As the Commissioner for Victims’ Rights, I am often helping people suffering as the result of a traumatic incident. People bereaved by a sudden, often unexpected death, are frequently shocked and confused, and can feel a sense of chaos. Other common reactions to bereavement include bewilderment, disbelief, guilt and anger.

“The person who completes suicide dies once. Those left behind die a thousand deaths, trying to relive those terrible moments and understand…WHY?”

More than 36,000 people in the United States die by suicide every year. It is this country’s 10th leading cause of death, and is often characterized as a response to a single event or set of circumstances. However, unlike these popular conceptions, suicide is a much more involved phenomenon. The factors that contribute to any…

“From Pain to Promise” A meeting held with prevention professionals, health care providers, researchers, policymakers, and consumers with personal experience in suicide.

Sometimes when peoples’ lives have been touched by suicide, they want to help others by sharing their experience. Sharing one’s story with the public through presentations and media interviews is an important way to educate people about suicide. Research indicates that particular care needs to be taken when discussing suicide and here, a group of…

The suicidal mind is difficult to understand. How can we understand suicide and thesuicide of our loved one? What I have learned is that suicide notes are windows to thesuicidal mind; they are a way through the looking glass, but unlike Alice, we will not findwonderful things, but instead absolute pain.

Do Men and Women grieve differently? Women, through their conditioning tend to be lossoriented and are very concerned with their feelings. They want to focus on their loss by remembering theperson who has died. They have a need to express their emotions and to cry.