mental health crises [that] may include intense feelings of personal distress (anxiety, depression, anger, panic, or hopelessness), obvious changes in functioning ... or catastrophic life events.

• Ensure that standards consistent with recovery and resilience guide ... crisis interventions.
• Replace today's largely reactive and cyclical approach to ... crises with one that works toward reducing the likelihood of future emergencies and that produces better outcomes.

Molly, whose husband died by suicide in 2010, most recently wrote in "Transformation" about attending the screening of the documentary film Transforming Loss , which features her story, along with the stories of five other bereaved people. According to a story in the Detroit News:

"Transforming Loss" documents the grief journeys of six ... people who, in the face of devastating losses, were able to transform themselves and their pain through helping others ... [Filmmaker Judith] Burdick's vision, which began as a book and evolved into a film, was to provide "an intimate view of grief that would force people to really feel and experience the whole process: from grief to healing to transformation."

"I feel like I'm the perfect person for people to talk to about this [grief] ... It takes time, but you learn lessons of strength, compassion and acceptance. There is some joy back in my life."

This connection, or affiliation, is a deep, holistic understanding based on mutual experience where people are able to "be" with each other without the constraints of traditional (expert/patient) relationships.

In part, I write this blog (and do the other things I do that put me in touch with survivors) because I believe in our connection with one another as a healing force in our grief. In today's post -- to do what I can to widen the circle and hopefully strengthen that connection -- I'd like to identify some other blogs written by survivors. Below are brief descriptions of more than half a dozen blogs from people bereaved by suicide, along with a quote from one of the posts in each blog.

I've learned still more since his death ... that I could have only done what seemed appropriate at the moment, and no more. I could not have controlled him nor would I have wanted to. And I have come to realize that an infinite number of crossroads stretched before the both of us.

The introduction is free and has been reviewed by experts in the field. It covers
• recommendations on how to be helpful to someone who has lost a loved one to suicide (for example, promote a sense of calm by listening patiently to the survivor);
• descriptions of the most common issues and emotions survivors face in the aftermath of a suicide (for example, distress over questioning why this happened);
• symptoms of possible reactions to trauma (for example, being "on the lookout" for danger, which is called hypervigilance);
• indicators of when a survivor might need to seek professional help (for example, if someone is coping by using alcohol or other drugs);
• the key needs suicide bereaved people have after the initial crisis has passed (for example, help with activities to remember and honor the deceased); and
• information and resources on what to do if a survivor is at risk of suicide (for example, use the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-TALK/8255).

Expert information about grief after suicide -- plus links to nearly a hundred of the top resources for survivors of suicide loss and those who care for them -- are available from the Suicide Grief Support Quick Reference. The free online tool features content that is up-to-date and dependable, including:

In "Compassion's Edge States: Roshi Joan Halifax on Caring Better" (American Public Radio, On Being), program host Krista Tippett interviews Halifax, Abbot of Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, N.M., who has devoted a lifetime of work to palliative care. In the program, Halifax offers her insights on the nature of grief and on the effects caregivers experience from working with the bereaved.

The experience of grief is profoundly humanizing and ... we need to create conditions where we are supported to grieve and where we're not told, "Why don't you just get over it?" Or, "It's time" ... [There is a] loss that all of us will face in anticipation of death. It is something that brings great depth and meaning into our lives and also helps us to articulate internally our priorities. What is really important for us? So for me as a human being and not identified as a Buddhist or a woman or a Western person, but as a simple human being, I value the experience of grief.

"Couple Hopes to Help the Suicide Bereaved" (Annette Hinkle, Sag Harbor Express) highlights Bill and Bev Feigelman's efforts to spread the word about the needs of survivors of suicide loss. The Feigelman's son Jesse died by suicide in 2002 when he was 31 years old, and his parents are now dedicated to the cause of helping people bereaved by suicide.

The article tells of the Feigelman's advocacy on behalf of people who have lost a loved one to suicide, including their "mission to convince medical schools and continuing healthcare education programs to train doctors about the importance of reaching out to the newly bereaved and offer appropriate referrals."

They are also the authors of a recent book on suicide bereavement titled Devastating Losses: How Parents Cope with the Loss of a Child to Suicide or Drugs (with co-authors John Jordan and John McIntosh), which is based on data from the largest survey ever conducted of parents surviving a child's suicide or other traumatic death.

Don't miss Elana Premack Sandler's recent post, "Showing Support to Suicide Survivors," on her Psychology Today blog, in which Sandler, who is a survivor of her father's suicide, recounts her mother's observations about how to be helpful to people who have lost a loved one to suicide.

The kinds of things my mom shared were simple, human: a neighbor took all three of us kids into their home while my mom dealt with the EMTs and police; the EMTs and police “didn’t make it worse"; people from our synagogue helped by bringing food and assisting with funeral arrangements; a friend helped my mom sell my dad’s car and arrange for a death certificate so that she could access life insurance and survivor’s benefits.

Be there. Do the little things. Don’t say something to make yourself feel better, but say something to make the person who’s just lost someone feel better. Sometimes, you don’t have to say anything at all. Let the person who’s lost someone be angry. Let her feel abandoned, which, as my mom said so thoughtfully, is “a different form of anger.” Don’t be too quick to help look for a “silver lining.”

Grief after Suicide: Understanding the Consequences and Caring for the Survivors, edited by John R. Jordan and John L. McIntosh, is a groundbreaking book featuring in-depth coverage of every aspect of suicide grief support. The book's goals, according to its editors,

are to establish not only what is known about suicide survivors and postvention efforts to assist them, but also to draw attention to vital information that is not known but would help us to better understand and assist survivors of suicide ... [including] recommendations for future research and postvention goals for the future.

The editors and more than 40 contributors to the book's chapters solidly accomplish those goals, covering in-depth and comprehensively the most up-to-date information about an impressive range of topics of interest to people working with the suicide bereaved. The editors begin by asking and attempting to answer several fundamental questions:

Develop consensus guidelines for the creation and implementation of effective, comprehensive support programs for survivors of suicide loss. The Guidelines will serve as a crystallizing benchmark for organizations, communities, states, and the nation for the development of a support infrastructure for survivors of suicide loss.