“We’ve found him. He’s not alive. And it’s clear he has done it to himself” were the 15 words that would change Caroline Roodhouse’s life beyond imagination.

Key takeaways from this podcast

1. The value of friends at a time of crisis - none of us can do this alone
2. The importance of compassion and kindness in supporting someone through grief
3. That healing is possible through trust, love and community

But from the darkness of losing her husband to suicide Caroline has evolved from being a victim of loss by suicide to a survivor, and in her own words even a thriver because of it. Caroline talks very opening about how she had to find a way through for her and her two daughters. She is honest, raw and very frank about the pathway she took, the wrong turns and right turns. This is ultimately an episode of hope, of strength in community and rebuilding yourself and your family after losing a loved one to suicide.

To read Caroline’s book and find out more visit her website:

Follow Caroline’s story on Substack

If you need someone to talk to, you can text Mikeysline on 07786 20 77 55 or contact via messenger, webchat or X. Sun-Thurs 6pm-10pm & Fri-Sat 6pm-11pm.

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"I'm a nurse of nearly 40 years and I didn't realise that after Ian's death that both myself and our children, Beth and all the children, were at higher risk of dying to suicide. That never actually entered my head."

Key takeaways from this episode:

1. If you lose a loved one to suicide that puts you at significant risk of suicide yourself and other mental health problems, particularly in the first year after losing them.
2. Don't be afraid of that vulnerability but use that knowledge of risk to protect yourself by seeking out the right kind of support to help you.

Karen lost her husband, Ian, to suicide very suddenly in October 2015 then the unimaginable happened and her daughter, Beth, took her own life just 4 years later. In this heart-breaking episode Karen celebrates and remembers just what Ian and Beth brought to her life and shares with incredibly clarity and honesty how difficult it has been to cope with losing them.

She admits how difficult it has been to deal with the grief and shares the incredible support and value she's found by seeking out other people who have lived experience of losing loved ones to suicide.

"the judgment wasn't there, there was no judgment. It was safe. You were with people who just got it...and that permission to be sad if you want to be sad but also that permission to laugh as well and to have good days and and to enjoy life...just made such a big difference"

She also talks about the origins of speaktheirname.org, an organisation created to help those bereaved by suicide, initially through the collaborative creation of a memorial quilt but now by offering up a shared space on their website where loved ones who took their own life can be remembered, commemorated and celebrated. It also provides resources to help those bereaved by suicide.

If you need someone to talk to, you can text Mikeysline on 07786 20 77 55 or contact via messenger, webchat or X. Sun-Thurs 6pm-10pm & Fri-Sat 6pm-11pm.

Or come and visit at 4 Strothers Lane, Inverness IV1 1LR, Sun-Thurs 6pm-10pm & Fri-Sat 6pm-11pm.

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Find out more about Speak Their Name

"How was a nine-year-old supposed to feel? I didn't know what to say or think. I was emotionless at the time...everyone around me crumbled down in sadness, crying, deafening wailing, some pacing the floor, leaving the room. I thought I had to be like them. Am I supposed to cry? I'm not sure how long it took, but when it sunk in, I felt sad. Really, really sad. My mind couldn't understand what had happened to Callum, but I knew I'd never ever see him again"

Key takeaways:

1. Knowing what to say and when about suicide to young people is incredibly challenging but hearing this story show's a mum's trust in her daughter's ability to hear the truth was well founded.
2. Hearing the truth was extremely valuable for Orlagh, she's certain if she didn't hear it from her mum then she would have heard it through other means which may have been much more troubling.

Although Orlagh was only 9 when she lost her older cousin, Callum, to suicide, the impact of his death and particularly her trying to understand how his death came about and why, has rippled through her life.

In this tender and thought-provoking conversation Orlagh (now 16) and her mum Sara talk incredibly honestly about the devastating impact suicide has had on the family but also how they have managed to gently navigate the challenges of discussing Callum's death with truth and clarity.

If you need someone to talk to, you can text Mikeysline on 07786 20 77 55 or contact via messenger, webchat or X. Sun-Thurs 6pm-10pm & Fri-Sat 6pm-11pm.

