Reposted with permission from the American Association of Suicidology When I first entered the field of suicide prevention as a person bereaved by suicide back in 2007, one of the first things I noticed was the lack of “voice” given to suicide attempt survivors. It seemed to me that the experiences of suicide attempt survivors provided the critical “black box” from which the whole field could learn. When I became part of the Healing After Suicide Conference and asked why there weren’t sessions for suicide attempt survivors and their families, I was told that suicide attempt survivors and suicide loss survivors would not work well together because the bereaved would have grief support needs that might be negatively affected by attempt survivors stories of recovery (e.g., “why wasn’t my loved one able to recover?”) and that the two groups would work better separately. While this argument had some face validity, I was always troubled as to why suicide attempt survivors and those who love and support them were not given a proper home within our field. Sometimes the myth that the two survivor groups wouldn’t work well together seemed to perpetuate itself and continued the stigma and misunderstandings.
This year marks a decade since my brother’s death by
suicide, and I am so grateful to both the suicide bereaved and the suicide
attempt survivors who have provided me with such inspiration and education on
my journey into the Suicidology field. Over the past five years in particular,
I have come to the conclusion that not only can the bereaved and those with
lived experience have a lot to learn from each other, but also, when we band
together we create powerful testimony that can fuel future efforts.
For example, when we were developing the Man Therapy
campaign, we looked closely at the National Violent Death reporting data
provided to us by Colorado’s Office of Suicide Prevention. This rich dataset
gave us important insights about the life circumstances of the men who died,
but it gave us very little information on what might be needed to help prevent
this outcome from happening in the future. To augment this data, our
in-depth-interviews with men who had survived a suicide crisis and were now
thriving, gave us many ideas on what helped them and what they wished they had
during their darkest days.
I felt very honored to be witness to the “coming out”
stories, and they helped me understand the thoughts and emotional experiences
my brother possibly experienced in his final days. In my heart I believe if
Carson had heard role models like these men, he may have held on to hope
through the unbelievable psychological pain he was experiencing.
I remember talking with suicide attempt survivors who
attended the Healing After Suicide conference, and asking them if there was
enough content they found relevant, given that the conference agenda was so
heavily focused on bereavement. More than one attempt survivor told me they
often attend these types of bereavement-oriented events (e.g., conferences and
healing ceremonies), because witnessing the pain of the bereaved helps fuel
their reasons for living.
We are currently in an exciting time of transition as the
lived expertise of suicide attempt survivors is becoming increasingly organized
and powerful. The Suicide
Attempt Survivors Task Force of the National Action Alliance for Suicide
Prevention is preparing to release a groundbreaking document, “The Way Forward”
which provides key directions for communities, agencies and all suicide
prevention stakeholders to augment support for people who experience suicidal
thoughts and feelings, and to engage people with that lived experience as
collaborators and messengers of hope. Eduardo Vega, Action Alliance Executive
Committee Member and Co-lead of the Task-force points out that, “this is a
pivotal moment for changing the world of suicide prevention by including the
knowledge of those of us who have been there. People who’ve survived the
despair and impacts of suicide attempts need to be at every table in which communities
are considering what needs to be done to reduce isolation, stigma and
destructive practices that push people away from help and towards suicidal
behavior.”
In March the Mental Health Association of San Francisco, in
partnership with the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, will host
a landmark event and dialogue among the nation’s foremost thinkers and
advocates who are disclosed as suicide attempt survivors. Along with national mental health and suicide
prevention leadership and suicide loss survivors summit attendees will engage
crucial questions around what really makes a difference when people struggle
with suicide personally and in the aftermath of a suicide attempt.
When I asked the American Association of Suicidology’s Attempt
Survivor Task Force’s Chair, Cara Anna to share her perspective on the
bridge between the two groups, she said, “At the moment, attempt survivors are
on the path that loss survivors know well -- emerging and having their voices
heard, respected and included. I think we all can agree on this, and there's
certainly room to work together.”
Craig Miller, a suicide attempt survivor, author and public
speakers, emphatically states the common ground between the groups in his video
posted on the Attempt
Survivors’ blog, “All of us have come together with one common intention,
to do all we can to prevent future suicides, but all of us come with different
stories.”
So, today we stand in solidarity. Suicide attempt survivors
and suicide loss survivors are shoulder to shoulder looking forward. For
instance, suicide loss survivors are supporting suicide attempt survivors in
their effort to move from a task force to a Division of the American Association of Suicidology. This year when you submit or renew your membership
with AAS, consider identifying yourself in the “lived experience” category as
your primary affiliation to help the group reach the critical mass needed to
achieve Division status. One important way to show together we are better.
Renew your membership today and consider registering as
“Attempt Survivors/Lived Experience” for your primary affiliation to help this
critical division materialize: http://www.suicidology.org/join
.
