Out walking the dog with kids earlier in a local woods (Childwall woods if anyone knows it). Threw the ball for the dog who being the tit he is took off in the wrong direction leaving me to go down into a sunken area to retrieve ball. As I turned around I noticed someone hiding in the bushes who looked like he was spying on us. Went over to have a word and realised that he was yellow and his feet were a few inches off the ground. Immediately panicked as the girls were just about to come on the scene. Screamed at them to get back and luckily the 7 year old didn’t see anything although the 11yr old did and is obviously a little upset. She can’t get the image of seeing his completely still legs just hanging there although she seems to get coming to terms with it now. Called police and ambulance who arrived in numbers and closed off the whole scene. After an hour and a half of examining the scene the body was removed and I gave a statement. Just hope he didn’t have wife/kids.
Sorry to hear that mate. At one point in my life I considered ending it. The thought of being the selfish centrepiece of what you describe made think I shouldn’t.
Keep talking to everyone until you’ve got it sorted in your mind and hope the girls are OK.
I saw someone jump off a bridge right in front of me last year.
Watch yourself for the next day or so as I had a bit of a wobble about 48 hours later. Talk it through with someone if that helps. In my case it was a colleague who told very bad taste jokes for about 10 minutes. It worked for me as prior to that I kept seeing the guy going in head first every time I closed my eyes.
These days, death is something that very few of us come across in our day to day lives so when we do see a dead body (or someone dying) then it’s a big shock.
As others have said, keep a watch on how you and your daughters feel and get help should you need it.
there is a line of research suggests if you get (your 11yr old) to play tetris or anything like this intensively for the next few days it distracts her brain from going over the short term memory she has formed of what she saw (and building/reinforcing the multiple synaptic links that form memory) and stops it forming a strong long term memory. In theory it will even weaken the short term memory and make it seem more distant like something she saw in a film etc.
ooffff. hope you are ok, sorry your girl had to see that.
i often wonder about people like my Dad, who was a fireman for nearly 40 years, do you ever get used to it.
Nasty stuff. I remember a couple of lads at school found a body in the local thicket. It seemed like a cool thing at the time, but I bet it wasn’t for them.
Awful thing to happen. Look after yourselves in the next few days
Something I’ve often wondered, given how many of us spend time in woods on our own. Just made me decide to ride home on the towpath, not through the woods
You should talk to both your children about it together as a family, explain the facts. Be honest and stick to the facts. It’s one of the recommended ways of dealing with traumatic situations.
Sorry to hear about your experience.
My top tip would be to take your kids back out for a walk in those woods tomorrow. Take the mrs and have chocolate and nice drinks with you. Make it a nice but short affair and try to make everyone laugh whilst you are about. Don’t let their memory be one of a pair of hanging boots.
( multiple tours of Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and one of Sierra Leone-though worst case of ptsd I ever saw was two lads who found a body whilst kayaking down the wye)
Thanks chaps. I’m ok. Daughter seems to be ok now. She is talking about it which has helped her. The thing that I can’t get out of my mind was the stillness. Even though it’s obvious that a dead person would be still, the fact that it was in a sunken heavily wooded area with no breeze, and the body was just hanging there completely and absolutely still. It was kind of surreal.
Don’t be afraid to talk to someone, seek counselling, or whatever it needs to be called.
I got involved in the recovery of a body at sea one time. It didn’t effect me as I wasn’t closely involved in the body personally. Those who were involved got offered counselling, some took it, some didn’t. Of those who did take, they said it helped. Those who didn’t all said they hoped to never have to go through the experience again.
Christ, that’s a tough thing to have to deal with.
As said above, keep an eye out for any problems, (PTSD type thing) and don’t hesitate to get help. Both your daughter, and yourself.
Loddrick hope you can venture out to those woods again quite soon, like falling off a bike you must remount and ride again, probably the person will be named in the liverpool echo, then youll possibly know a bit more about the chap, and his family, which may help you all.
Some good advice has been given in this thread, don’t be afraid to seek a professional to talk to if needed, and if you use the woods a fair bit get back in there asap.
I’ve seen a few dead bodies in my life but one sticks in my mind in an area of wood I used to walk in a few times a month I haven’t been back in that would since the day even though I could be at least quater of a mile from the site.
Blimey that must be a shocking sight. Hope you’re all ok.
I once found an old boy dead right in the middle of a bridle way when I was out on my bike. Clearly just keeled over while out for a walk. Saddest part of it was that few weeks later and he was in the paper and they still hadn’t identified him. In all that time not one person had missed him.
I echo the sentiments of others who have posted. Hope you and your girls are doing okay. So sad that somebody finds that to be the only resolution to their problems.