| I’m sorry to hear this. You’ll quite likely have lots of questions, and there may well be few answers. In Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), we use the acronym ALGEE in supporting people:
- Assess
- Listen non judgementally
- Give encouragement and support
- Encourage professional support
- Encourage self-help and other support You can apply this to self-care as well. I’d encourage you to be aware of your feelings and emotions over the next few weeks and months. Assess what you are feeling. You can find thoughts re-emerge at odd moments, and your emotions changing. That’s normal and OK. Finding someone who will listen, without judging you or your housemate, is important. They don’t need to be trained, but they do need to listen without bringing themselves and their feelings and views into the conversation. In the UK there are organisations such as Samaritans and Shout 85258 (Crisis Text Line in USA) with people trained in how to listen, email or message as support, particularly for those in crisis, but also for those who need someone to listen. There are also specialist support groups for those who have experienced bereavement by suicide such as https://uksobs.org/ who also provide guidance on support after suicide https://uksobs.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Support-after-.... See what is available where you are. Depending on how you are doing, you may need or want to get other professional support. Be kind to yourself. |