Cindy Uken

Montana native D Gregory Smith felt alone, helpless and suicidal as a teen about feelings for other young men. He became a priest hoping to turn off his sexuality, but ultimately decided to come out as a gay man. He now counsels LGBT high school and college students and gay men.

The taboo subject of suicide makes can make it difficult for the survivors to find happiness and the ability to move on.

Suicide survivors, those left behind after a loved one kills himself or herself, discuss dealing with the tragedy and how its stigma needs to be overcome.

Those left behind after a loved-one commits suicide often experience a wide range of grief reactions, including shock, depression, abandonment and even post-traumatic stress syndrome. Some experience relief, particularly if the suicide followed a long and difficult mental illness.

While they seem like the least likely candidates, the elderly are killing themselves with greater regularity than any other age group in Montana. That’s also true across the country, eroding the myth that teens run the highest risk of suicide.

Debbie Dolezal, 59, of Billings describe the pain, guilt and heavy-heartedness she still feels after her husband killed himself in 2008.

The 2007 suicide of an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran and member of the Montana National Guard from Helena was a wake-up call for the organization.

Iraq war veteran Ryan Ranalli says he has at least five reasons why he won’t make another suicide attempt -- his wife and four children.

Veterans commit suicide at a rate that is twice the national average. In fact, the annual military death toll from suicides has for several years exceeded the number killed on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.