Spiritual Disharmonies Among the Emberá Dobida: Territorial, Bodily, and Linguistic Suffering

Suicide in children and young people from indigenous peoples of Latin America has increased progressively. Social, political, cultural, and spiritual factors must be considered in its approach. A possible relationship with aspects such as food security and the relationship with the territory is considered. The aim is to analyze the spiritual disharmonies in an Embera Dobida community, displaced by the armed conflict. Focus groups were held. Thematic analysis was used to synthesize the information. It is highlighted that suicide in young people from this community may have underlying factors such as environmental or territorial suffering, food insecurity, difficulty in communicating due to malnutrition and sadness, and low cultural competence in the Western health system. Suicide in children and young people from indigenous peoples requires approaches from participation, human rights, spirituality, and territorial organization. Hunger, the weakening of one’s own culture, armed conflict, migration, and other non-psychiatric clinical conditions are found to be associated with suicidal behavior.