Being a #caretaker for someone w/#mentalhealth struggles, #LarryStrickland, on wife #NaomiJudd, whose suicide has led him to open up, both privately & publicly, after decades of quietly ceding center stage, in hopes that it helps people be more comfortable talking about #mentalillness:
“For the past 13 years or more, I was w/her 24/7. I never left the house w/o Naomi knowing where I was going & when I’d be back. As far as taking care of myself, I’m not sure that fits my situation.”
Pushing to help, not knowing exactly what is right at the moment, #LarryStrickland, on the death of wife #NaomiJudd, in hindsight:
“I was pushing Naomi, [saying] ‘Please, please get off the couch. Let’s go walk. Let’s do this, do that.’ Looking back on that, had I known… To know now that she was contemplating [suicide], I look back & just wish I had been holding her & comforting her instead of pushing her.
I don’t know if that would’ve helped, but it certainly wouldn’t have hurt.”
Caring for & living with those with #MentalHealth struggles, #LarryStrickland, 8 months after wife #NaomiJudd’s suicide:
“When your spouse has a #mentalillness, & you’re the #caretaker, you have to walk every step that they walk.
You have to put them first & you have very little time for yourself. This is the #truth of it.”
#People Magazine, 12.26.22, “Life Without Naomi”
Renee