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Estudos e Pesquisas em Psicologia

On-line version ISSN 1808-4281

Abstract

MING-WAU, Carlos; BORIS, Georges Daniel Janja Bloc; MELO, Anna Karynne  and  SILVA, Raimunda Magalhães da. The Decision to Attempt Suicide through the Phenomenological-existential Lens of Sartre. Estud. pesqui. psicol. [online]. 2020, vol.20, n.spe, pp. 1310-1330. ISSN 1808-4281.  http://dx.doi.org/10.12957/epp.2020.56663.

Suicide attempt is a choice between living or dying decided from the experience of freedom. In this article, we aim to understand the experience of the decision to attempt suicide. It is a qualitative research, with a phenomenological approach and theoretical and methodological support endorsed by Sartre's existential phenomenology. We used phenomenological interviews to collect the testimonies of five adults who attempted suicide, addressed through the following question: how was your experience of attempting suicide? Data analysis revealed the meanings that participants attributed to their decision to attempt suicide. From the collected testimonies, we list two units of meaning: death, life and freedom in suicide attempts and "I think death is better than living in this world". We analyzed and discussed how the participants experienced the decision to die or live in situations of adversity that arose in the real contexts of their life stories. We conclude that the suicide attempt is a way to escape situations of misfortune, conflicts, helplessness, despair, anguish and suffering, when participants were faced with the choice of dealing with existential failures or ending their lives, as an expression of their ontological freedom.

Keywords : suicide; suicide attempt; suicidal behavior; existential phenomenology; Sartre.

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