Gayle's husband, Jerry, killed himself two months ago. He had been depressed for many years, and he had resisted getting help. When Jerry began to feel better, he would stop taking his medications. He also didn't like their side effects. Gradually, Jerry stopped going to therapy.

Gayle and Jerry had been through so much together. Gayle believed that if she "hung in there forever," Jerry would change, he would get better. Jerry left Gayle a suicide note. The note thanked her, told her how much he loved her, and said that she had been a great wife and that she should move on in her life. Gayle was having none of that.

She blamed herself and kept wracking her brain for what she could have done differently and better. She kept going over the same scenarios again and again. And, she was so angry with Jerry for not trying harder, for not sticking with his treatment as he should have.

Gayle is still having trouble sleeping at night and she's not eating very well. At first people were supportive, except for her husband's sister Alice, who thinks that Gayle didn't do enough. Other people don't know what to say or do and they have kept away. Her adult children are asking her to get some help, to take the steps that their Dad never did and really take care of herself.

*Created for illustrative purposes only, not a real person.