Too strong? Barriers from getting support before a suicide attempt in Lithuania

Abstract

The study aimed to understand the tendencies of help seeking before a suicide attempt in Lithuania. An analysis of interviews with 21 Lithuanian adults demonstrated strong avoidance of seeking help. The main reasons for avoidance included a lack of trust in other people, thinking that one must solve problems independently without sharing them, avoiding troubling others, and a belief that showing genuine emotions is a sign of weakness. These findings may contribute to suicide prevention by more deeply understanding the barriers to help seeking among high suicide risk groups, particularly in countries with a traumatic historical experience.

Is Individualism Suicidogenic? Findings From a Multinational Study of Young Adults From 12 Countries

“…Independence, freedom, and personal responsibility are core values in the concept of individualism, and persons with individualistic value orientations display context-independent information processing and dispositional attribution styles, compared to context-dependent and situational attribution style shown by those with collectivistic value orientations. Further, persons engaging in suicidal behavior are reluctant to seek help for reasons related to a belief in self-reliance, stigma, and a belief that nobody could help (83,84). Thus, our fourth hypothesis predicted collectivistic values would be associated with more socially accepting/helping attitudes to suicidal persons, whereas individualistic values with less socially accepting/helping attitudes to suicidal persons.…”

“I Didn’t Feel Treated as Mental Weirdo”: Primary Findings on Helpful Relationship Characteristics in Suicide Attempt Health Care in Lithuania

“…Disregarding the patient as a person after a suicide attempt might result in internalized stigma, what may lead to further feelings of loneliness and therefore become a barrier for sharing their pain, which is consistent with previous research (Ghio et al, 2010;Rogers & Shand, 2004). Distrust in others and overreliance on oneself have already been revealed as important barriers for seeking help while in suicidal crises in Lithuanian sample (Dadašev, Skruibis, Gailienė, Latakienė & Grižas, 2016). Negative experiences during hospitalization may also affect trust in the healthcare system, which might reduce the chance of a person approaching a healthcare specialist in a future suicidal crisis.…”

Why (not) suicide: Habitus in hysteresis and the space of possibles

“…Other alternatives to suicide are relatively absent, likewise. The culture of distrust towards the health system (Doblytė, 2022) and towards other people (Dadašev et al, 2016), coupled with the stigma of psychiatry (Doblytė, 2020) and mental illness (Schomerus et al, 2015), prevents agents from seeking help in the healthcare system or from agents’ social ties.…”