Understanding Suicides through the Processes of Bereaved Relatives: A Phenomenological Study

This phenomenological study aimed to deeply understand the perceptions, experiences, and coping mechanisms of families who have experienced completed suicide in the pre- and post-suicide periods. In this scope, in-depth interviews were conducted with a family member who had experienced completed suicide. Colaizzi’s analysis method was used for data analysis. The main theme of the pre-suicide process included sub-themes of traumatic experiences, unmanageable genetic inheritance, and alcoholism; the main theme of the approaching period included sub-themes of clear signals and accelerators; the main theme of the post-suicide process included sub-themes of difficulty in creating meaning, stigma and guilt, and unmet support needs; the main theme of perceptions of preventability included the sub-theme not everyone who is sick has to die and ultimately.