Addressing suicidal ideations through the realization of meaningful personal goals.

A personal goal intervention program was offered to early retirees aged 50 to 65 years with the objective of increasing their subjective well-being. The program was aimed at helping the participants set, plan, pursue, and realize their personal goals. A subsample of 21 participants with suicidal ideas was identified from a larger sample (N = 354) of retirees living in the community who took part in the study to evaluate the program. The experimental (n = 10) and control (n = 11) groups were compared on their answers to 16 goal and psychological well-being questionnaires. By the end of the program, the experimental group had improved significantly more than the control group on hope, goal realization process, serenity, flexibility, and positive attitude toward retirement. The levels of depression and psychological distress significantly decreased. These gains were maintained 6 months later. The positive results obtained from this study could lead to an innovative way to help people with suicidal ideations.