Article Religiosity, spirituality, & meaning-making generally related to lower suicidality

[C C]

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1064409

INTRO: All aspects of religiosity, spirituality, and meaning-making (R/S/M) relate to suicidality in people with a psychiatric diagnosis or a recent suicide attempt, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in Harvard Review of Psychiatry, part of the Lippincott portfolio from Wolters Kluwer.

"Protective dimensions seemed to exert relatively stable effects across different religions and life views," Bart van den Brink, MD, PhD, of the Department of Emergency Psychiatry at GGz Centraal, Amersfoort, The Netherlands, and his colleagues report. "For example, moral objections to suicide were protective against suicidality for both Buddhists and Christians."

The researchers identified 108 studies published in English that quantitatively analyzed relationships between R/S/M and suicidal behavior. The studies reported on 30,610 subjects with an average age of 30. Two studies included subjects from all over the world, whereas 40 were conducted in North America, 30 in Europe, and 29 in Asia. Three regions that are highly diverse, spiritually and religiously, were markedly underrepresented: Africa (0 studies), Australia/Oceania (1 study), and South America (6 studies, all from Brazil)... (MORE - details, no ads)

[Magical Realist]

The wonderful sense of meaningfulness and drama that one experiences from religion/spirituality drives away the looming possibility of suicidal ideations. That is definitely one good thing about it. A nihilistic existentialist otoh confronts this issue often as a matter of reasoned principle. He sees the world as empty of any inherent meaning or purpose almost as a matter of ethical duty. So he gets up everyday and carries on as if it is all worthwhile and important. He chooses not to commit suicide with every breath he takes and every action he performs as Camus said. There is something heroic about that. Something of Nietzsche's self-willing uberman..