Abstract:Background: The loss of a loved one to suicide can be a devastating experience that can have negative long-term effects on the social life and physical and mental health of the bereaved person. Worldwide, an estimated 237 million older adults have experienced suicide bereavement. As assumed in critical psychology, "the conduct of everyday life" reflects the social self-understanding by which people actively organize their lives based on their personal concerns, negotiation with co-participants in various actio… Show more
“…The description of suicide as an incomprehensible act was in the core of these perceptions. The participants, desolated by the nature of the loss, were engaged in incessant thoughts about the event as they could not find any satisfactory reason for it (Barnes, 2006; Begley & Quayle, 2007; Dutra et al, 2018; Entilli et al, 2021; Hybholt et al, 2020; Kawashima & Kawano, 2017; Lee et al, 2019; Lindqvist et al, 2008; Ross et al, 2018; Shields et al, 2019; Sugrue et al, 2014; Tzeng et al, 2010; Wainwright et al, 2020). Most of the times, the need for evidence and fulfilling answers was not met; even the existence of a suicide note was not enough to provide satisfactory answers to the family members regarding the reasons why their loved one was driven to suicide.It was question after question.…”
Accessible SummaryWhat is known on the subject?
Losing a family member due to suicide has been described as a traumatic experience, as suicide‐bereaved relatives grapple to accept the particular character of death and the core elements of guilt, self‐criticism and stigma it inflicts.
There are long‐term consequences for those who bereave due to the suicide of their beloved on, a high risk for mental and physical health problems included.
Feelings of guilt and self‐stigma influence help‐seeking behaviour among suicide‐bereaved individuals.
What the paper adds to existing knowledge?
Coping mechanisms adopted by suicide‐bereaved individuals mediate the impact of suicide on their family, and especially on the quality of relationships among them.
Supporting others in need can help alleviate guilt and self‐blame for the suicide while it enables the bereaved to fulfil their need to keep a non‐traumatizing, or even positive bond with the deceased.
What the implications for practice are?
Nursing interventions to facilitate suicide‐bereaved family members' participation in self‐help support groups and promote their engagement in supporting others in need are important.
Mental health nurses need to facilitate the replacement of dysfunctional coping strategies, such as substance use or self‐blame with more adaptive ones focused on the personal needs of the bereaved, in order to help them embrace a non‐traumatizing memory of the deceased while being in peace with the social environment.
Screening for mental health problems and management of shame, self‐stigma and guilt during the grieving period needs to be a priority in nursing interventions.
AbstractIntroductionLosing a family member to suicide is a traumatic experience which includes guilt and self‐stigma. Yet, there is lack of data synthesis on the survivors' experience.AimA meta‐synthesis of qualitative data on the interpretation of loss in suicide‐bereaved family members, their coping strategies and the effects on family.MethodA meta‐ethnographic synthesis following a systematic literature search and evaluation of the methodological quality of the selected studies was applied.ResultsThe narratives of 326 individuals (parents/siblings/children/spouses) reported in sixteen studies were analysed. Trying to achieve a balance between keeping alive a non‐traumatizing memory of the deceased, destigmatizing and liberating themselves from self‐blame, self‐criticism and guilt while being able to transform this experience into support towards others in need, was identified as the essence of the experience of the bereaved.DiscussionAlthough suicide within a family is a traumatic experience, spiritual and existential implications among the bereaved have been reported; their coping mechanisms mediate the impact of suicide on family sustainability.Implications for practiceNursing interventions to facilitate adoption of coping strategies centred on keeping a non‐traumatizing memory of the deceased among the bereaved and promote their participation in self‐help groups and activities to support others in need are important.
“…The description of suicide as an incomprehensible act was in the core of these perceptions. The participants, desolated by the nature of the loss, were engaged in incessant thoughts about the event as they could not find any satisfactory reason for it (Barnes, 2006; Begley & Quayle, 2007; Dutra et al, 2018; Entilli et al, 2021; Hybholt et al, 2020; Kawashima & Kawano, 2017; Lee et al, 2019; Lindqvist et al, 2008; Ross et al, 2018; Shields et al, 2019; Sugrue et al, 2014; Tzeng et al, 2010; Wainwright et al, 2020). Most of the times, the need for evidence and fulfilling answers was not met; even the existence of a suicide note was not enough to provide satisfactory answers to the family members regarding the reasons why their loved one was driven to suicide.It was question after question.…”
Accessible SummaryWhat is known on the subject?
Losing a family member due to suicide has been described as a traumatic experience, as suicide‐bereaved relatives grapple to accept the particular character of death and the core elements of guilt, self‐criticism and stigma it inflicts.
There are long‐term consequences for those who bereave due to the suicide of their beloved on, a high risk for mental and physical health problems included.
Feelings of guilt and self‐stigma influence help‐seeking behaviour among suicide‐bereaved individuals.
What the paper adds to existing knowledge?
Coping mechanisms adopted by suicide‐bereaved individuals mediate the impact of suicide on their family, and especially on the quality of relationships among them.
Supporting others in need can help alleviate guilt and self‐blame for the suicide while it enables the bereaved to fulfil their need to keep a non‐traumatizing, or even positive bond with the deceased.
What the implications for practice are?
Nursing interventions to facilitate suicide‐bereaved family members' participation in self‐help support groups and promote their engagement in supporting others in need are important.
Mental health nurses need to facilitate the replacement of dysfunctional coping strategies, such as substance use or self‐blame with more adaptive ones focused on the personal needs of the bereaved, in order to help them embrace a non‐traumatizing memory of the deceased while being in peace with the social environment.