Or come and visit at 4 Strothers Lane, Inverness IV1 1LR, Sun-Thurs 6pm-10pm & Fri-Sat 6pm-11pm.

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"Everything came to a head one night, and fortunately, the right person asked me 'are you ok, what's wrong?' and I just broke down"

Key takeaways from this podcast:

1. Asking if someone is ok can literally save their life, never be afraid to ask.
2. Don't be afraid to ask someone if they're feeling suicidal, it won't put the thought in their head, you won't make things worse by asking.

After losing several important and close family members paramedic Mhairi went on a sharp decent into a crippling depression. Unable to share how she was feeling with anyone she hit crisis point. Fortunately the right person asked her if she was ok just at the right time and Mhairi was brave enough to admit that she wasn't.

Fast forward 2.5 years and Mhairi, together with her partner Alan, found the mental and physical strength to take on an epic challenge, to row unsupported round the coast of the UK in an extraordinary and utterly gruelling world record attempt.

So how do you go from rock bottom where you're contemplating suicide to pushing yourself to your limits? Mhairi talks with incredible candour and honesty about how difficult it was to work her way back to good mental health and about how the experience has changed the person she is today.

You can follow Mhairi and Alan's journey on the Long Row Home podcast series.

If you need someone to talk to, you can text Mikeysline on 07786 20 77 55 or contact via messenger, webchat or X. Sun-Thurs 6pm-10pm & Fri-Sat 6pm-11pm.

Or come and visit at 4 Strothers Lane, Inverness IV1 1LR, Sun-Thurs 6pm-10pm & Fri-Sat 6pm-11pm.

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Key takeaways from this podcast

1. The perspective surrounding grief will evolve with time. Alex describes a hand in front of his face in the early stages of grief that slowly moves away allowing his perspective to change with time. The hand always remains there, but the picture around it fills up the space more with time.
2. Don't harbour guilt. We hear from Alex how It can be a companion in the background but needn't be in the foreground if you lose someone close to you to suicide.

Alex lost his younger brother, Will, to suicide in February 2021. One of four brothers, Will had a wonderful twinkling megawatt smile who loved his role as a primary school music teacher. But struggling with his mental health on the inside, his struggles were made worse by the restrictions of lockdown.

It has taken Alex until recently to be able to speak about Will and his loss, but in this conversation he describes how the family have learnt more about the positive impact Will had on his pupils in life. Reflecting on his own grieving process, Alex describes how he now finds focus and perspective on the things that really matter in life much easier now. Although this makes life much healthier today for Alex it drives guilt in him. Alex says it honours his memory, celebrates the positives strengths Will had and he sees that as something good to come from his grief and how the family remember Will.

If you need someone to talk to, you can text Mikeysline on 07786 20 77 55 or contact via messenger, webchat or X. Sun-Thurs 6pm-10pm & Fri-Sat 6pm-11pm.

Or come and visit at 4 Strothers Lane, Inverness IV1 1LR, Sun-Thurs 6pm-10pm & Fri-Sat 6pm-11pm.

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Key takeaways from this podcast

We don't always have internal permission to do something, to open up. So by doing it slowly, gently and carefully Tom was building courage to remove stigma.

Tom van den Hurk revealed his own suicide attempt in a previous episode of the podcast when he was talking about called A Little While Longer. The film told the story of three men who had survived and were rebuilding their lives.

But Tom had his own story, that the film didn’t tell. He had attempted to take his own life when he was a teen, Tom joins Dan again to talk about the how the day he survived that attempt, age 16, turned his entire life around.

Listen to the episode with Tom talking about his film: https://pod.fo/e/2591a5

If you need someone to talk to, you can text Mikeysline on 07786 20 77 55 or contact via messenger, webchat or X. Sun-Thurs 6pm-10pm & Fri-Sat 6pm-11pm.

Or come and visit at 4 Strothers Lane, Inverness IV1 1LR, Sun-Thurs 6pm-10pm & Fri-Sat 6pm-11pm.

