Teaching QPR Can Help Survivors to Heal
As we all know only too well, there are approximately 30,000 suicides every year. For each suicide there are at least 6 others (survivors) who are intimately affected. It's hard to talk to a room of 20 people or more without someone having been personally impacted by suicide.
I can tell you from my own experience that, in grief, a survivor feels overwhelmed and at a loss to know how to begin the healing process. Things like talking to supportive relatives and friends, grief support groups and counseling can all help. For me, however, I have found educating the public about suicide prevention and, in particular, teaching the QPR course has been the most helpful. When I raise awareness and empower others to intervene in an individual's suicidal journey, I feel that in some small way, my daughter's death was not in vain. Others may be saved by the lessons learned as a result of our tragedy.
We must talk about suicide. Too many people
still believe the myth that talking about suicide plants the idea in a person's
head. As QPR instructors, we know this is not true. We have an obligation
to communicate this message as clearly as we can. Survivors can add the passion
and urgency that comes with personal experience and make this message even
more impactful. If you are a survivor teaching QPR, know you are helping to
heal yourself and that you are honoring your loved one in the process. Let
go of the guilt that you didn't do enough. As with those we teach, we need
to remember that we are only responsible for what we knew at the time. Empower
others to prevent suicide as a way of taking care of yourself, as you must
first save yourself before you can save others.
Glenn McIntosh, Survivor
Austin, Texas