Screening for mental health problems and management of shame, self‐stigma and guilt during the grieving period needs to be a priority in nursing interventions.
AbstractIntroductionLosing a family member to suicide is a traumatic experience which includes guilt and self‐stigma. Yet, there is lack of data synthesis on the survivors' experience.AimA meta‐synthesis of qualitative data on the interpretation of loss in suicide‐bereaved family members, their coping strategies and the effects on family.MethodA meta‐ethnographic synthesis following a systematic literature search and evaluation of the methodological quality of the selected studies was applied.ResultsThe narratives of 326 individuals (parents/siblings/children/spouses) reported in sixteen studies were analysed. Trying to achieve a balance between keeping alive a non‐traumatizing memory of the deceased, destigmatizing and liberating themselves from self‐blame, self‐criticism and guilt while being able to transform this experience into support towards others in need, was identified as the essence of the experience of the bereaved.DiscussionAlthough suicide within a family is a traumatic experience, spiritual and existential implications among the bereaved have been reported; their coping mechanisms mediate the impact of suicide on family sustainability.Implications for practiceNursing interventions to facilitate adoption of coping strategies centred on keeping a non‐traumatizing memory of the deceased among the bereaved and promote their participation in self‐help groups and activities to support others in need are important.
“…Many were driven to participate in communities with their peers, found strong connections and new belongings to a group. These are important anchors for coping with later-life challenges [ 7 ]. Groos and Shakespeare-Finch’s [ 33 ] evaluation of peer support groups for suicide bereavement found that an effortful thought process and the level of pain experienced were temporal and dependent on the individual’s own post-trauma trajectory or meaning-making process.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…A systematic review of studies found that none fulfilled the inclusion criteria [ 6 ]. Hyboldt et al’s [ 7 ] subsequent qualitative empirical study investigated the age-related factors for participants during the post-bereavement restoration process and their re-orientation to life after such a devastating loss. The lack of theoretical and methodological consistency in suicide and ageing research has also been noted [ 8 , 9 ].…”
Bereavement by suicide for people in later life is significantly under-researched. Research on ageing and suicide has yet to address the experiences of those bereaved by suicide and how such a devastating loss affects the ageing experience. Objectives: We explored the substantive issues involved in bereavement by suicide and its impact on later life. Methods: This was a co-produced qualitative study. Peer researchers with lived experience conducted in-depth interviews with twenty-four people aged 60–92 years. A phenomenological approach informed the data analysis. Main Findings: Themes described included (1) moral injury and trauma; (2) the rippling effect on wider family and networks; (3) transitions and adaptations of bereaved people and how their ‘living experience’ impacted on ageing. Conclusions: It is important to understand how individual experiences of suicide intersect with ageing and the significance of targeted assessment and intervention for those bereaved by suicide in ageing policies and support.
“…Internal and external influencing factors (e.g., trauma, stigma, and loss of autonomy) may result in fleeting non-specific thoughts with no significant (active) wish to die or reflect chronic yet passive suicidal thoughts that do not elevate risk of actual suicide. Further studies comparing bereavement experiences of those bereaved by suicide in later life with other traumatic bereavements and losses will also help understand the individual experiences and pathways within suicide research to help inform and enrich assessments and interventions in aging care (Hybholt et al, 2020 ; Hafford-Letchfield et al, 2022b ).…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…At the same time, however, people with an existential sense of completed life, or a wish to die, are less likely to be in touch with professionals, particularly clinicians (van Wijngaarden et al, 2019 ; Hafford-Letchfield et al, 2020 ). Further qualitative research on age-related factors on the traumatic impact of suicide bereavement (Hybholt et al, 2020 ) has demonstrated the relationship between grief and the lack of motivation to carry on and adapt to the physical and psychological effects of growing older. These impacts are also known to trigger suicidal thoughts and/or the wish for the hastening of the end of life (Hafford-Letchfield et al, 2022b ).…”
BackgroundThe cumulative body of research on suicidality in later life describes its unique and complex features in older people when compared with that in other population groups. Yet significant gaps exist in how research informs the further development of suitable interventions. The perspectives of older people are also limited in research findings.AimsTherefore, this exploratory study aimed to (1) identify potential barriers and enablers in discussing suicidal thoughts and their expression in later life from the perspectives of lay older people and (2) explore where opportunities might occur in approach, place, relationships, and language with older people to discuss suicidal thoughts and their expression.MethodWe conducted in-depth qualitative individual interviews with 15 people aged 70–89 years. This method helped explore older peoples' own lay perspectives on suicidal thoughts in later life and how these are expressed, and their understanding of where and how people might seek support.ResultsA total of three themes were generated from the dataset: (1) intergenerational and socio-cultural differences in suicide expression, (2) the normalization of suicidal thoughts in later life, and (3) the importance and difficulties of everyday discussion and opportunities to express suicidal thoughts.ConclusionSuicidal thoughts and their expression appear commonly and are normalized in later life yet remain taboo and hidden. The participants revealed how such thoughts and behaviors are typically expressed through colloquial or “off-hand” remarks and comments and the importance of authentic listening. The findings highlight the importance of more informal discussions around these topics and how care professionals, practitioners, and providers might frame opportunities for dialogue with people who may want to access support. Further engagement with community-informed participatory research methods in which older people provide their own perspectives and experiences is important in addressing these gaps. There is a need for co-designing in developing screening, assessment, and signposting outside of clinical settings that can be used in everyday caring relationships with people in later life.
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