Lori Zeller lost her sister in 1991 due to suicide. Her life became a life of activism after that. When she was 22 years old, she started a support group in Tennessee for the loved ones who have lost people from suicide. She talked to friends, family members and co-workers on suicide prevention. I think that is a good idea, so it gets stopped. They signed a lot of petitions to get insurance coverage of mental health services. After all of her many efforts, her brother took his own life 15 years later. She still thinks prevention is important. Lori didn't know how they still lost Dave, her brother, after everything she learned in the support groups. The death of her brother made her feel angry for awhile, now she just gets frustrated and sad. That is so terrible that he still commited suicide after what their family had already been through. She still worries about her remaining brother and her mother. Lori is trying to show her kids what survival looks like, what it means to finish the race, fight the fight and keep the faith. That is a really good idea so her kids don't feel the urge of suicide.Lori was one of the many to share her stories of suicide loss in her family. She shared her opinions and is part of the growing movement of survivors. I think people should just get counseling instead of killing themselves! Although everyone's stories about suicide are different, they have noticed that they all have one thing in common. Instead of saying they 'commited suicide,' they all say 'died of' or 'lost to' suicide. You don't hear that very often; I hear commited all of the time. Both of her siblings suffered from depression and paranoia. Depression always seems to be a trigger to suicide. If there is a mental illness along with that, it just makes everything worse.Liz Heydanek is another person who has lost a loved one from suicide. She lost her husband 14 years ago. Even though that seems like a long time ago, her and her three kids are still having a hard time coping with his death. That is so sad! Liz's life became extremely hard after his death. Many of his family members questioned her for the reason of the death even though she had nothing to do with it. Even her closest friends kind of turned their backs to her and she had no one to reach out to and talk to. She eventually went into depression which was fueled by alcohol abuse. I wonder what her kids are going through. Liz didn't know about any of the suicide support groups until many years later and she joined. It made it a little easier for her since she was able to talk to people going through the same type of issue. The support groups didn't change any of the facts but it gave her and her kids motivation to move forward in life.Support groups around the country are growing day by day. They really give people the opportunity to open up and talk about their feelings. Yesterday (Saturday), the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention will have its 11th National Survivors of Suicide Day. The day is filled with meetings and conferences to support healing and suicide prevention. In 1999, there were 10 conferences held. Today there are more than 230 planned nationwide. There are many people joining the support groups to prevent suicide from happening to other families. That is such a sad time, but support groups are such a good idea. I would definately join one so I would be able to talk to people who know what I am going through.There have been a lot of younger people joining as well, which really helps prevention. Kevin Camp is 29 and is a member. Bipolar runs in his family. He lost one of his friends in 1998 and hates to think about it because if could've been him because of the bipolar. Many thoughts of suicide went through Kevin's head and the death of his friend was haunting. I think suicide needs to be prevented and I'm glad I am not the only one who thinks that. I think that the thought of suicide in teens needs to try and be prevented too. It's crazy how many people have tried.
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