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

Andersen, Anders Johan W.; Larsen, Inger Beate

doi:10.3109/09638237.2012.667885

Cited by 20 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Despite the diverse objectives of studies on lived experience of mental illness, it is revealed that in most of them severely mentally ill people experience their disease as "a descent to hell" (Noiseux & Ricard, 2008, p. 1152, describing enormous suffering and exclusion from friends and families (Andersen & Larsen, 2012). The emotions frequently reported are shame, isolation (Liu, Ma, & Zhao, 2012) and powerlessness (Borg & Davidson, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“An Ongoing Struggle With the Self and Illness”: Α Meta-Synthesis of the Studies of the Lived Experience of Severe Mental Illness

Kaite

Karanikola

Merkouris

et al. 2015

Archives of Psychiatric Nursing

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“An Ongoing Struggle With the Self and Illness”: Α Meta-Synthesis of the Studies of the Lived Experience of Severe Mental Illness

Kaite

Karanikola

Merkouris

et al. 2015

Archives of Psychiatric Nursing

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“…[1][2][3] The autobiographies represented a period of 90 years , but despite changing perspectives on treatment and different social and political eras, the experiences throughout the period were striking. The healthcare professionals were generally described as more interested in signs of illness than in the patient as a whole person with body and mind, hopes and dreams.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Textbook descriptions of people with psychosis – some ethical aspects

Fredwall

Larsen

2018

Nurs Ethics

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Background: Textbooks are central for the education of professionals in the health field and a resource for practitioners already in the field. Objectives: This article focuses on how 12 textbooks in psychiatric nursing and psychiatry, published in Norway between 1877 and 2012, describe and present people with psychosis. Research design: We used qualitative content analysis. Ethical considerations: The topic is published textbooks, made available to be read by students, teachers and professionals, and no ethical approval was required. Findings: The analysis shows that all 12 textbooks describe and present people who are considered as psychotic from a 'perspective from above'. In this perspective, the readers are learning about psychosis in the professional's language and from the author's viewpoint. Most often the textbooks communicate a universal image of people with psychosis, a description that fits with the diagnostic criteria. The analysis also shows that two textbooks in psychiatric nursing combined this perspective with a 'perspective from within'. Here, the readers are learning about psychosis from the patients' own viewpoint. The authors communicate a personal, psychotic universe that differs from various people, even if they have the same diagnosis, and the descriptions are focusing on the patient as a whole person. Discussion and conclusion: Drawing partly on Rita Charon's writings about narrative knowledge in the health field, and partly on insights from Martha Nussbaum and her concept of narrative imagination, we argue that mental health professionals need to learn about, understand and fathom what patients go through by reading, listening to and acknowledging the patients' own stories and experiences. Cultivating the capacity for empathy and compassion are at the very heart of moral performance in the mental health field. A valuable moral resource in that regard is leading textbooks and how they describe and present people with severe mental illness.

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“…They emphasize these as fundamental for relationships between patients and professionals. It is crucial to understand people's problems as meaningful reactions to their life stories (11).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%