Abstract
Depression has repeatedly been found to be a risk factor for completed suicide, particularly when coupled with a pervasive sense of hopelessness. The aim of this study was to evaluate depressed older persons' suicidal experiences. Data were collected by means of individual in-depth interviews with nine informants living in two districts of Norway. A hermeneutic analysis was performed. One main theme: Going around in a circle and two themes: being alone without meaning in life and struggling to achieve reconciliation emerged from the analysis. An important implication for mental healthcare practice is the need to develop a person's ability to shape and take control of her/his life. The healthcare organisation must be committed to a plan that sets out strategies enabling suicidal individuals to avoid the negative experience of meaninglessness. It was concluded that suicidal depressed elderly persons need help to escape from their desperate situation. More research is urgently required in order to prevent suicide in depressed elderly persons whose emotional pain is unbearable.
Highlights
Suicide accounted for almost 32,000 deaths in the United Stated in 2004 [1]
Late-life depression is common in primary care settings, affecting at least 5 to 10% of older persons [5], it remains underdetected in those who live in their own home [6, 7]. In both earlier and recent studies, depression has been repeatedly found to be a risk factor for completed suicide, when coupled with a pervasive sense of hopelessness [8, 9], which is more likely to lead to suicide than depression alone [10]
Suicidal experiences of meaninglessness have been described as a state of psychache [14], human suffering [15], and emotional pain [16]
Summary
Suicide accounted for almost 32,000 deaths in the United Stated in 2004 [1]. The lethality of suicide attempts increases with age [2, 3]. Late-life depression is common in primary care settings, affecting at least 5 to 10% of older persons [5], it remains underdetected in those who live in their own home [6, 7]. In both earlier and recent studies, depression has been repeatedly found to be a risk factor for completed suicide, when coupled with a pervasive sense of hopelessness [8, 9], which is more likely to lead to suicide than depression alone [10]. There is an urge to escape from the pain of living and at the same time a desire to live [18]
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