Parental Suicide: The child left behind.

Parental Suicide: The child left behind.
September 9, 3:39 PMEast LA Child Care ExaminerRosemary Akhavan

David’s mother committed suicide. David found his mother lying on the kitchen floor, dead from an intentional drug overdose. As an adult, David is still traumatized by the event. He drinks and takes drugs to help ease his emotional pain. David also has problems with interpersonal relationships, and is now divorced. He suffers from depression, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. (PTSD) David does not realize it, but without treatment, David is at risk becoming another suicide statistic.

Studies have shown that there is an increased risk of suicide in people whose parent(s) committed suicide, and if the individual is dealing with a mental health disorder. When a parent commits suicide, the child feels helpless and abandoned. Quite often, they also feel guilty. The child may feel that they were responsible for the suicide, and believes that if they were a better child, this would not have happened. Sometimes the child may be aware of problems in the home, but was powerless to change the situation. A parent’s suicide may convince the child that their parent was also powerless to change their life.
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The child left behind