I'd like to post about an upcoming webinar from the American Association of Suicidology titled "And the Light Shines On: After Death Communication Experiences of People Bereaved by Suicide," by AAS Survivor Division Director Sally Spencer-Thomas, but I can't right now because the webinar is a "members only" event.* But please read on to learn more about Sally's research on this phenomenon, which is based on a survey given to survivors of suicide loss about their spiritual connections with the people they have lost to suicide.
According to a blog post from Sally, the research shows:
According to a blog post from Sally, the research shows:
• About 70% of [people report experiencing] ... some sort of "spiritual experience" with their loved one who died by suicide.
• The most common manifestation was dreaming of the deceased (72%), followed by feeling the presence of the deceased (51%) and experiencing profound coincidences (41%).
• About one-third ... experienced their first "sign" immediately after death and another third experienced it within the first month.
• About 90% ... told another person about their after-death communication, and most found that the person they told was supportive or intrigued, but a few felt discounted ...
• The most common emotional reactions to these experiences were love (60%), peace (55%), and sadness (47%).
Read Sally's post for more on the survey, and return here to the Grief after Suicide blog, and I will try to do a follow-up to this story based on the webinar (as an AAS member, I should be able to "attend" an archived version of it).
*I highly recommend AAS membership -- and have been a member myself for 13 years.
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