Last Friday, a close friend of mine ended her own life. She bought a gun, went to the park, and shot herself.

I've been going through a lot of different - sometimes contradictory - waves of emotion. Every day has been a different kind of struggle. Crying, numbness, crying, numbness, RAGE, crying, and more numbness.

One way I'm personally coping is doing a lot of research on suicide and suicide survivors. The general consensus is that suicide survivors have to work through a lot of different feelings and thoughts (including feelings of guilt, anger, sadness, and so on), some of which may seem irrational to others. Point being that we have to work through these feelings, not avoid them.

My only advice is to avoid the cliches ("time heals all wounds," is the one everyone keeps telling me, and it hurts more than it helps), acknowledge and accept your own feelings, and understand that your boyfriend has a LOT to work through, some of which will be extremely painful for him, and thus difficult for those around him. Don't withdraw from him unless he gives you a clear indication that he needs some extra room.