A Friendly Environment
The participants felt the society still adopted negative attitudes
towards people who attempted suicide. Participants perceived the
need for living in a friendly environment where people and society
accepted them and ‘even one person’ (P16) needed them. Consequently,
this category was composed of two sub-categories.
1. Feeling accepted in the environment: In this sub-category, a
number of participants expressed that it helped them to heal
following a suicide attempt when their family, friends, and
society accepted them and ‘did not judge’ (P12) them ‘harshly’
(P9) for attempting suicide. Further, they realised that they
needed to ‘accept myself’ (P18) first and accept the suicide
attempt as a ‘careless action’ (P8). One patient said:
P12: I’ve an old friend who’s a school-teacher. He and his wife
always seemed to accept me when I was often depressed. I felt
their acceptance inside of me. When I was admitted to the
hospital they came to visit me. This meant a lot to me.
2. Feeling needed in the environment: Most of the participants
disclosed that they felt like ‘a valuable and worthwhile person’
when they felt someone needed them in the environment (P 10).
They wanted to feel needed by (1) their children who required
their love and guidance; (2) their parents, who expected them to
show filial piety; (3) society, who needs them to be of service
and contribute to the community. One psychiatrist said:
P16: My patient (P2) needs to make money so that her two sons
can study at university. She now knows that her sons need her to
be there for them, stay with them and support them. She has not
re-attempted since these realisations.