Unit Suicide Research & Mental Health Promotion, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15/1, Vienna, 1090, Austria.
Wiener Werkstaette for Suicide Research, Vienna, Austria.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Jan 10;24(1):142. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-17661-4.
Media stories of hope and recovery from suicidal ideation have been found to have a positive impact on the audience, but little is known about how individuals who share their own experiences perceive the effects of their storytelling. This study aimed to assess qualitatively, through focus groups, how individuals who shared their personal story of hope and recovery in the media and public talks experienced the process, and which aspects they perceived as important in sharing their coping story.
Three focus groups were conducted with a total of n = 12 individuals. These included n = 5 participants with experience of suicidal ideation or a suicide attempt, n = 4 individuals who had been bereaved through suicide, and n = 3 participants who experienced both. Participants were recruited from the American organisation "Suicide Survivors United". Thematic analysis was used to assess the participants' perception and experiences of sharing their story.
Participants shared that the intention to help others was the main motivation to share their story of hope and recovery. Participants noted many positive effects of their storytelling on themselves and also received positive feedback from the audience, such as improved help-seeking attitudes. The participants offered recommendations for those who want to share their story of hope and recovery, including careful personal preparation and media training before going public. They also discussed media recommendations for talking about suicide in the media.
Sharing a personal story of hope and recovery may have a beneficial impact on the storytellers. Storytelling requires a careful preparation and training before going public and support and guidance is crucial in all stages of the storytelling, particularly to help unexperienced storytellers in going public and using their personal narratives to help prevent suicide.
媒体报道的希望和从自杀意念中恢复的故事被发现对观众有积极影响，但人们对分享自己经历的个人如何看待他们讲故事的影响知之甚少。本研究旨在通过焦点小组定性评估，了解在媒体和公开演讲中分享个人希望和康复故事的个人如何体验这一过程，以及他们认为分享应对故事的哪些方面很重要。
共进行了 3 个焦点小组，共有 n=12 名参与者。其中包括 n=5 名有自杀意念或自杀未遂经历的参与者、n=4 名因自杀而失去亲人的参与者和 n=3 名同时经历过这两种情况的参与者。参与者是从美国组织“自杀幸存者联盟”招募的。采用主题分析评估参与者对分享自己故事的看法和体验。
参与者分享说，帮助他人的意图是分享他们希望和康复故事的主要动机。参与者注意到他们的故事对自己有许多积极影响，也收到了观众的积极反馈，例如改善寻求帮助的态度。参与者为那些想要分享希望和康复故事的人提供了建议，包括在公开之前进行个人精心准备和媒体培训。他们还讨论了媒体在媒体中谈论自杀的建议。
分享个人希望和康复的故事可能对讲述者有有益的影响。讲故事需要在公开之前进行精心准备和培训，并且在讲故事的所有阶段都需要支持和指导，特别是要帮助没有经验的讲述者公开并使用他们的个人叙事来帮助预防自杀。
