• Clip
• Dying & bereavement >> Bereavement due to suicide >> Lost a partner, husband or wife >> Jenny - Interview 1 >> Jenny agreed to be interviewed for an article about David, partly as a tribute to him, partly to raise awareness of mental illness and because she tho

Jenny’s husband had had episodes of depression. In 2007 he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Five days later he took his own life. Jenny has had support from family, friends, the WAY foundation and Cruse. Her baby is also a great comfort to her.

• Dying & bereavement >> Bereavement due to suicide >> Lost a child >> Felicity - Interview 2 >> Felicity wrote a tribute to Alice, for the Guardian. If people ask about Alice she refers them to the article. Her article also explains how bipolar d

Felicity and Alex had a daughter, Alice. She had depression as a teenager, and was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In 2004, at the age of 22, she took her own life. Felicity has found support from family, friends, her GP and Cruse.

• Dying & bereavement >> Bereavement due to suicide >> Lost a partner, husband or wife >> Lucy - Interview 38 >> The police arranged for a press officer to take a statement about Darrell and the way he died so that Lucy and the family would be left alone to griev

Lucy’s partner, Darrell, committed suicide in 2005. He drove his car in front of a train. He had been depressed but his suicide was a complete shock to Lucy. She has found support through family and friends and via an online group, Widowed by Suicide.

• Dying & bereavement >> Bereavement due to suicide >> Lost a child >> Margaret - Interview 40 >> After the inquest Margaret issued a statement via her solicitor. A reporter told her that if she didn’t talk about her daughter’s death the press wou

Margaret’s daughter was in prison when she took her own life. Margaret was shocked by the news. The inquest found that there had been a lack of care while her daughter was in prison. Margaret found support from her dog, friends, SOBS & a counsellor.

• Dying & bereavement >> Bereavement due to suicide >> Lost a child >> Susan - Interview 8 >> Stephen’s death was reported in the evening paper. The huge headline “Father’s grief” shocked Susan (Stephen’s mother).

Two of Susan’s sons have taken their own lives by hanging. Barry died in 1995 and Stephen died in April 2006. Susan has had support from various sources. She is still grieving but feels she must “move on” for the sake of her other children.

• Dying & bereavement >> Bereavement due to suicide >> Lost a child >> Linda - Interview 35 >> After Chloe died the newspaper reports didn’t bother Linda, but after the inquest some reports were untrue and insensitive. At times reporters were i

In 2005 Linda’s 13 year old daughter took her own life. Linda and her family were shocked. Linda still feels devastated, but more in control, and is back at work. She has found help thought a psychologist and has attended a SOBS conference.

• Dying & bereavement >> Bereavement due to suicide >> Lost a partner, husband or wife >> Marion - Interview 32 >> Graham’s death was reported on the radio before Marion had been told about it. His death was also all over the newspapers. Reports were unsympathetic

Marion’s husband took his own life in 1996. He had taken alcohol and analgesics and died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Marion and their four children were shocked and devastated. They found support from SOBS, professional counselling and Noah’s Ark.

• Dying & bereavement >> Bereavement due to suicide >> Lost a child >> Kate - Interview 7 >> Kate had mixed experiences–a newspaper carried an irresponsible and inaccurate article, and a freelance journalist hounded her but another reporter wa

Kate’s life has been devastated by the deaths of two of her daughters. They took their own lives by hanging, in 2006 & 2007. Kate has had support from family, friends and the church and says that answering emails from members of POS has also helped.

• Dying & bereavement >> Bereavement due to suicide >> Lost a child >> Bob - Interview 17 >> A local reporter who attended Darren's inquest wrote a compassionate article.

In 1998 Bob’s son, Darren, died while on holiday in France. He died by hanging and the French police were sure it was suicide. Bob and his wife were shocked. They have found support via Compassionate Friends, SOBS and the internet group Parents of Suicide.

• Dying & bereavement >> Bereavement due to suicide >> Lost a brother or sister >> Steve - Interview 25 >> Steve felt angry that the Mental Health Team had discharged his sister from hospital without follow up care, so he talked about it on radio. The Menta

Steve’s sister took her own life in 2006. She stepped in front of a train. She had had mental health problems for many years but was not receiving the care she needed at the time of her death. Steve was devastated. He has found most support from SOBS.

• Dying & bereavement >> Bereavement due to suicide >> Lost a friend >> Michael - Interview 16 >> Michael kept things that had belonged to his friend as a physical reminder of him. He felt that somehow his friend was still having an effect in the w

Michael was aged 29 when his friend took his own life. It was in 1994 when his friend died in a fume filled garage. At the time Michael took time off work and found most support by talking to his friends and by supporting others who were grieving.

• Dying & bereavement >> Bereavement due to suicide >> Lost a friend >> Ann - Interview 10 >> The media were heavily involved because Ann’s friend was missing. The police tried to protect Ann from intrusive newspaper reporters and TV crews.

Ann’s friend died in 2003. It appears that her friend died from an overdose and exposure. Ann has found support through her faith in God, from counselling & from her GP. She has set up a support group for others, linked to SOBS. She finds this comforting.

• Topic
• Dying & bereavement >> Bereavement due to suicide >> The press and other media involvement >> The press and other media involvement

The press and other media involvement

 

The local press often reports suicides – especially if they happen in a public area. If the person who dies, or their family, is well known reports also appear in the national press. A sympathetic newspaper obituary can comfort the family but often the way that suicides are reported in the media upsets those who are bereaved. Media interest can seem like an invasion of privacy. 

 

Inaccurate reporting can be particularly distressing. The public and media reporters are entitled to attend inquests and report on the verdict. Brief or sensationalist articles often oversimplify the causes of suicide and attribute the act to single factors, such as a financial disaster, or a broken relationship. Mental illness is commonest factor leading to suicide, but the media often overlook it.

 

After a suicide, friends and relatives of those who have died may feel ‘hounded’ by journalists. Some of the people we talked to had been advised to make a press statement about what had happened so that journalists would then leave them in peace.