Asking the Question Why?
By Tracy T. Dean
Asking “Why did my loved one do this?” is the question that haunts most survivors [family members or close friends who have lost one to suicide]. The outside world demands to know from us, and we don’t know ourselves. For some of us, there were definite clues that our loved ones were depressed or that something was wrong. We either knew that they were in pain and did not know the extent of it, or we did know and tried everything we knew to get help for them. For others, the suicide was completely out of character. Many people who end their lives are extremely good actors and actresses. They only allow us to see what they want us to see. In either instance, for many, we never thought it could happen to us, to our loved ones, and our families. It doesn’t make sense.