The Stories of Three Suicide Attempt Survivors

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The Stories of Three Suicide Attempt Survivors
Thursday, September 23, 2021 by Renee D. Warring

The Stories of Three Suicide Attempt Survivors

This month of September is National Suicide Prevention Month. The three survivors are: Kelechi Ubozoh of Oakland California, Kelley Clink of Chicago, Illinois, and A.P. Looze of Minnesota. Kelechi is 32 years old. Right before she attempted suicide it appeared that all was well with her. However, looks can be deceiving. She thought of killing herself constantly. Kelechi did not seek help because she was told by others that she was being selfish, and being dramatic. People told her that all she needed to do was pray. She felt like a burden and learned to stuff her pain. At one point in her life she was sexually assaulted, which pushed her to the breaking point. Kelechi attempted suicide. After her attempt she learned to talk about her feelings, developed boundaries, participated in trauma-informed therapy, became proactive in self-advocacy, learned how to remove toxic people from her life, built a safety net to prevent future suicide attempts, and learned how to connect with people to interrupt isolation behaviors and neutralize negative thoughts in her head.

Kelly Clink is 38 years old. She was sixteen when she attempted suicide. Kelly was deeply depressed because she lost her friends due to the fact that her family moved across country to a new home. She constantly heard voices telling her that she was worthless, no one loved her, she was weak, sick, broken, wrong, that she did not belong, she had nothing to give to others, and nothing would make her better. Kelly went on with her life. She went to school and got her master’s degree, got married and had a family. Kelly still hears the voices in her head. However, they are not as loud as they had been in the past. She does not try to silence them, instead she acknowledges that they are not speaking the truth. Kelly tries to sit with it and finds the feelings underneath the words, (loneliness, exhaustion, fear etc.). She listens and lets go.

A.P. Looze age 28 from Minnesota was successful at work and in school. However, the shadow of wanting to kill himself loomed over him. He lost all capacity to take care of himself, and felt completely alone. He came to the point where he believed he had no capacity to find joy or meaning in life, so he tried to kill himself at the age of twenty.

He learned that there is nothing wrong with wanting to die. Many people have feelings like this when faced with life’s stressors. He stated that culture does not actively humor our pain and suffering nor give us adequate space and connection with others to heal from and make sense of trauma, which is something every single human being experiences just by way of living.

Since his attempt he gives himself and others love, light, softness and care. He makes an effort to give voice to his pain and struggles- in therapy and with friends- and through that process he has learned that he is not alone. He has learned not to be ashamed of his having attempted to commit suicide and he openly talks about it in an effort to reduce stigma.

Signed: Renee D. Warring of Uniquely and Wonderfully Made Ministries

Resources:

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/wellness/story/life-attempting-suicide-survivors-55841545

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