You are my hero.
These words are so important when talking to people whose lives have been touched by suicide.
Survivors of suicide loss must fashion a new life with a heartbreak that, although its ability to incapacitate us lessons, never fully goes away. It will never be ok that we lost someone we loved to suicide. We do however learn to live on. Many of grow and learn to love harder, forgive more quickly, and advocate for those who are still suffering. All of us enduring this loss are heroes.
Those living with mental illness and suicidal ideation are heroes every single time they reach out for help. They are heroes every single time they hold on for another day. Until we have more research, better treatment, and resources that are more readily available, support services for those who feel suicidal are often sub par. Many of those struggling with suicidal feelings are working desperately to stay alive and they are doing it for their family and loved ones. Most definitely, that is heroic.
And survivors of suicide attempts are heroic too. Many of them have had to endure people telling them that their despair makes them selfish or cruel. Many of them struggle with profound guilt and shame. And many survive just to be confronted with a lack of effective treatment and relief from their despair. The decision to recommit to life is often made, once again, for family and loved ones.
I believe that all those whose lives are touched for suicide should be reminded that they are heroes every single day.
When I found this beautiful card, I reached out to the designer, Tiffany from Bay City, Michigan. Tiffany sells this card and others in her online shop, InvitesDotTiff. Tiffany was happy to let me feature her card on this blog. She explained her reason for the message on the card:
"There are tons of cards out there that say "I'm sorry for your loss", but none that ask what they can do to help, none that say that they will be there for you, no matter what and none that recognize the true heroism of holding on when everything in you is telling you to give up. This card is for those people, the secret heroes of the everyday. "
Thank you Tiffany for your acknowledgement, and thank you to all the heroes out there whose lives have been touched by suicide.
You can find Tiffany's store by clicking on the logo, below:
