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Losing a sibling - Update #24

post #1 of 27
Thread Starter 
I would love healing thoughts and prayers from who ever wished to offer them. I just found out that my little brother, my closest sibling, committed suicide. I just got off the phone with my parents, I had to tell them. We are all devastated. I can't write more now cuz it's too fresh.

His name was Ed. Ed, I still love you. Please be at peace now.
post #2 of 27
Oh I'm so sorry. And having to tell your parents...that must have been so hard.

I pray he has peace (and that your family finds it too).
post #3 of 27
I will pray for your whole family. My brother died last year. He was visiting me and I called my parents to tell them. Worst day of my life.
post #4 of 27
Thread Starter 
Thank you. I'm so confused. How could he be gone?
post #5 of 27
i lost my baby brother, also my youngest sibling, to suicide on March 11, 2010. it is so illogical and almost impossiible to deal with. i will come back and wite more, but i need to go.

it will get easier.
post #6 of 27
theia i am so very deeply sorry for the loss of your brother.
post #7 of 27
you are at a very insane place right now.
everyone's story is different, but it helps to hear our stories and know we are not alone.
i never thought i would have to deal with this. my brother had bipolar disorder, diagnosed when he was 14. he completed suicide 2 weeks shy of his 25 birthday by hanging himself in his closet in my parents home. he had attempted suicide once before but i was still not prepared for it. it is not something you can understand until you have lived it.
it is a horrible nightmare that you should be waking up from. but it is not. this is your new reality. it will take awhile to sink in. i feel that i am just begginning to accept his death, to actually believe that he is dead and i am 6 months out. there are still people that i am very angry at. there are still songs i can not listen to. i still break down crying at traffic lights and doing the dishes.
i don't know how much about your brother's psychology you know, but it helps to find out as much as you can. you will feel driven to track down his final days and hours. allow yourself to wonder as much as you need to, to ask why until you are satisfied with the answers, or at least find peace with whatever answers you can get.
it is a hard hard hard road you have to travel. you are now a suicide survivor.
here is what has helped me:

the first 2 weeks or so, i was just on autopilot and for a few days i could barely get out of bed.

i found a good grief counsler. she specializes in suicide, so i would really recomend a grief counsler, and if you can find one who knows about suicide, go to them
i found a suicide survivor support group. it has been the greatest help to me. honestly, the only people who truly understand how soul crushing this is, how your heart has been shattered are people who have lost a loved one to suicide.

read everything you can get your hands on.

some very helpful books have been:
dying to be free, by beverly cobain.
a special scar ( i don't remember the author, but this one was the best i read)

there are a lot of books out there, and reading helped me understand that my brother Jay suffered a horrible horrible illness that killed him. he had a brain attack. he suffered from a total psychotic split from reality. i tell people he died from bi-polar disorder. and when they ask what i mean, i tell them that he took his life due to his crushing depression caused by bipolar disorder.

another thing that helped me was keeping a journal, writing everything down.

and yet another was to find online support groups. i was able to vent a lot of my anger about his girlfriend and their relationship that i couldn't do IRL. it is all anonymous, so you can really vent your feelings and not worry about upsetting other people.

i am so very sorry for your loss. please, once you can catch your breath, after the funeral, or as soon as you can, find a counsler.
there are 36,000 suicides a year. one every 15 minutes, almost twice the number of suicides in a year as there are homicides. and the rate is rising.

i am so sorry and feel free to pm if you need to
post #8 of 27
Thread Starter 
Thank you everyone for your kind words and prayers. My brother was in an abusive relationship and his boyfriend had beat him again and my brother had to leave quickly and left his phone behind. He was so isolated he couldn't call anyone, and he had given that UAV his money, he had no one and nothing. So he gave up. I'm so confused, and angry at the person who hurt him so much that my brother lost hope and forgot how much he was loved by me and the rest of our family.
post #9 of 27
Theia, I'm thinking of you. If you need to talk, please pm me.

I hope you will be able to safely gather Ed's possessions. Wishing you and yours peace as you make arrangements.
post #10 of 27
It is very different for me. My brother had a severe traumatic brain injury and major physical impairments and no chance at anything resembling a 'normal' life. It's still hard. It was 12 years this past June. My remaining brother actually asked me last week if I think I'll ever really 'get over it'. No. I won't.
post #11 of 27
Thread Starter 
We are encouraging the police to consider this as a homicide or at least a bit of foul play involved. We arrive in Vegas tonight and my other brother and my sister will be there too.

Can you believe Ed's abuser has been calling all of Ed's family members, (including me!) acting distraught and crying into our voicemails about how he was a good friend to my brother! We are getting the police involved because details have come forward that don't make sense. WIll provide more later. Just keep praying for us all. Thanks mama's
post #12 of 27
my brother was also in a very abusive relationship. she was emotionally abusive, and when they broke up she and her best friend harassed him for weeks. the last day he was texting back and forth with her pleading for her to call him, that it was an emergency. she couldn't be bothered, but we know she got his texts cause she responded to some and not to others.
we blame her for her negligence. she could have picked up the phone and called any of their friends and someone would have called or gone to him. but she couldn't. it is amazing how many people are in abusive relationships. she also played th grieving widow after this and it made us all sick.
i'm so sorry you have to deal with this.
post #13 of 27
Oh Theia, I am so sorry. It's hard as hell to lose a sibling. I lost my brother to suicide 6 years ago come January. Im so sorry. for Ed and for you and your family.
post #14 of 27
post #15 of 27
Thread Starter 
Thank you everyone. I am now in the city that my brother lived in. We are meeting with a homicide detective and then going to the funeral home where his body is. Today is going to be tough.
post #16 of 27
Theia- I'm so sorry. My younger brother (only sibling) was killed in Iraq 2.5 years ago. You will be in my thoughts during this very difficult time. Not that you asked for advice, but what really helped me was spending some alone time with my brother's body/casket and just talking to him outloud. That has helped me in my grieving process.
post #17 of 27
Hugs to you and your family. I hope you find some answers. I am very sorry for your loss.
post #18 of 27
i can't even imagine many and
post #19 of 27
:

I am so sorry for your loss. I also lost a sibling many years ago. I'm not sure if I ever got over it but I do remember that numb, autopilot feeling right after she died.
post #20 of 27
Thread Starter 
Thank you mama's. All your support and words of wisdom mean so much. I'm still in shock and still traveling. Tomorrow we go to the funeral home for our final goodbye. I am still numb and in more pain than I realize I am sure. Some pieces of info have come together and many amazing moments and even a celebration of Ed's life and a drawing together of our family. I will be back for more support in the coming weeks and months as I process this event. Thank you all for your support.
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