Member-only story
I’m Canceling The Silver Lining
A close friend of mine called yesterday (we’ll call him Adam for the purposes of anonymity). He recently lost his father to suicide and life it seems has cracked him open. It’s the kind of crack that makes it impossible to go back to a former version of himself and yet the new version of him is still growing and becoming. And in this in-between place, he’s asking big questions and developing new soil to grow in.
I didn’t know Adam’s dad personally, but the way Adam described him he sounds like he was the pillar of the family-the one they all leaned on when the world was falling apart. He was a man who found his purpose both as a police officer and dedicated family man. During the day, he fought for a just and safe world and at night he found solace in the four walls of his home and arms of his family. But as so many with PTSD can attest to, trauma can make living a sane and joyous life a near impossibility. The past bleeds into the present in a consistent loop making life feel unbearable and suicide seem like the only solution to constant torment. My twin sister experienced this and subsequently after her death I have too. Without the proper body-based trauma treatments, and a host of other resiliency tools, recovering from PTSD is implausible.
Understandably, Adam’s father’s death has gifted him with a lot of questions about life, the universe, himself and the…
