be. The family, friends and attempt survivor will need to learn a reasonable and balanced way of communication and creating effective plan for recovery. Counseling and therapy, both individual and for the entire family can help you to develop a plan and deal with all the emotions you are experiencing.

“Not talking about what happened or ignoring the issues often further complicates an already complicated situation and may even increase the risk of a future suicide attempt for the survivor. “

After exposure to traumatic events, you may experience the following:

• Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep; waking up early
• Nightmares and/or “flashbacks”
• Difficulty concentrating or paying attention
• Carelessness in performing ordinary tasks
• Outbursts of irritability or anger, sometimes without apparent reason.
• Unusual bodily fatigue
• Feelings of emotional numbness
• An inability to let go of distressing mental images or thoughts
• Feelings of depression, loss, or sadness
• Feelings of helplessness, powerlessness, and lack of control
• Feelings of guilt or shame

Suicide prevention should be a three part including prevention, intervention, and postvention. Effective counseling and therapy is an integral part of comprehensive suicide prevention efforts.

Prevention may reduce suicide risk by identifying and supporting the emotional and mental health needs of the survivors. Intervention and Postvention helps to alleviate the distress of suicidally bereaved individuals, reduce the risk of imitative suicidal behavior, and promote the healthy recovery of the affected person and family.