Story Behind My New Hope Collection
"Hope" Collection Release
I wanted to share with you the story behind the “HOPE” Collection and why it's meaning is so near and dear to my heart.
I’m a survivor of depression and suicidal thoughts for 20+ years. I was diagnosed with post-partum depression after my son was born. It eventually escalated to clinical depression to the point I almost abandoned my 2-year son. But as most females that suffer from depression, we tend to seek help more so then men do. I survived this time because I asked for help and I received the required medication to get through the hormonal imbalance after having a child and sadness.
This was the darkest depression state I have ever experienced. And I vowed not to go to that deep dark place again. In these last 20+ years, I have learned to recognize the signs of sadness and found ways and practice those ways of self-care to keep me alive for my son, my husband, and my family. I’ll share those self-care methods with you soon.
If you know someone or maybe yourself have suffered from depression, please know you're not alone.
II decided to release this collection on June 7th because it marks what would have been the 52nd Birthday of my younger brother Jack, known by his friends as John. Our family called him Jack because he was my dad’s namesake
We lost our brother Jack on 11/16/2011 as a result of suicide. He was a 43 single male who never married and had no children. But he did leave behind 3 nephews. He was a 3rd generation machinist. He was an avid outdoorsman. Loved hunting game and fishing!
At the time, we just couldn’t understand why? “WHY” is the question, I believe, all family members who lose someone to suicide always ask. There is a great song called “Why” by Rascal Flatts, along with many others that helped me get through the grieving process.
He did not leave a note, we are forever asking that daunting question - Why? For those that do leave a note, it may allow families some sort of answer, but it still doesn’t help with the loss.
We find ourselves looking for clues as we go through their belongings, and/or maybe we can find clues as we try to remember events when we spent time with them last.
Before losing my brother I never truly felt grief, as I did then. I have experienced losing a grand-parent, but a sibling just isn’t the same.
I'm the oldest of 4 and after our parents’ divorce and we became adults we had to stick together.
Losing a loved one from your immediate family, I can attest that it certainly can take at least 12 months to go through most of the stages of grief. And we should never judge anyone who has lost someone, suicide or not.
I came to the realization that Jack had no idea of my own struggles. He solidified for me that he and I were more alike than either of us knew about each other. As his eldest sister, I feel some sort of responsibility to protect him. I sometimes feel as if I failed him. I should have known the signs, but then again. He hid it so well. And I think, as any surviving family member, “What If”! What If he only knew my struggles, would he have come to me for help or advice. So many “What If”.
It’s been almost 9 years and each day gets better, but I still think of him each and everyone knew him as John W. Bauer Jr. aka Jack Bauer 6/7/1968 to 11/16/2011 Yellow Ribbon day.
I miss his laugh, his humor, and just about everything else.
As a survivor of suicide, myself, and now losing a loved one to suicide, I had to try to understand why suicide from a male perspective. It was an eye-opener. Statistics are astounding.
- 1 Death every 40 seconds
- 57% more deaths from suicide than from war and homicide
- 800,000 people die by suicide every year
- #10 leading cause of death in the U.S.
- Men are 4x more likely to die by suicide than women.
- Firearms are the most commonly used method for males.
- Women are 3x more likely to have suicidal thoughts than men.
- Poison is the most commonly used method for females.
- 9% of Male U.S. Veterans die by suicide
- 4% of Female U.S. Veterans die by suicide.
Depression and Mental Health is a huge issue today in our society. We need to break the silence and end the stigma.
There is no single cause to suicide, it most often occurs when stressors, exceed current coping abilities of someone suffering from a mental health condition.
Suicide Prevention Day – September 10th
Suicide Prevention Week – September 6th – 112th
Suicide Prevention Month – September
10% off all Sales from the “Hope” Collection will be donated to the NAMI-Waukesha organization
NAMI Waukesha is a nonprofit organization that provides hope and help to those impacted by mental health conditions in our community as well as their loved ones.
The “Hope” Collection is a mosaic of colors chosen for Suicide Awareness, Purple, and Turquoise with a little white and grey mixed in.
If you’re a lover of any of these colors you will enjoy wearing the pieces from this collection.
Add some Joy to your wardrobe and make a statement!
Brighten your day with HOPE!
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September is National Suicide Prevention Month.
I will donate 10% of every sale this entire month to AFSP.com (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention). Help me raise $200!
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