How To Talk To Your Family About Suicide

The second session of 417 Magazine and Burrell Behavioral Health’s How To Save A Life series focused on strategies for talking to your loved ones about suicide. Logan Aguirre was joined by 417-lander Chuck Dow, founder of the nonprofit suicide support organization Borrow My Angel. The nonprofit was founded by Dow for his sister, Charity, who lost her lifelong battle with mental illness and suicide attempts when she passed in 2017. Chuck shared Charity’s story and the impact her struggle with depression had on him, providing parents and family members with perspective on how to communicate with loved ones about the uncomfortable topic of suicide. 

With the expert perspective of Burrell Behavioral Health’s Dr. Shelly Farnan, the conversation touched on several tactics that can be used to address the topic of taking one’s own life: 

First, Do Your Own Research

Take care of yourself by understanding your own emotional intelligence and educate yourself about suicide and mental health.

Be authentic. Urge others not to shield their emotions and put on false happy faces. Model this in a conversational, age-appropriate way for others in your own life.

Be thoughtful about the age and the emotional development level of your children and family members. Use these age-appropriate guidelines when talking about suicide: 
   • Preschoolers (Ages 3 to 5): Will feel the loss but most won’t have the language yet. Most will not understand what death is or that it is forever. 
   • Early Elementary School (Ages 6 to 8): Many will understand death is permanent and that the person is not coming back—may worry that they somehow caused the death. 
   • Later Elementary (Ages 9 to 12): Most will understand death is permanent.