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The Suicide Survivor's Grief and Recovery
Author(s) -
Knieper Audra J.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1111/j.1943-278x.1999.tb00530.x
Subject(s) - grief , suicide prevention , poison control , injury prevention , complicated grief , occupational safety and health , mental health , traumatic grief , psychiatry , human factors and ergonomics , psychology , disenfranchised grief , medicine , medical emergency , pathology
While official estimates report approximately 30,000 completed suicides each year, some researchers claim the numbers range much higher. Each suicide has severe and prolonged effects on the family members and friends left behind. Those left behind, the survivors of the suicide, tend to experience a very complicated form of bereavement. This is due to the combination of the sudden shock, the unanswered question of “why,” and possibly the trauma of discovering or witnessing the suicide. Survivors’ grief reactions can become even more exacerbated by inappropriate responses from the community to the suicide. A mental health professional can help the survivor through this difficult grieving process by direct and indirect means.