After surviving a suicide attempt, why does a person want to live again? Researchers at McMaster University are doing a study to find out, and seek your help. Firsthand survivors of suicide attempts are invited to describe what it was like. They especially want to know: what were the reasons to keep going?
The Reasons to go on Living Project has a deadline of December 15 to finish collecting stories, and is calling for submissions from anyone who has made a suicide attempt and is willing to describe what happened.
“We are doing this … to understand how people’s thinking changes after a suicide attempt. We do not understand the thinking processes that occur for people who choose to go on living after an attempt and there is very little research in this area. We believe that if we had a better understanding of how people found the strength to go living after an attempt, we might be able to better help people who are thinking of ending their lives, before they make an attempt.” - from thereasons.ca
For this project Associate Professor Jennifer Brasch is collaborating with Helen Kirkpatrick, RN. Kirkpatrick is known for her work in narrative studies with schizophrenia, harm reduction, and the homeless. In her paper A Narrative Framework for Understanding Experiences of People With Severe Mental Illnesses* she explains the importance of individual tales.
“People like to tell stories; they are part of the human condition. Stories provide a way to make coherence and meaning of events in people’s lives. … Telling and listening to stories can be powerful change agents in and of themselves.”
They hope to collect at least 200 stories, so help spread the word. Some will be put up on the site just after the deadline, while offline they will read everything and prepare a journal article to be published as soon as feasible.
Along with collecting stories, the archives are meant to be a permanent source of hope (online after Dec. 16). It may become a popular mental health consumer resource like Emerging into Light Gallery, or even The Icarus Project with strong, intimate voices. It will be interesting to read the range they hear from. Here is a chance to make your voice heard.
It’s not meant for a crisis but there are links to resources that are, along with dramatic snippets of facts on the site. They explain more in their FAQ. All participants must agree to a consent form but stay anonymous.
Thoughts of suicide? All the contributors to this project to date have changed their minds, and you may find eloquent reasons to go on too.
* A Narrative Framework for Understanding Experiences of People With Severe Mental Illnesses, Kirkpatrick H, Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, Volume 22, Issue 2, April 2008 doi:10.1016/j.apnu.2007.12.002
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Reasons to go on Living « Shines half as long (12/11/2008)
8 Comments to
“Your Reasons To Go on Living”
My reason to keep living!
My family and friends are the most important and basically the only reason i am still here.
They appear to only want people who want to continue living. I made a decision to stay alive for my kids, but I don’t want to be here, so I doubt that they’d want to hear from me. Only positive uplifting story-tellers need apply.
Why, Jude? Your perspective is as valid as anyone’s. Please consider sharing, even without an optimistic message.
It seems to me that the people who survive a suicide attempt may not have truely desired death else they would have completed their attempt. I have been on the brink of taking my life many a time and from my perspective death is an easy thing to achieve if desired. I feel that if a suicidal person chooses a “non-guarrenteed” method of suicide, he or she must not truely desire death; else the risk of living would not have been taken.
My reason to keep living is hope. Actually I almost feel like… empty. I have my own goals, but I am “eaten” by others’ goals.
And I should involve in their goals because i love them and i dont want them being crushed.
If they are crushed then I’ll be crushed too.
But, still, their goals arent mine.
I believe that things changing everyday. they do.
So i always have a hope (moreover, hopes) to run after my goals and dreams.
I am the lead researcher for The Reasons to go on Living Project and very much appreciate Sandra Kiume’s report. I want to clarify that although we closed the first phase of story collection on December 15th, we are now collecting stories in our second phase. If you have not yet contributed your story, I hope you will consider doing so. I would very much like to read it and I am grateful to everyone who has sent us their story already.
We have posted 4 stories on the website and hope to add more stories regularly.
Thank you for your help in increasing awareness about The Reasons to go on Living Project.
–jenn brasch, MD
Associate Professor
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences
McMaster University
Hamilton, Ontario
I personally want to die because I’ve never been happy. It would appear from the surface that I am happy but I am very lonely and feel the end is best for all. I’ve never failed to fail and possibly this could be one thing I succeed at 
!
Gator bait - please click the link and read some of the stories they’ve posted.
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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 12 Dec 2008
