Yes, both Jim and I are guilty of wanting to be overprotective of Evie because of what happened to Brian, especially since they share PTSD. However, as Jim says, it is not Evie's fault that Brian is gone. Of course we want her to be safe and we try to shield her. On the other hand though, she is an adult, and her self-esteem is closely tied to being able to do things for herself. It is a delicate balancing act, between protecting her and letting her go, that we are struggling with at the moment.

I personally have felt both frightened and angry with her being suicidal this past week. Those are natural reactions of course, however I have had to step back and ask myself honestly how much of it is me reacting to Brian's death still. Evie is aware of both our feelings as we have talked to her at length over the past couple of days. We are trying to not harp on the issue too much though, as she is already feeling tremendously guilty and defeated over recent events and more than anything we want to encourage her.