The Murder-Suicide Fad?

Two Families

Two families this week, one in California and one in Ohio, decided that a fast exit from life was the best strategy with dealing with their stressful crises be it financial or personal, respectively. The male head of the household made that decision for themselves and their entire immediate family. The one thing the stories have in common is that no one saw this coming. No one saw this coming. I beg to differ. At the risk of being called nosy, do we really care to look beyond the surface?

A Thin Line

The inter-relation of homicide and suicide is too thin to slice. It's just a matter of where the anger, frustration, etc. is pointed. What lies beneath, is a deteriorated coping mechanism. The incapacity of thinking rationally for a solution, leaving you with a dead end of hopelessness. What saddens me is that this level of despair has medical answers if people just had a chance to stop and seek help.

Those Left Behind

We will never have all the answers or even know all the facts. All we can do is learn to live with the certainty of not knowing. No one need fester. No one need despair. There are places you can go, people you can see, things you can do to find hope, find healing, and see a ray light amongst the darkness. Talk to other survivors of such loss. Learn that you are not alone. We can face the issue, debunk the stigma, heal and help others do the the same.

Ask someone how they are doing today. Then take the time to really listen.

We should never feel the need to bow our heads in shame.

There is hope, there is. We just have to believe. Tomorrow will be better.

Feeling the need to help survivors cope with their loss...

The Afterw@rd