Suicide Loss Survivors: Navigating Social Stigma and Threats to Social Bonds

2021 ◽  
pp. 003022282110265
Author(s):  
Dorothy M. Goulah-Pabst

The complicated grief experienced by suicide loss survivors leads to feelings of abandonment, rejection, intense self-blame, and depression. Stigma surrounding suicide further burdens survivors who can experience rejection by their community and social networks. Research in the field of psychology has delved into the grieving process of suicide loss survivors, however the effects of suicide require more sociological study to fully understand and support the impact of the suicidal bereavement process on the social interactions and relationships of those left behind after death. This study aims to contribute to the body of research exploring the social challenges faced after the suicide of a loved one. Based on the analysis of powerful personal narratives through qualitative interviews shared by 14 suicide loss survivors this study explores the social construction of the grieving and healing process for suicide loss survivors. Recognizing that the most reliable relief is in commiseration with like experienced people, this research points to the support group as a builder of social solidarity. The alienation caused by the shame and stigma of suicide loss can be reversed by the feelings of attachment to the group that listens, understands and accepts. Groups created by and for suicide loss survivors should be considered a necessary tool to be used toward healing those who suffer from loss by suicide.

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 124-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lasse Skovgaard ◽  
Inge Kryger Pedersen ◽  
Marja Verhoef

Background: A survey of members of the Danish MS Society revealed that a minority of MS patients choose to forgo all types of conventional treatment and use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) exclusively. A qualitative follow-up study was performed to elucidate the choice of exclusive CAM use by exploring treatment assumptions among a group of exclusive CAM users. Methods: The study was based on a phenomenological approach. Semistructured in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 17 participants, using program theory as an analytical tool, and emerging themes were extracted from the data through meaning condensation. Results: Four themes characterized the participants' treatment assumptions: 1) conventional medicine contains chemical substances that affect the body in negative ways; 2) CAM treatments can strengthen the organism and make it more capable of resisting the impact of MS; 3) the patient's active participation is an important component of the healing process; 4) bodily sensations can be used to guide treatment selection. Conclusions: Exclusive use of CAM by MS patients may reflect embracing CAM rather than a rejection of conventional medicine. Health-care practitioners, patient organizations, and health authorities within the MS field should be aware of possible changes in patients' attitudes toward both CAM and conventional treatment interventions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nando Sigona ◽  
Jotaro Kato ◽  
Irina Kuznetsova

AbstractThe article examines the migration infrastructures and pathways through which migrants move into, through and out of irregular status in Japan and the UK and how these infrastructures uniquely shape their migrant experiences of irregularity at key stages of their migration projects.Our analysis brings together two bodies of migration scholarship, namely critical work on the social and legal production of illegality and the impact of legal violence on the lives of immigrants with precarious legal status, and on the role of migration infrastructures in shaping mobility pathways.Drawing upon in-depth qualitative interviews with irregular and precarious migrants in Japan and the UK collected over a ten-year period, this article develops a three-pronged analysis of the infrastructures of irregularity, focusing on infrastructures of entry, settlement and exit, casting a comparative light on the mechanisms that produce precarious and expendable migrant lives in relation to access to labour and labour conditions, access and quality of housing and law enforcement, and how migrants adapt, cope, resist or eventually are overpowered by them.


2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 383-398
Author(s):  
David S Scott

Although sport is widely utilised as a tool for personal development, capacity building, and fostering peace, there are still numerous theoretical gaps in our knowledge about how sport influences individuals’ identities, and how this translates into their everyday lives. Within the academic literature there has been seemingly little focus placed upon participants’ emotional and embodied accounts of their sport-for-development (SfD) experiences. This paper uses phenomenologically-inspired theory to explore individuals’ lived experiences of a SfD course, and their descriptions of the social interactions and feelings of confidence they encountered, in order to address this lack of experiential data. An ethnographic methodology was used to collect data through four sports leadership course observations, and cyclical interviews over 4–10 months with eleven course attendees, plus individual interviews with five tutors. Participants’ understandings of their course experiences and the subsequent influence these understandings had on their lives were described through their use of the term confidence. A further phenomenological and sociological interrogation of this term enabled confidence to be seen as being experienced as a ‘frame’ and ‘through the body’ by participants. This study provides original conceptualisations of confidence in relation to participants’ SfD experiences, as well as important discussions regarding the role of emotions and embodiment in understanding the impact of SfD on participants’ everyday lives.


Author(s):  
A. E. Starchenko ◽  
M. V. Semina

Social networks have emerged relatively recently in human life, but have already become an integral part of it. Companies tell about themselves, their activities, innovations, promotions and events in their profiles. This helps increase audience coverage, tell more about your brand, products, services. People in personal accounts have the opportunity to share their lives and creativity through photos, videos and texts. Now it is not necessary to receive higher education to become an operator, director or actor whose talent is recognized by society. It is enough to start a page on the social network and start sharing your knowledge and creativity. To find out why people post photos, videos and write texts on their social networks, a pilot sociological study was carried out. The method of deep interview with active users of social networks was chosen to carry out the study. The interview allowed getting unique information, to learn the opinion of users about social networks, the impact of the new way of communication on their life, to identify the reasons why users start and maintain profiles. The respondents were 20 users of social networks between the ages of 19 and 22. Interviewees have profiles on the most popular Instagram and Vkontakte networks. As a result of the analysis of the interview, a tendency was revealed to differ in the perception of users of their actions on the social network and similar actions of other users. Their content is perceived by them as opportunities to be in sight, as a resource to form their social status and an element of influence on their reference group. And the same content published by others is perceived as boasting.


