Is someone you love thinking of killing themself?
Learn the signs of suicidal thoughts & get help before it’s too late
Last year my brother-in-law killed himself. I had just seen him the night before & I had no idea that he was that severely depressed. I knew he was upset because the day before he & my sister’s house had burned down. (I wrote about that in detail here: https://medium.com/@elizcollins/anatomy-of-a-suicide-688b4452d624)
All of their friends were pitching in with clothing, food, money, and offers for a place to stay, and my sister seemed to be handling things well.
When I first saw him that night, I hugged him. We didn’t normally hug, but I felt it was the only way to express my sympathy about the loss of their home. I will always be glad that I did. He seemed like his usual self — talkative & friendly, so I thought he was okay.
I’ll never forget how I felt when my sister called the next morning & told me he shot himself. I wondered if he was dead but I was afraid to ask. Maybe he was injured but not dead. Did he accidentally shoot himself? As she explained to me, I realized that he was dead. There was no letter, but he had made a few calls first, one of them to 911. The security camera at his business had recorded it, so there was no doubt it was suicide.
