Suicide Loss Survivors: Navigating Social Stigma and Threats to Social Bonds

The complicated grief experienced by suicide loss survivors leads to feelings of abandonment, rejection, intense self-blame, and depression. Stigma surrounding suicide further burdens survivors who can experience rejection by their community and social networks. Research in the field of psychology has delved into the grieving process of suicide loss survivors, however the effects of suicide require more sociological study to fully understand and support the impact of the suicidal bereavement process on the social interactions and relationships of those left behind after death. This study aims to contribute to the body of research exploring the social challenges faced after the suicide of a loved one. Based on the analysis of powerful personal narratives through qualitative interviews shared by 14 suicide loss survivors this study explores the social construction of the grieving and healing process for suicide loss survivors. Recognizing that the most reliable relief is in commiseration with like experienced people, this research points to the support group as a builder of social solidarity. The alienation caused by the shame and stigma of suicide loss can be reversed by the feelings of attachment to the group that listens, understands and accepts. Groups created by and for suicide loss survivors should be considered a necessary tool to be used toward healing those who suffer from loss by suicide.

Suicide Postvention for the United States Military: Literature Review, Conceptual Model, and Recommendations

Suicide continues to be a significant public health problem in the United States and the Department of Defense (DoD). Timely and systematic postvention efforts can play an instrumental role in helping family members, peers, and military command to best manage the aftermath of a suicide. To date, several postvention efforts have been implemented in the military. However, there continues to be an overall lack of understanding of the specific short- and long-term effects of exposure to military suicide. In addition, more emphasis needs to be placed on empirically driven approaches to postvention and program evaluation. The purpose of this article is threefold: (1) to provide a summary of the postvention literature with special emphasis placed on the military organization; (2) to propose a conceptual model as a framework for understanding Military-Unit Suicide Survivorship; and (3) to briefly highlight postvention strategies within the DoD in the context of a number of research, clinical, and policy recommendations.

Clinical and psychological consequences for the families of suicide victim

A lot of attention is paid to people in suicidal crisis, while the problems of helping the relatives of the suicide victim are studied less extensively. To offer expert support to the family it is necessary to understand the aims of psychological work. The article presents analysis of protective factors and risk factors that may affect the intensity of the emotional state after the loss. Characteristics of children’s experience of relative’s suicide are described. In contrast to the experience of natural death, relatives of a suicide experience more feelings of guilt and social stigmatization that prevents them from getting informal support. Relatives of a suicide are at risk of developing depression, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, physical illness, drug addiction and suicidal behavior. Literature data shows the need to develop a program of prevention that should be based on the relationship between the survivor and the person who committed suicide, to consider the stage of grief and coping skills he/she possesses.