Wakefield woman, whose husband and daughter died by suicide, is determined to help others
Karen Sykes' husband, Ian, took his own life in 2015, just 4 years later her family were struck with another devastating blow when her daughter died
Last updated 10th Sep 2021
A Wakefield woman tells us she's determined to help others, after losing both her husband and daughter within 4 years of each other to suicide.
Karen Sykes' husband Ian took his own life in 2015, 4 years later her family's world collapsed a second time, when her daughter, Beth, died at just 26 years old.
She said:
"We were happy, we were a tight family, Ian was successful in his career, kind, a really good husband, and above all a fantastic dad, so when he died suddenly, we had no indications, no idea.
"It just threw us as a family into complete turmoil and heartbreak and everything that we thought we had was completely shattered."
Karen says her and her 3 daughters spoke openly about suicide and the issues after losing Ian in 2015, and faced more heart break when Beth tragically died 4 years later.
Now, Karen uses her platform on twitter to help others.
One thing she wants to see change is the narrative and stigma around suicide.
She said:
"I think when someone dies to suicide there's still a stigma around it, people want to know why and people ask questions. When someone dies to cancer, they wouldn't ask 'why did they get cancer?' So I think the narrative and the perception around suicide remains even though we are talking about it.
"We spoke quite a lot about suicide after Ian died, I made the assumption that we were alright really, so Beth's death completely smashed into our world as a family, and I don't think we realised how much she was struggling.
"We did talk about it, but I think you think people are ok, so you don't keep the conversation going, and it should be there.
"Small things like changing the narrative, reaching out and small actions might make a big difference actually."
Karen is now raising awareness of bereavement by suicide, saying those who've lost a loved one, are at higher risk:
"I wasn't aware that myself, that my family, and my children and I were at higher risk of suicide, and I think if I had of known that, I could've been a bit more pro-active with Beth.
"Looking back now, I say we talked about it, but we didn't talk about how we were each dealing with it and how we were feeling.
"Maybe we weren't talking about the impact it had on us individually, and after Beth died our reaction was very different, I think we were more of a unit, and it's made me look at it very differently.
"If you can save one person, and help and reach out and actually inspire that you are needed, you are loved and you're needed on this earth, that's the most important thing you can do."
Today is World Suicide Prevention Day, with stats showing 277 people died in West Yorkshire in 2019.
Find services where you are by heading to hubofhope.co.uk