title: 'People look down on you when you tell them how he died': Qualitative insights into stigma as experienced by suicide survivors.
abstract: This paper aims to present findings that convey how people felt stigmatized after the loss of a loved one to suicide. A qualitative design was used for the purpose of this study. Data were collected using in-depth, face-to-face interviews. Audio-recordings of the interviews were transcribed and thematically analyzed. Ten people bereaved by suicide participated in the study. Four themes emerged from the data namely: Feeling blamed, shamed and judged; Feeling isolated/rejected by friends and community; Feeling silenced and Feeling the burden of others' discomfort. Findings show that stigmatization of the bereaved by suicide had detrimental effects on their relationships and their help seeking behaviours. Further, due to stigma imposed on them by others, participants were denied the opportunity to tell their stories which further complicated their grieving process. Further education and training is required for health professionals to enhance understanding of the specific needs of those bereaved by suicide.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing & Midwifery, Western Sydney University.
authors.forename: Kath
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.affiliation: Thomas Embling Hospital, Melbourne, Australia & School of Nursing & Midwifery, Western Sydney University.
authors.forename: Colleen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing & Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Sydney.
authors.forename: Gillian
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: School of Health, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.|Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jackson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001601:Bereavement; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D000066505:Help-Seeking Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012059:Rejection, Psychology; D012934:Social Isolation; D013240:Stereotyping; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: bereavement; relationships; social stigma; social support; suicide