Awakening Utah
Saturday, i participated in the Awakening Utah walk: a walk for suicide prevention and awareness.
This was kind of big for me. I mean, i don’t just walk up to everyone and say, “hello, my name is holly and i am a suicide survivor.” In truth, the phrase “suicide survivor” seems odd to me. I mean, i didn’t actually survive the suicide, i was just left behind. I guess that does make me the survivor, but am i really surviving? That rather sounds like the struggle is over, doesn’t it? I find much of the phraseology around suicide odd, honestly. Someone who commits suicide, at least within the suicide circles, is known as a “completer”. This term bothers me quite a bit actually, as it implies a type of success. Rich was troubled by his inability to “complete” his first attempt: “I can’t even do that right”. Rich was very much a perfectionist.
that’s all the words i have for this today.
head of the pack
walking in memory of all forgotten and unmentioned
no shortage of people
i really like the image on the shirt
the back of mine
June 6th, 2006 at 06:59
Having lost my first wife to suicide five years ago, I understand how you feel. Personally I hate the term Suicide Survivor as it labels those who had nothing to do with the act itself.
June 26th, 2006 at 13:50
I’m familiar with people not liking the term ‘commit’ suicide….seeing as it’s been passed on through media saying anything else seems foreign to us now.
‘Suicide Survivor’ is also a difficult term. Maybe ‘Changed by Suicide’ is a better term. I know I’ll never be the same.
Glad you could do the walk, I have to see if there’s something similar here in Canada.
All the best