Hell on earth: textual reflections on the experience of mental illness

Journal of Mental Health
Anders Johan W Andersen, Inger Beate Larsen

Abstract

Some people who by themselves or by others are understood as having mental health problems have written autobiographies about their experiences. The aim of this study is to explore how people write about their experiences of being mentally ill. Twelve Scandinavian autobiographies were studied using content analysis based on phenomenology and hermeneutics. Three themes were identified: feeling like a stranger in life and places, the transformation of life experiences into questions of disease and feeling ashamed. People's experiences of being mentally ill might be understood as the result of medical constructions unsuitable for the persons themselves. We could instead say that mental problems are not diseases, but severe and painful phenomena in people's lives.

References

Feb 16, 2008·Health Expectations : an International Journal of Public Participation in Health Care and Health Policy·Marie G OscarssonEva G Benzein
Feb 7, 2009·Genetic Epidemiology·Eric JorgensonJohn S Witte
Jul 20, 2010·Journal of Mental Health·Mike Shooter
Jul 20, 2010·Journal of Mental Health·Kjell Magne Bondevik

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Citations

Oct 11, 2012·Psychology Research and Behavior Management·Anders Johan W Andersen, Tommy Svensson
Nov 28, 2013·Journal of Mental Health·Til WykesMartin Guha
Oct 12, 2016·International Journal of Law and Psychiatry·Olav NyttingnesJorun Rugkåsa
Oct 10, 2013·Nursing Ethics·Inger B Larsen, Toril B Terkelsen
May 1, 2018·Nursing Ethics·Terje Emil Fredwall, Inger Beate Larsen

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