How relatives look back at suicide risk after their close one's death by suicide.

The aim of the current study is to analyze how relatives understand in retrospect the suicide risk of their next of kin who died by suicide. We interviewed 103 adult relatives who lost their significant others to suicide, using qualitative content analysis to explore the data. Participants expressed difficulties understanding suicide risk by identifying personal traits incompatible with suicide, reasons to doubt the risk, life oriented actions, the situation seemed better than it was, or that the loved one denied suicide risk; only a few recognized suicide risk. Prevalent myths about suicide and denial are possible explanations for these findings.

Factors of Seeking Professional Psychological Help by the Bereaved by Suicide.

BACKGROUND: Studies show that people bereaved by suicide often feel a strong need for professional help. It is hypothesized that aspects related to suicide bereavement, such as stigmatization, shame or guilt, hinder help-seeking process of the bereaved. However, little is known about help-seeking behaviors of people who has lost someone due to suicide. AIMS: This study was conducted to attain a better understanding of the contributing factors, including the specific features of grief following suicide, to help-seeking behaviors of the bereaved by suicide. METHODS: The sample consisted of 82 adults bereaved by suicide (64 female; average age 37.79, SD = 14.33). Instruments assessing stigmatization, shame, guilt levels, well-being, tendency to disclose emotional distress and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help were used. The participants were also asked an open-ended question what professional help-seeking barriers they had encountered. Comparisons between the groups, logistic regression analysis and thematic analysis of the qualitative data were performed. RESULTS: The findings revealed that bereaved participants who sought professional psychological help reported experiencing stigmatization and feeling guilty after the loss significantly more often. Also the results showed that attitudes toward mental health specialists had the highest prognostic value in predicting help-seeking behaviors of the bereaved. The participants themselves identified the gaps in the health care system as main barriers to seeking help. CONCLUSION: The results challenge previously spread notion that stigmatization, guilt and shame after suicide can act only as help-seeking barriers.

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

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.