A message from Melitta

Have you ever felt yourself detach from your solid base and get tumbled around by the force of life? Like a tumble weed void of direction, tossed here, there, everywhere? 

As a kid I have a memory of watching tumble weeds race one another across the beach at Discovery Bay Western Victoria. The wind so strong that it lifted the top layer of sand and whipped it into our legs like glass being sand blasted. Legs stinging we’d run chasing them along the beach getting distracted by hunting for washed up treasures.

After losing my brother to suicide in 2016, I became a tumbleweed. I felt devoid of purpose—lost and grieving. I threw myself into counseling at Support After Suicide, attending consecutive sessions, and then completed the eight-week early bereavement course.

When I felt stronger, I wanted to give back to those who had helped me. In 2020, I joined the advisory board at Switchboard. It gave me purpose. Being able to share my lived experiences to potentially help others in a meaningful way was invigorating.

If you’re newly bereaved, I strongly recommend the Suicide Bereavement eight-week course—it changed my life. I’ve made lifelong friends who truly understand, and I no longer feel alone in my grief.