Description
Leisa is 28 years old, is married with two sons aged 4 years and five weeks. Her only brother, Gareth, died four years ago at the age of twenty. He hanged himself in his bedroom and was found by his mother the next morning. At the time of his “A” level exams, he had taken some tablets when under great pressure but these did not have a serious physical effect on him. He told his father what he had done, was very sorry and promised never to do such a thing again. His parents visited the school and Gareth was seen by a psychologist. To all intents and purposes he was a very intelligent young man, very happy and outgoing, popular and with lots of friends. His relationship with a girl had just finished and Leisa thinks this may have been one of the things that led to his death. Leisa was very angry with him for doing it although now, four years on, says that she has forgiven him. Leisa remains very upset but does not normally like to talk about it, keeps things bottled up and pretends that everything is all right. She says that she does not like to keep crying all the time and is not very good at sharing her emotions. She is particularly worried about her one sister who was 11 years old at the time of Gareth’s death. At the time she had been told that it was an accident. Now she knows the truth, says that she wants to hear about what happened but runs out of the room when parents or Leisa try to tell her about it. Leisa hopes that Gareth is at peace and with God. She feels vulnerable, sees herself as being less happy now and doubts that she will ever be anything like the person she was, again.
Part of the series The Suicide of Young People and its Impact on the Family.
30 mins
