Why do people die of suicide? Join Jana and Donna Schuurman for a discussion about this complex question.
Two prominent theories mentioned by Donna:
Edwin Shneidman
“Suicide is caused by psychache. Psychache refers to the hurt, anguish, soreness, aching, psychological pain in the psyche, the mind. Suicide occurs when the psychache is deemed by that person to be unbearable.”
Reference: Suicide as Psychache: A clinical approach to self-destructive behavior, (1995), p.51.
Thomas Joiner
1. Perceived Burdensomeness
2. Thwarted Belongingness
3. Acquired capacity/decreased fear of pain of death
Reference: Why People Die by Suicide (2007).
Eleanor and Litsa from What’s Your Grief join us as special guests to talk about becoming a parent when you’re grieving the death of your own parent or sibling. Listen in for suggestions on how to help your children build a relationship with the memory of the person who died and ways to make time for your own grief and self-care.
Resources for talking with children and teens about death:
http://www.dougy.org/grief-resources/how-to-help-a-grieving-child/
http://www.whatsyourgrief.com/supporting-a-grieving-child/
http://www.whatsyourgrief.com/supporting-a-grieving-teen/
Article mentioned by Eleanor:
Book mentioned by Litsa:
The Disappearance is a memoir by Genevieve Jurgensen whose two young daughters were killed in a car crash. She seeks ways to help her other children, who were born after the crash, to know and feel connected to their sisters.
Have you ever struggled with the idea of finding closure in grief? Given grief’s ongoing and evolving nature, the search for final closure can be a misguided pursuit, one that leaves us disheartened and even ashamed. In this episode you’ll hear from a variety of grieving young adults as they break open the idea of closure and identify significant turning points in their process. You’ll learn about moments of clarity, confusion, new understandings, and what it's like when the sharp emotions rise up again. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to this episode.