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Key takeaways from this podcast

1. Compassion, kindness and listening to someone goes a huge way to helping people who are struggling with their mental health or feeling suicidal.
2. Having the courage to speak to someone about your mental health can bring you hope.

Like a lot of new parents, especially mums, Gill Skene was both scared and excited about becoming a parent but for Gill, the birth of her daughter was anything but perfect and the impact left her deeply shocked. Gill suffered from post-natal PTSD – something which is estimated to affect more than 30,000 women in the UK each year. After her daughter was born, Gill attempted suicide twice. She now feels ready and able to talk about that period of her life for Speaking of Suicide and how recovery led her to set up a peer support charity LATNEM to help other’s cope with traumatic birth experiences.

https://latnem.org/

If you need someone to talk to, you can text Mikeysline on 07786 20 77 55 or contact via messenger, webchat or X. Sun-Thurs 6pm-10pm & Fri-Sat 6pm-11pm.

Or come and visit at 4 Strothers Lane, Inverness IV1 1LR, Sun-Thurs 6pm-10pm & Fri-Sat 6pm-11pm.

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Key takeaways from this podcast

1. There are practical things you can do and learn to help support others around you with their mental health.

2. Football and wider sport are great vehicles for helping bring suicide support to communities around Scotland and break down stigma.

For Ross County CEO Steven Ferguson, football has a fundamental role in helping to promote good mental health, right across the community. As a result, for the first time in its history, Ross County Football Club is sporting a charity logo on its strip – Mikeysline. In this frank and thought-provoking conversation, on World Mental Health Day, Mikeysline Ambassador Steven Ferguson talks to Dan Holland about the importance of good mental health both on and off the pitch and how he views both his own role and the role of Ross County as a vehicle of support.

If you need someone to talk to, you can text Mikeysline on 07786 20 77 55 or contact via messenger, webchat or X. Sun-Thurs 6pm-10pm & Fri-Sat 6pm-11pm.

Or come and visit at 4 Strothers Lane, Inverness IV1 1LR, Sun-Thurs 6pm-10pm & Fri-Sat 6pm-11pm.

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Key takeaways from this podcast

1. Young people affected by suicide can carry huge anger, pain and confusion if they lose a parent
2. The biggest risk factor for young people affected by suicide is not being able to express their feelings.

In this extraordinary episode Aileen shares how her husband, Josh, took his own life 10 years ago, leaving her to bring up 3 young children. She talks about how difficult it was to tell her children about what had happened, and the role honesty has played in their coping as a family. Now 18, Aileen’s oldest son, Hamish, talks with breath taking maturity and clarity about growing up without his dad.  A compelling conversation which gives a valuable insight into life after suicide.

Child and young persons bereavement support at Crocus Highland

If you need someone to talk to, you can text Mikeysline on 07786 20 77 55 or contact via messenger, webchat or X. Sun-Thurs 6pm-10pm & Fri-Sat 6pm-11pm.

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Key takeaways from this podcast

1. Don't assume that just because a family member may have been ill for some time, the grief and sense of loss is any less. It's not.
2. Talking about grief and loss for some people is very hard and crippling.
3. Find a way to get support that works for you if you are grieving.

Writer Sheila Lockhart shares some of her recent poetry collection, Brother, inspired by her brother, Simon, who took his own life 8 years ago after a lifetime of mental ill health.  Hugely bright and intelligent but reclusive and withdrawn, Simon shared little of his struggles of living with bi-polar. Despite previous suicide attempts, his choice to take his own life at the age of 62 had a huge impact on Sheila.

Moving, hugely thought provoking and beautifully written, Sheila’s work is a deeply honest study in grief and loss, and the ways in which losing Simon has haunted her.

Links: http://vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/

If you need someone to talk to, you can text Mikeysline on 07786 20 77 55 or contact via messenger, webchat or X. Sun-Thurs 6pm-10pm & Fri-Sat 6pm-11pm.

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Speaking of Suicide hosting is supported by D and D Paving Ltd.

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