Karen Sykes - Speak Their Name and the risk from losing both husband and daughter to suicide

"I'm a nurse of nearly 40 years and I didn't realise that after Ian's death that both myself and our children, Beth and all the children, were at higher risk of dying to suicide. That never actually entered my head."

Key takeaways from this episode:

1. If you lose a loved one to suicide that puts you at significant risk of suicide yourself and other mental health problems, particularly in the first year after losing them.
2. Don't be afraid of that vulnerability but use that knowledge of risk to protect yourself by seeking out the right kind of support to help you.

Karen lost her husband, Ian, to suicide very suddenly in October 2015 then the unimaginable happened and her daughter, Beth, took her own life just 4 years later. In this heart-breaking episode Karen celebrates and remembers just what Ian and Beth brought to her life and shares with incredibly clarity and honesty how difficult it has been to cope with losing them.

She admits how difficult it has been to deal with the grief and shares the incredible support and value she's found by seeking out other people who have lived experience of losing loved ones to suicide.

"the judgment wasn't there, there was no judgment. It was safe. You were with people who just got it...and that permission to be sad if you want to be sad but also that permission to laugh as well and to have good days and and to enjoy life...just made such a big difference"

She also talks about the origins of speaktheirname.org, an organisation created to help those bereaved by suicide, initially through the collaborative creation of a memorial quilt but now by offering up a shared space on their website where loved ones who took their own life can be remembered, commemorated and celebrated. It also provides resources to help those bereaved by suicide.

If you need someone to talk to, you can text Mikeysline on 07786 20 77 55 or contact via messenger, webchat or X. Sun-Thurs 6pm-10pm & Fri-Sat 6pm-11pm.

Or come and visit at 4 Strothers Lane, Inverness IV1 1LR, Sun-Thurs 6pm-10pm & Fri-Sat 6pm-11pm.

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Speaking of Suicide hosting is supported by D and D Paving Ltd.

Speaking of Suicide is produced and presented by Adventurous Audio in Scotland

Find out more about Speak Their Name