Caroline Roodhouse

Two birds sit on a park bench beside a cluster of butterflies. The accompanying text reads: if this world were a little kinder… we might all want to stay in it a little longer.

Whoever you come across today, give them a reason to smile.

They might need it more than you could ever know 💛🐦‍⬛

#DaddyBlackbird #MentalHealth #Wellbeing #SuicideLoss #Kindness #Compassion #Hope

Stressing out less after loss by suicide Daddy Blackbird #41

After Steve died, I blamed him for everything.

The traffic. The broken WiFi. My inability to cope.

None of it was his fault.

But grief had stolen my capacity to reason, to exist.

Tiny, repeatable habits slowly gave me back a sense of control.

#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Hope 💛🐦‍⬛

Eight years ago, my lovely, funny husband took his own life Fifteen words changed my world on November 12, 2018. I knew something was terribly wrong when two officers got out of a police car outside our house and walked up our driveway.

Fifteen words changed my world on 12 November 2018 💔

#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #HoldOn 💛🐦‍⬛

Owning my thoughts after loss by suicide Daddy Blackbird #40

After loss by suicide, my thoughts took over.

Loops, self-blame, impossible standards at work and at home.

In Daddy Blackbird #40 I share what helped.

Small shifts, not breakthroughs.

Protecting my thoughts, topping up energy, choosing “good enough”.

#DaddyBlackbird 💛

Holding hope after loss by suicide Daddy Blackbird #39

2 years after my husband’s suicide, Covid hit.

People wanted “normal,” but grief had stolen mine.

Imagining a future felt impossible, until a therapist said:

“I will carry hope for you until you can carry it yourself.”

Borrowed hope can save you when your own is gone.

#DaddyBlackbird 💛🐦‍⬛

Clear words save lives.

Avoiding the word suicide doesn’t protect people.

Clear, direct language does.

Asking someone if they feel suicidal doesn’t put the idea in their head, it opens a door they may be desperate to walk through 💛🐦‍⬛

#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideAwareness #MentalHealth #Support

I’m with you, Ian. I’m so sorry for your loss. I recognise how this pain never really goes away. But I wholeheartedly believe we can feel hope again. We just need the right conditions and people to help us get there 💛

It was a total game changer for me 💛

“Every suicide leaves behind a legacy of loss.” — World Health Organization

We talk lots about suicide prevention.

We talk far less about what happens after.

Grief, anger, confusion, love.

All existing at once.

Postvention matters, and so do the people living with the aftermath 💛🐦‍⬛

#DaddyBlackbird #Suicide #SuicideLoss #Grief #Bereavement #PTSD #Healing #Hope

Thank you! I read a comment just this morning saying therapy was rubbish and overpriced. Maybe so in some cases. But in my experience it was magical 💛

Holding hope after loss by suicide Daddy Blackbird #39

2 years after my husband’s suicide, Covid hit.

People wanted “normal,” but grief had stolen mine.

Imagining a future felt impossible, until a therapist said:

“I will carry hope for you until you can carry it yourself.”

Borrowed hope can save you when your own is gone.

#DaddyBlackbird 💛🐦‍⬛

“Suicide leaves questions that never have answers.” — Kay Redfield Jamison

Suicide loss is different.

It’s bewildering in a way that’s hard to explain, especially when the person you trusted most is the one who’s gone.

Naming that truth matters 💛🐦‍⬛

#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #MentalHealth #Wellbeing #Healing #Hope

💛🙏💛

Brighter days can come.

Talking about suicide doesn’t cancel out hope.

Healing, support, and brighter days can exist alongside the darkest thoughts.

Survival is possible and sometimes hope starts with hearing that 💛🐦‍⬛

#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Healing #Hope

Indeed. Seven years since my husband’s suicide and the grief continues in many ways…

There is no right way to grieve

Grief isn’t just sadness.

Sometimes it’s anger.

Sometimes rage.

Sometimes exhaustion.

None of it makes you a bad person.

It makes you human 💛🐦‍⬛

#DaddyBlackbird #Grief #Loss #SuicideLoss #Healing #Hope

Here with you

You don’t have to fix someone to help them.

A simple “I’m thinking of you” or “you’re not alone” can ease a heavy moment for them and for you.

#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideAwareness #MentalHealth #Support

A range of photos of the book, Daddy Blackbird as well as friendship bracelets

“It’s amazing how a little tomorrow can make up for a whole lot of yesterday.” | John Guare

#DaddyBlackbird #SuicidePrevention #SuicideLoss #MentalHealth #Wellbeing #Healing #Hope 💛🐦‍⬛

It is. I’m in sunny Hampshire 😊

I’m still working out how to get it stocked in libraries 😂 (it’s on my list) 😊

Knowledge reduces fear

Many of us fear talking about suicide because we don’t understand it.

Learning even a little builds confidence, reduces stigma, and helps us respond with care instead of silence 💛🐦‍⬛

#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideAwareness

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

You are more than the worst thing that’s happened to you.

Even when it takes years to believe that 💛🐦‍⬛

#DaddyBlackbird #Love #Loss #SuicideLoss #Healing #Hope

Facing the fear after loss by suicide Daddy Blackbird #38

After suicide loss, the mind doesn’t move on 💔

It replays, interrogates, and ambushes.

I wrote about PTSD, trauma therapy, what it actually means to live alongside unbearable memories and how I overcame them 💛🐦‍⬛

#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #MentalHealth #PTSD #Therapy

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A photo of three copies of the book, Daddy Blackbird, held up against the blue sky background with the smiling shining through

"You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.” | Pablo Neruda 💛☀️🌱

Wishing everyone a wonderful, happy and peaceful day 🫶🙌🌟

#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideAwareness #SuicidePrevention #BookSky #Hope 🐦‍⬛

You are not what hurt you— you are what survived."

“Instead of saying ‘I’m damaged, I’m broken, I have trust issues.” I say “I’m healing, I’m rediscovering myself, I’m starting over.” | Horacio Jones 🫶

#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #SuicideAwareness #MentalHealth #Healing #Hope 💛

If we want better conversations about mental health, we need less fixing and more listening.

Safety comes before solutions 💛🐦‍⬛

#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #SuicidePrevention #Grief #MentalHealth #Hope

Facing the fear after loss by suicide Daddy Blackbird #38

After suicide loss, the mind doesn’t move on.

It replays, interrogates, and ambushes.

I wrote about PTSD, trauma therapy, what it actually means to live alongside unbearable memories and how I overcame them 💛🐦‍⬛

#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #MentalHealth #PTSD #Therapy

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Beautiful 💛💛💛