An Analysis of Meaningless and Absurd Experiences in Unsuccessful Suicide Attempts in Iran

Suicide is a multidimensional phenomenon, and examining each of its dimensions can help control this destructive social phenomenon. This study aimed to investigate meaningless and absurd experiences in people who attempted suicide in Iran.

The present study was conducted using a qualitative-descriptive phenomenology. The participants were selected using the purposive sampling method from persons who attempted suicide and were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Loghman-e Hakim Hospital in Tehran City, Iran, in 2020. The study data were collected via semi-structured interviews. The collected data were theoretically saturated after interviewing 15 participants. All data were also recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using Colaizzi’s seven-step method.

The initial codes identified in this study were categorized into 4 main themes and 22 sub-themes. The main themes were “underlying and revealing causes of suicide”, “outburst of feelings and thoughts before suicide”, “reaction of those around to suicide”, and “the overall meaning of life and a looking at life after suicide”.

This study showed that those who attempted suicide for at least one of the reasons of poverty, lack of financial independence, love failure, and not being understood by parents or the spouse experienced a sense of meaninglessness and absurdity. An awareness of the experiences of people who attempted suicide can help mental health professionals understand its underlying causes and make subsequent clinical and treatment decisions.