Where should you seek help?

Immediately after a loss to suicide, it is recommended that you speak to a trusted friend or family member, someone who will attempt to understand what you are going through without putting pressure on you to “get over it.” You might need access to mental health services; this might include talk therapy, and psychiatric help depending on the intensity of emotional distress you are experiencing.

A few months after the incident, you could join a support group if you assess that you have come to terms with the loss enough to be able to listen to others and their stories of loss.

If you think you are overwhelmed and unable to cope, get in touch with a helpline, a counselor or a therapist near you.

This article is part of a series on Understanding and coping with a loss to suicide. Read the other articles in this series:

1. Why suicide grief can be complex

2. What does grief look like?

3. Self-care in the immediate aftermath

4. On the need to understand why

5. Where should you seek help?

6. Grieving together with family and friends

7. Breaking the news to others

8. What to do with the note

This series has been compiled with inputs from Shweta Srinivasan, psychologist, The Mind Clan and former suicide bereavement support group manager at Sisters Living Works and Nyana Sabharwal, co-founder of We Hear You, a suicide support bereavement group.