Suicide Attempt: A Mother's Experience with Lisa Squier

Today’s episode is one of hope and healing. We are joined by Lisa
Squier, who shares details about her daughter’s suicide attempt
two years ago. Being a single mom, Lisa has always been very
close to her daughters, yet the suicide attempt by Emily, her
youngest daughter, caught her completely off-guard. Lisa had not
known that Emily was struggling with her mental health at all
until she uncharacteristically woke up in the middle of the night
and found her daughter unconscious. She also talks about what the
journey since the incident has been like. She and Emily have had
to establish a completely different relationship, where full
honesty was the central tenet. This meant that Lisa had to get
comfortable with asking the tough questions in order to
understand how Emily was truly feeling. The incident took an
emotional and mental toll on Lisa who found that she had PTSD
afterward. She shares the ways that she has found support since
and how although she cannot erase what happened, she has tools
that allow her to cope with it being a part of her reality. Lisa
and Emily have chosen to be open with their story in the hopes
that sharing it will have positive effects, no matter how big or
small. They have already seen evidence of it, and hope to
continue with their cause. Tune in for all this and much more!





Key Points From This Episode:


Despite being very close to her daughter, Lisa saw no signs
of Emily struggling mentally.

How Lisa found Emily after her suicide attempt when she was
18.

What happened when Lisa went to the emergency room with her
daughter.

Some of the incredible work that first responders do.

Even a few days after the incident, Lisa struggled to piece
together what had happened. 

After Emily was released from the hospital, she went to a
psychiatric hospital.

Lisa did some ‘investigative’ work of her own to put the
story together.

The clues that Emily left for Lisa in the event that she
succeeded with her plan.

For Lisa, it was hard when Emily was in the psychiatric
hospital because she was in the dark.

Why it was like bringing a newborn home when Emily was
discharged from the psychiatric facility. 

Permission for full disclosure: why being 100% honest was the
only way to move forward.

Mental health is a backward journey – you start with
medication and diagnose from there.

Finding the balance between allowing independence versus
helping was difficult for Lisa.

 Lisa realized that she had PTSD after Emily’s incident
and how she dealt with it. 

The ability to always be present helped Lisa cope with the
incident greatly. 

In a sensitive situation, people do want to help, but often
do not know how to.

A surprising outcome: many people approached Lisa saying that
they had similar situations.

A powerful moment that showed Lisa why advocating for mental
wellness was the right path.

Some of the other blessings that have come from Lisa and
Emily’s situation.






Tweetables:


“I didn’t care who knew at that point. I wanted everybody to know
because I need as much help as humanly possible.” — Lisa Squier
[0:09:21]


“The fact that it did not work is proof to me that it was not
supposed to.” —  Lisa Squier [0:10:47]


“Trust is a huge, huge, huge thing in our family. If you don’t
have that, you don’t have anything.” — Lisa Squier
[0:17:08]


“Anger means action.” — Lisa Squier [0:29:58]


“Just ask the hard questions.” — Lisa Squier [0:41:34]





Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:


Kevin Hines


Kevin Hines on Twitter 


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