Medicated bodies: Mental distress, social media and affect

Abstract

Social media are increasingly being recruited into care practices in mental health. This paper analyses how a major new mental health social media site (www.elefriends.org.uk) is used when trying to manage the impact of psychiatric medication on the body. Drawing on Henri Bergson's concept of affection, analysis shows that Elefriends is used at particular moments of reconfiguration (e.g. change in dosage and/or medication), periods of self-experimentation (when people tailor their regimen by altering prescriptions or ceasing medication) and when dealing with a present bodily concern (showing how members have a direct, immediate relationship with the site). In addition, analysis illustrates how users face having to structure their communication to try to avoid 'triggering' distress in others. The paper concludes by pointing to the need to focus on the multiple emerging relationships between bodies and social media in mental health due to the ways the latter are becoming increasingly prominent technologies through which to experience the body when distressed.

Temporalities of mental distress: digital immediacy and the meaning of ‘crisis’ in online support

“…The data drawn upon in this paper come from a broader project analysing the impact of online forums on peer support practices (Tucker and Goodings , ). Ethics approval was gained from the University of East London's Research Ethics Committee, after which an online post was placed on http://www.elefriends.org.uk inviting participants to take part in the study.…”

“…This process identified ‘crisis support’ as an important part of peer support in Elefriends. However, the theme of ‘crisis’ was not fully analysed in previous publications that focused on other themes (Tucker and Goodings ; ; Tucker in press). Given the importance of ‘crisis’, and the meanings associated with it, a dedicated analysis was identified as needed.…”

“…overnight) or to discuss or query something that has happened during a contact with professional services. Indeed, it is often reported that online support is being increasingly relied upon because of the limited availability of professional in-person services (Tucker & Goodings, 2018). The content of online support does not necessarily follow clinical parameters and can run counter to clinical advice or even illness categories, while also being valued and becoming embedded in everyday life (Lavis 2016).…”

Digital atmospheres: affective practices of care in Elefriends

“…Communication on Elefriends is largely constituted through discourse, and yet is indelibly connected to the ongoing embodied concerns of living with mental distress (e.g. medication) (Tucker and Goodings ). While most online communication is conducted through discourse, to reduce the experience of social media activity solely to the level of discourse is to miss additional affective layers that act as heterogeneous elements of digital atmospheres.…”

Embodied well-being through two media technologies: Virtual reality and social media

“…Individuals share and shape narratives about the body through media environments (Lupton, 2017). Research suggests that social media can be useful when individuals are distressed (Tucker and Goodings, 2016) or seeking practical advice or support in regard to chronic illnesses (Gonzalez-Polledo and Tarr, 2016) or mental health (De Choudhury et al, 2014). However, social media's ability to make controlled changes to user's perceptions of their bodies is underexplored and future work should examine how these environments allow users to tune into their bodies in a more experiential manner (Tucker and Goodings, 2014).…”