Surviving the suicides of significant others: a case study

Crisis. 2008;29(1):45-8. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910.29.1.45.

Abstract

Psychological pain has been reported to be major contributing factor for completed suicide, and classical suicidology based its wisdom on this construct. In this paper we report the case of a patient whose family experienced a high number of suicides apparently due to an escalation of psychological pain in the family members after the successive suicides. We also briefly discuss the problem of helping survivors after the suicide of loved one.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Depressive Disorder, Major / psychology*
  • Family / psychology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Interpersonal Relations*
  • Self-Injurious Behavior / genetics*
  • Self-Injurious Behavior / psychology*
  • Suicide, Attempted / psychology*
  • Survival / psychology*