The lived experience of self-transcendence in gay men with AIDS

This phenomenologic study described the structure of self-transcendence in eight gay men with AIDS. The men provided oral or written descriptions of experiences associated with feelings of increased interconnectedness with others, sense of well-being, and meaning and purpose in life. The data were analyzed using Colaizzi's phenomenologic technique. The men experienced self-transcendence in the three ways described by Frankl. Reaching out for help and helping others alleviated the men's sense of aloneness and isolation. Their acceptance of the closeness of death led to a sense of urgency to create a legacy and to participate only in activities that had meaning for them. Knowledge of these views and behaviors may help nurses to create a therapeutic exchange in which self-transcendent views are fostered in other gay men with AIDS.