"My ex-boyfriend killed himself. My friend who goes to the same college called to tell me. I knew he was feeling depressed when I broke up with him last month, but he never mentioned wanting to kill himself. He was seeing a psychiatrist and said he was starting to feel better. What if the breakup triggered this? I feel like it's my fault."
When Ilona suddenly lost her husband to suicide six years ago, she was heading the customs department of a medium-sized company. Distracting herself with work helped her to bring a sense of normality back into her life, she recalls. Ilona quickly realized that she wouldn't be able to cope with her loss alone so she sought help. A neighbor told her about a support group in Berlin. There, she met Patricia, who's been the group's volunteer leader for over 10 years.