Aftermath of A Suicide

Guest Blogger by John Tarr

“In my business, we never see a body but, we certainly clean up the aftermath.”

This was Joe Trasser’s answer to me when I point blank asked him if he has ever seen a body in his line of work. Joe is the owner of AZ-BIO and when we decided to write an article for his blog on suicide he said a couple of surprising things to me.

One of the cleaning services his company provides is suicide cleanup. I wanted to get his thoughts on this issue because of his unique perspective since his business deals with it more than most people. They also come in contact with many family members trying make heads or tails out what just happened.

“When I first show up at the scene of one of these tragic events,” Joe continued shaking his head, “I cannot help but think of what state of mind these individuals must have been in to make them take such a drastic conclusion to their lives.”

How can it not make an impact on those who have to deal with the aftermath, be they family members or a cleanup crew? That was a question I wondered to myself.

I read this week that two more high-profile individuals in our country have taken their own lives recently. Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain.

By all accounts these two people were very successful at what they do in life. Anthony Bourdain was a CNN host celebrity chef with his own TV program, “Parts Unknown”.

Kate Spade was a very successful fashion designer.

Why would two highly successful people do this? What made them feel that there was no hope for the future?

.Dangers of Suicide Cleaning

The news has surprised and devastated everyone and has put the spotlight on suicide once again. Depression is the engine that drives this action.

This issue is very complicated and there are no easy answers. Chemical imbalance? Childhood issues? Divorce? Bipolar? Emotional trauma? I think the reasons for depression are as varied as there is humans on the planet.

I personally had a friend commit suicide 6 months ago. He was a part of a church and men’s group that I belong to. He battled with many ghosts and demons from his past as well as being bipolar.

Many people tried to be of help to him. He was a very special person in the lives of many people. So, when he did die, it hurt many of us deeply.

We all had many questions and felt like there should have been something more we could have done to help.

The news says that we are in the midst of a suicide epidemic in this country. People that study this issue say that over 45,000 people committed suicide last year alone.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released on June 7, suicide rates have increased significantly across the US.

Between 1999 and 2016, suicide rates rose in nearly every state in the union, with 25 states showing increases of more than 30 percent.

What is going on? What can we do? How can it be prevented? This is a question I fear that will be debated as long as humans walk this planet. We do need to be more aware and give a helping hand when we can.

Dr. Marc Siegal of Fox News wrote an interesting article that you may want to read: Bourdain and Spade suicides raise some interesting questions—Here are some answers

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Find out how Joe’s BIO does Suicide Cleanup.

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