The Silent Bond Between Mental Illness’s Stigma and Suicide with Marci Glidden Savage

Marci Glidden Savage is the CEO of a family-owned packaging supply company. After experiencing the catastrophic impact of suicide twice, Marci emerges as a fierce proponent for eliminating the social stigma attached to mental illness which keeps many individuals battling depression and anxiety from seeking help.

 

Marci is the author of And No One Saw It Coming, a book that she wrote with the intention of bringing more awareness to suicide, its prevalence in the U.S.A., how it impacts families, and most of all with the purpose of opening the space for people suffering from mental illnesses to be able to ask and receive the help they need.

 

Key Takeaways:

Marci describes her couple of horrific grief stories. Marci shares how she had a very open and intimate relationship with her husband, there was honesty except for a deep area inside of him that he couldn’t talk about or admit, as a result of the stigma around men and their mental health. Marci has her two parents alive and they couldn’t understand her grief. People ask a lot of questions, trying to make sense of what happened and intending to feel safe from a death like the one they are seeing, but in the process, they hurt the grieving by installing shame and guilt in them. Every grieving person just wants one more conversation. Marci met Michael and again fell in love but with a completely different man. Michael knew the pain that Marci and her family went through with grieving. Michael overdosed after leaving notes to every member of the family, this left everyone with the feeling that he knew exactly what he was about to do. Marci talked about her anger and the anger from everyone around her. After her second loss, Marci decided to write a book. Susan shares an experience in her community where a hate crime was committed and how it impacted her daughter. Marci talks about her book And No One Saw It Coming. If you are supporting someone grieving, remember there is nothing you can say, so be there, love them, and hold their hand in silence (it is better than saying something that could end up being hurtful).

 

Resources

Tendrilsofgrief.com

Email Susan: [email protected]

 

Meet Marci Glidden Savage

You can connect with Marci and learn more about her memoir, And No One Saw It Coming, at marcisavage.com.