2021 ◽  
pp. 65-80
Author(s):  
Sandro Galea

This chapter examines the foundational forces that shape health. Even without a pandemic, the United States is faced with public health threats that are shaped by foundational forces. From the political and economic roots of the obesity epidemic, to the social stigma that informs the opioid crisis, to the many structural drivers of climate change, the social, economic, political, and demographic foundations of health are central to the challenges that must be addressed, nationally and globally, in the years to come. Engaging with these forces helped inform the response to COVID-19; they can help in addressing these other challenges as well. And just as a virus can have long-term effects on the body, the pandemic reshaped the societal foundations, with lasting implications for the economy, culture, attitudes towards core issues like race, politics, and more. Whether the experience of the pandemic leads to significant long-term benefits will depend on whether Americans retain the hard lessons of that moment and apply them to foundational forces.


Author(s):  
Bruce S. McEwen

The response to the social and physical environment involves two-way communication between the brain and the body and epigenetic adaptation (‘allostasis’) via mediators of the cardiovascular, immune, metabolic, neuroendocrine, and neural mechanisms. Chronic stress causes wear and tear on the brain and body (‘allostatic load and overload’), reflecting also the impact of health-damaging behaviours and lasting effects of early life experiences interacting with genetic predispositions. Hormonal and other mediators of allostasis promote adaptation in the short run but cause allostatic load/overload when they are overused or dysregulated. The brain is key because it determines what is threatening and the physiological and behavioural responses, while showing structural remodelling that affects its function. Besides pharmaceuticals, there are ‘top–down’ interventions, like physical activity, that engage ‘the wisdom of the body’ to change itself, as well as the impact of policies of government and business that encourage individuals to manage their own lives and promote increased ‘healthspan’.


Author(s):  
Ian Cummins

This chapter explores the social and psychological impacts on poverty and inequality through the concepts of ‘advanced marginality’ and ‘stigma’. The analysis of social stigma is influenced by Loïc Wacquant's argument that the ‘underclass’ discourse corrodes not only social ties, but also the sense of self-worth of people living in the poorest areas and communities. The majority of social work takes place in these communities, where high rates of poverty, poor housing, high rates of crime and problems such as substance misuse are common. The chapter first considers the term ‘underclass’ before discussing the notion and implications of the term ‘advanced marginality’. It then examines E. Goffman's notion of stigma, Wacquant's arguments regarding ‘territorial stigmatisation’, and the impact of stigma and its links with modern representations of poverty. Finally, it describes the dynamics of anti-welfarism and uses the case of Mick Philpott to illustrate the ‘benefits brood’ stereotype.


Author(s):  
Paolo Capuzzo

The kaleidoscope of social identity is defined by multiple forces of signification. Gender, ethnicity, and class trace porous borders of the social and symbolic space within which consumption practices unfold, changing, forcing, and sometimes even subverting the apparent fixity of those spaces. The transition from childhood to adulthood is marked by clear biological changes that affect the conduct of life and the ways in which to confront a series of phases in the form of the transformation and maturation of the body. The analysis of consumption practices can be useful in showing how young people define themselves. As part of a discussion on youth and consumption, this article focuses on cultures of consumption among young workers. It also discusses the social deviance and consumer behaviour of young people, the impact of advertising on the social representation of the youth body, films and fantasies, and the emergence of a youth mass market.


Author(s):  
Mukhtar H. Ahmed ◽  
Arez Hassan ◽  
Judit Molnár

AbstractThe World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus, named as SARS-CoV-2, as a global pandemic in early 2020 after the disease spread to more than 180 countries leading to tens of thousands of cases and many deaths within a couple of months. Consequently, this paper aims to summarize the evidence for the relationships between nutrition and the boosting of the immune system in the fight against the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. This review, in particular, assesses the impact of vitamin and mineral supplements on the body’s defence mechanisms against SARS-CoV-2. The results revealed that there is a strong relationship between the ingestion of biological ingredients like vitamins C–E, and minerals such as zinc, and a reduction in the effects of coronavirus infection. These can be received from either nutrition rich food sources or from vitamin supplements. Furthermore, these macromolecules might have roles to play in boosting the immune response, in the healing process and the recovery time. Hence, we recommend that eating healthy foods rich in vitamins C–E with zinc and flavonoids could boost the immune system and consequently protect the body from serious infections. Graphical Abstract


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Theodoros Sakellaropoulos ◽  
Varvara Lalioti ◽  
Nikos Kourachanis

The present article sheds light on the implementation of the ‘Social Solidarity Income’ (SSI) in Greece, an example of a guaranteed minimum income (GMI). Drawing on the findings of 40 semi-structured interviews carried out in five selected municipalities, the article focuses on the ‘social impact’ of the SSI. More specifically, it investigates two inter-related themes: a) the social situation of beneficiaries and the survival strategies they used before and after receiving the SSI; and b) aspects of the SSI that should be improved at the implementation stage. It is argued that, despite certain positive elements of the SSI, such as the monetary allowance, which is a key component of the SSI and assists beneficiaries in covering their basic needs, the impact of the SSI on the lives of individuals is relatively small and a large proportion of the beneficiaries continue to rely on the survival strategies they used before implementation of the SSI


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