They were sitting on the couch almost comatose with shock, grief and unbelief filling every morsel of their beings. A husband and wife in their mid-thirties, having done everything they could think of with their daughter to help her through her issues, had just been found.

This young lady, at fourteen, had taken her own life. A moment in time that changed life’s course for two parents, three siblings, grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins… let alone a myriad of friends!

So many unanswered questions; so many ‘if onlys’ careering around the brain, shattering any sense of well-being in this devastating moment in history. The guilt, the anger, the despair, the blame overflowing in blank nothingness, too difficult to describe.

How do you get yourself up the next day, to prepare a farewell celebrating the brief years of this precious life? That’s when family, friends, professional support personnel… and your belief system become a safety net, your reason for taking one step forward.

My suggestion: Support the people through suicide just by being there. Be their arms, legs, and often their brain, whilst they begin to cope with their horrendous loss.