scholarly journals “Who I Am Now, Is More Me.” An Interview Study of Patients’ Reflections 10 Years After Exhaustion Disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Ellbin ◽  
Ingibjörg H. Jonsdottir ◽  
Fredrik Bååthe

Aim: To achieve a deeper understanding of the patient’s perception regarding individual aspects related to the development of exhaustion, hindering and supporting factors in the recovery process, and potential remaining consequences, 7–12 years after receiving an exhaustion disorder diagnosis.Participants and Methods: Twenty patients previously diagnosed with and treated for exhaustion disorder were interviewed 7–12 years after onset of the disease. The semi-structured interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed with inductive content analysis.Results: Three main themes with patterns of shared meaning resulted from the analysis: “it’s about who I am,” “becoming a more authentic me,” and “the struggle never ends.” The interviewees described rehabilitation from exhaustion disorder as the start of an important personal development toward a truer and more authentic self-image. They perceived this as an ongoing long-lasting process where learned behavior and thought patterns related to overcommitment and overcompliance needed to be re-evaluated. The results also convey long-term consequences such as cognitive difficulties and reduces energy, uncertainty about one’s own health, and the need to prioritize among one’s relationships.Conclusion: Patients with exhaustion disorder are still struggling with dysfunctional strategies and functional impairments such as cognitive problems which limit their lives, 10 years after receiving their exhaustion disorder diagnosis. While informants describe some positive consequences of ED, the results also emphasize the importance of acknowledging that the patients are embedded in systems of relationships, in working life as well as in family life. This needs to be considered, together with other aspects, when working toward prevention of stress-related mental health problems.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid G. Boelhouwer ◽  
Willemijn Vermeer ◽  
Tinka van Vuuren

Abstract Background The prevalence of the group of workers that had a cancer diagnosis in the past is growing. These workers may still be confronted with late effects of cancer (treatment) possibly affecting their work ability. As little is known about the guidance of this group, the aim of this study was to explore the experiences and ideas of managers and professionals about the guidance of these workers in the case of late effects of cancer (treatment). Given the positive associations with work ability of the job resources autonomy, social support by colleagues and an open organisational culture found in several quantitative studies, these job resources were also discussed. Further ideas about the influences of other factors and points of attention in the guidance of this group of workers were explored. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers (n = 11) and professionals (n = 47). Data-collection was from November 2019 to June 2020. The data were coded and analysed using directed content analyses. Results The late effects of cancer or cancer treatment discussed were physical problems, fatigue, cognitive problems, anxiety for cancer recurrence, and a different view of life. The self-employed have less options for guidance but may struggle with late effects affecting work ability in the same way as the salaried. Late effects may affect work ability and various approaches have been described. Autonomy, social support of colleagues and an open organisational culture were regarded as beneficial. It was indicated that interventions need to be tailor-made and created in dialogue with the worker. Conclusions Especially with respect to cognitive problems and fatigue, guidance sometimes turned out to be complicated. In general, the importance of psychological safety to be open about late effects that affect work ability was emphasized. Moreover, it is important to take the perspective of the worker as the starting point and explore the possibilities together with the worker. Autonomy is an important factor in general, and a factor that must always be monitored when adjustments in work are considered. There is a lot of experience, but there are still gaps in knowledge and opportunities for more knowledge sharing.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carita Håkansson ◽  
Annika Lexén

Abstract Background The numbers of people who are on sick leave due to mental health problems, such as exhaustion disorder, are increasing in Sweden. One of the most affected groups is healthcare professionals. In order to develop preventive strategies to promote a sustainable working life for occupational therapists, there is a need to understand the associations between psychosocial working conditions, occupational balance and no or negligible stress symptoms. To the best of our knowledge, neither the combination of these factors nor the salutogenic perspective, have been taken into consideration when exploring factors associated with stress symptoms among occupational therapists in previous research. Methods Purposeful sampling was used. All currently working members of the Swedish Association of Occupational Therapists were invited to take part in the present study in 2018. The final sample was 3658 (48% response rate). A web-survey with questions about signs of exhaustion, psychosocial working conditions, occupational balance and sociodemographic characteristics was used. Logistic regression analyses were used in order to calculate associations between psychosocial working conditions, occupational balance, sociodemographic characteristics and no or negligible signs of exhaustion. Results Experiencing high occupational balance, low workload, high control, high sense of community and high justice, were associated with no or negligible stress symptoms. Furthermore, a satisfying financial situation, having children living at home, being married and long professional experience were significant in this model. Conclusions It seems important to consider not only psychosocial working conditions, but also occupational balance to prevent exhaustion disorder among occupational therapists in Sweden. Organisational programmes, which reduce the workload, strengthen the control and sense of community and facilitate occupational balance, seem to be important areas for health promotion in this group.


