“A sign that I am not alone”: A grounded theory-informed qualitative study on spirituality after suicide bereavement

Abstract

Suicide bereavement is known to be highly distressing and to negatively affect the mental health of the bereaved. The role of religion and spirituality after suicide bereavement remains understudied. We aimed to specifically explore the role of spirituality after suicide bereavement by conducting a qualitative study through semi-structured interviews with fifteen people bereaved by suicide. The grounded theory-informed thematic analysis identified five main themes, namely “continuing bonds with the deceased,” “lightening the burden,” “grounded spirituality,” “perceptual and conceptual shift” and “the movement of giving.” For many participants, spirituality was a resource that facilitated the process of accepting their loss by offering a larger entity to which to hand over their suffering. Moreover, the continuing bonds with the deceased helped them to get through this ordeal. Our results can enable mental health professionals to better understand how spirituality can facilitate post-traumatic growth in people bereaved by suicide.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the first author, FH, upon reasonable request

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.