#072. How much harder is it to mourn the loss of a loved one when sex is involved? We're all for honest and open conversations, but how do you have them when multiple taboo subjects are part of the same story?

This is The Silent Why, a podcast on a mission to open up conversations around grief and see if hope can be found in 101 different types of permanent loss.

Loss #44 of 101 - Loss through Autoerotic Asphyxiation

Please note this episode discusses some very adult themes around sex and death, so please use discretion where and when listening.

Meet Samantha Langford from Lincolnshire, England, who’s speaking publicly for the first time about her 21-year-old brother who tragically died in 1997 when practising autoerotic asphyxiation.
 
‘Erotic asphyxiation’, also known as ‘breath control play’, is the intentional restriction of oxygen to the brain for the purposes of sexual arousal. This can be done through strangulation, suffocation, or neck or chest compression. The term 'autoerotic asphyxiation' is used when the act is done by a person to themselves, rather than in a couple. It’s a very dangerous practice that can lead to accidental death, which is sadly what happened with Sam’s brother.

As with many accidental deaths in the home, the coroner recorded a verdict of ‘Death by Misadventure’. An accident or mistake. But one that left his family with two difficult subjects to deal with: sex and death.

In this episode Sam opens up about something that’s taken her many years to know how to speak about, she talks about what it’s been like sharing on a subject that’s so sensitive, the impact on her when the topic is just a joke to others, the dangers of such practices, the loneliness of not knowing anyone else that's been through the same grief and what good has come from it in her own development as a person.

For more about Sam visit her LinkedIn profile: www.linkedin.com/in/samanthabloomfield

To read the LinkedIn article Sam wrote about her brother in June 2022 visit: www.linkedin.com/pulse/death-sex-double-taboo-samantha-langford-msc/    

-----

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

Support the show through: buymeacoffee.com/thesilentwhy

Review the show: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Goodpods

More about the hosts, our childless journey, photos of guests, blog, and official 101 losses list: thesilentwhy.com

What's a Herman? - thesilentwhy.com/herman

Tips on how to help and talk to griefy people: thesilentwhy.com/post/howtotalktothegrieving

Episode transcripts and support the show: thesilentwhy.buzzsprout.com

Thank you for listening.