Eighteen months ago, my brother Adam died by suicide.
This is the first time I’ve shared this story in a public forum.
Adam was carrying more than anyone should have to. A toxic work environment, relentless back pain, the recent end of his marriage, and battling years-long addiction, anxiety, and depression. After three days of silence, calls unanswered, messages ignored, his former father-in-law, who’d become like a second father, broke into his house and found him.
Before that fated day, I didn’t know what real grief felt like. We’d lost both of our parents. But nothing I’d experienced came close to this. This was something far heavier, like your chest collapsing in on itself, again and again.
When I started Love You Adam, my first reaction was shock and frustration with the dearth of evidence-based therapy for those at risk of suicide, even as it remains the first or second leading cause of death across multiple groups. And most therapists (the very people we send others to in crisis) have zero formal suicide prevention training.
How was this possible? I was ready to fight. Craig Bryan and AnnaBelle Bryan gave me my weapon. Through research and clinical practice, they proved that a method called Crisis Response Planning reduces suicide attempts by 76% by targeting two major contributors to a person's risk of suicide: Emotion dysregulation and cognitive inflexibility. From this, my mission to fund therapist training was born, and I am so grateful to know them.
Suicide doesn’t just end one life. It rewrites the lives of everyone who’s left behind. Many others who carry the same kind of loss are taking up the fight, too. One of them is Caroline Roodhouse MCIPR, who recently appeared on Sky News with her daughters (link in comments).
Together we carry a new identity that we never wanted: suicide loss survivor. I’m not always a strong survivor. I’ll never be “over it.” But I will build something out of this loss that saves people.
Love You Adam is still a small nonprofit. Following and sharing our work builds awareness. Donations and merch fund therapist training. See links below.
Thank you for reading and caring. Your support means everything: To me, my family, and many others impacted by suicide loss every day.
💚 Donate: loveyouadam.org/donate
💚 Shop merch that funds hope: shop.loveyouadam.org
💚 Watch Caroline Roodhouse & her daughters share their story: news.sky.com/video/teenager-opens-up-on-fathers-suicide-to-tackle-stigma
#LoveYouAdam #SuicidePrevention #MentalHealth #CrisisResponsePlanning #Grief #Loss #Hope #Live
