Silence and Sounds: An Autoethnography of Searching for Spirituality during Suicide Bereavement in Life and Research

In this article, I used autoethnography to describe and analyze my experience of being bereaved by suicide and researching spirituality during suicide bereavement. The culture silenced my grief, and this is congruent with the experiences of my research participants. The religious community, in my ca...

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Main Author: Austėja Agnietė Čepulienė
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-05-01
Series:Religions
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/6/500
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author Austėja Agnietė Čepulienė
author_facet Austėja Agnietė Čepulienė
author_sort Austėja Agnietė Čepulienė
collection DOAJ
description In this article, I used autoethnography to describe and analyze my experience of being bereaved by suicide and researching spirituality during suicide bereavement. The culture silenced my grief, and this is congruent with the experiences of my research participants. The religious community, in my case, did not help me and added to my spiritual and psychological pain. The silenced parts of my loss started to make sounds, such as psychological disturbances, but also as unconscious and conscious choices, which led to immersing myself in the research of spirituality during suicide bereavement. Research on the topic goes hand in hand with my search for spirituality during suicide bereavement and reviewing my loss. My story suggests that despite the negative experiences with Catholic priests, spirituality during suicide bereavement can become a vital resource to find meaning for the loss and the pain of grief and can take many different and even unexpected forms.
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spelling doaj.art-51c705b016e3472e883d03ed15fd86792023-11-23T18:44:39ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442022-05-0113650010.3390/rel13060500Silence and Sounds: An Autoethnography of Searching for Spirituality during Suicide Bereavement in Life and ResearchAustėja Agnietė Čepulienė0Suicidology Research Centre, Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Vilnius University, 01513 Vilnius, LithuaniaIn this article, I used autoethnography to describe and analyze my experience of being bereaved by suicide and researching spirituality during suicide bereavement. The culture silenced my grief, and this is congruent with the experiences of my research participants. The religious community, in my case, did not help me and added to my spiritual and psychological pain. The silenced parts of my loss started to make sounds, such as psychological disturbances, but also as unconscious and conscious choices, which led to immersing myself in the research of spirituality during suicide bereavement. Research on the topic goes hand in hand with my search for spirituality during suicide bereavement and reviewing my loss. My story suggests that despite the negative experiences with Catholic priests, spirituality during suicide bereavement can become a vital resource to find meaning for the loss and the pain of grief and can take many different and even unexpected forms.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/6/500spiritualitysuicide bereavementsilent grieftraumaautoethnography
spellingShingle Austėja Agnietė Čepulienė
Silence and Sounds: An Autoethnography of Searching for Spirituality during Suicide Bereavement in Life and Research
Religions
spirituality
suicide bereavement
silent grief
trauma
autoethnography
title Silence and Sounds: An Autoethnography of Searching for Spirituality during Suicide Bereavement in Life and Research
title_full Silence and Sounds: An Autoethnography of Searching for Spirituality during Suicide Bereavement in Life and Research
title_fullStr Silence and Sounds: An Autoethnography of Searching for Spirituality during Suicide Bereavement in Life and Research
title_full_unstemmed Silence and Sounds: An Autoethnography of Searching for Spirituality during Suicide Bereavement in Life and Research
title_short Silence and Sounds: An Autoethnography of Searching for Spirituality during Suicide Bereavement in Life and Research
title_sort silence and sounds an autoethnography of searching for spirituality during suicide bereavement in life and research
topic spirituality
suicide bereavement
silent grief
trauma
autoethnography
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/6/500
work_keys_str_mv AT austejaagnietecepuliene silenceandsoundsanautoethnographyofsearchingforspiritualityduringsuicidebereavementinlifeandresearch