Author(s):  
Anja Čuš ◽  
Julian Edbrooke-Childs ◽  
Susanne Ohmann ◽  
Paul L. Plener ◽  
Türkan Akkaya-Kalayci

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a major mental health problem associated with negative psychosocial outcomes and it most often starts in early adolescence. Despite this, adolescents are rarely involved in informing the development of interventions designed to address their mental health problems. This study aimed to (1) assess adolescents’ needs and preferences about future interventions that are delivered through smartphones and (2) develop a framework with implications for designing engaging digital mental health interventions. Fifteen adolescent girls, aged 12–18 years, who met diagnostic criteria for a current NSSI disorder and were in contact with mental health services, participated in semi-structured interviews. Following a reflexive thematic analysis approach, this study identified two main themes: (1) Experiences of NSSI (depicts the needs of young people related to their everyday experiences of managing NSSI) and (2) App in Context (portrays preferences of young people about smartphone interventions and reflects adolescents’ views on how technology itself can improve or hinder engaging with these interventions). Adolescent patients expressed interest in using smartphone mental health interventions if they recognize them as helpful, relevant for their life situation and easy to use. The developed framework suggests that digital mental health interventions are embedded in three contexts (i.e., person using the intervention, mental health condition, and technology-related factors) which together need to inform the development of engaging digital resources. To achieve this, the cooperation among people with lived experience, mental health experts, and human computer interaction professionals is vital.


2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Harkins ◽  
Lisa Garnham ◽  
Aileen Campbell ◽  
Carol Tannahill

Purpose – Previous research emphasises the need for preventative interventions to reduce mental health problems among disadvantaged children and adolescents. There is however little consensus concerning the delivery and impacts of such interventions particularly non-clinical, arts-based models delivered within community settings. The purpose of this paper is to begin to address this deficit through a qualitative assessment of the short- to medium-term impacts to participants’ mental and emotional wellbeing within Sistema Scotland’s Big Noise orchestral programme. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews, observation, participant drawing exercise, participatory filmmaking, focus group and analysis of programme engagement were undertaken to examine the mental and emotional wellbeing impacts of the programme which are observable at this early stage of programme delivery and participants’ lives. Findings – The qualitative findings indicate that participation in the Big Noise programme enhances participant mental and emotional wellbeing in three ways; first, the happiness and enjoyment of taking part in the programme and orchestra, particularly from music making; second, the security, belonging and relationships fostered through participation; the quality of musician/participant relationship is important here as is programme design which enables support, routine and structure; and third, increased pride, confidence and self-esteem, as a result of acquiring difficult musical skills, receiving regular praise and having frequent opportunities to demonstrate these acquired skills through regular orchestral performances. Originality/value – There is little evidence or understanding of community-based, preventative, arts interventions like Big Noise: their delivery, their life-course impacts and their potential contribution to mental health and to addressing social and health inequalities. The causal pathways in the field are under-theorised. These early findings are important as they serve as an important basis from which to consider the programme’s wider and longer term impacts, which will be assessed through an on-going longitudinal, mixed method summative evaluation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Frerichs ◽  
Jo Billings ◽  
Nick Barber ◽  
Anjie Chhapia ◽  
Beverley Chipp ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Loneliness is associated with negative outcomes, including increased mortality and is common among people with mental health problems. This qualitative study, which was carried out as part of a feasibility trial, aimed to understand what enables and hinders people with severe depression and/or anxiety under the care of secondary mental health services in the United Kingdom to participate in the Community Navigator programme, and make progress with feelings of depression, anxiety and loneliness. The programme consisted of up to ten meetings with a Community Navigator and three optional group sessions. Methods Semi-structured interviews were carried out with participants (n = 19) shortly after programme completion. A co-produced two-stage qualitative approach, involving narrative and reflexive thematic analysis, was undertaken by members of the study’s working group, which included experts by experience, clinicians and researchers. Results The narrative analysis showed that individuals have varied goals, hold mixed feelings about meeting other people and define progress differently. From the thematic analysis, six themes were identified that explained facilitators and challenges to participating in the programme: desire to connect with others; individual social confidence; finding something meaningful to do; the accessibility of resources locally; the timing of the programme; and the participant’s relationship with the Community Navigator. Conclusions We found that people with severe depression and/or anxiety supported by secondary mental health services may want to address feelings of loneliness but find it emotionally effortful to do so and a major personal challenge. This emotional effort, which manifests in individuals differently, can make it hard for participants to engage with a loneliness programme, though it was through facing personal challenges that a significant sense of achievement was felt. Factors at the individual, interpersonal and structural level, that enable or hinder an individual’s participation should be identified early, so that people are able to make the best use out of the Community Navigator or other similar programmes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Pier Rivest ◽  
Mélissa Roy ◽  
Nicolas Moreau ◽  
Aude Martel ◽  
Lilian Negura ◽  
...  

Previous research in sociology has shown that what is considered as sanity or mental health is described according to a social ideal. Mental health problems have been theorized as a deviance from such norms. Depression, in particular, has been the object of sociological contemplation due to its divergence from a Western social normativity focused on functionality, adaptation and productivity. This research adds to this body of work on depression as a deviation from social norms. It seeks to address a gap within the literature, by exploring the ways in which the “post-depressive” state may be defined in accordance with social norms. As such, it analyzes the links between “post-depression” and normality, from the perspective of individuals having lived with depression. 46 semi-structured interviews were conducted with Canadians individuals who have experienced depression. Results from our content analysis show that the absence of depression was often synonymous with normality and characterized by the following dimensions: a positive attitude; the potential to take action; functionality and performance; self-management; a positive relationship with others; and the notion of meaningful projects. Our results show that participants do not define the absence of depression following psychiatric or clinical indicators, as recorded in the DSM, and that they do not consider it to be a return to an anterior, pre-depression, state. Rather, post-depression is idealized, perceived as a state of unfailing conformity to social expectations and norms.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (22) ◽  
pp. 191-210
Author(s):  
Imre Lázár

Dance is a traditional element of cultural-psychophysiological homeostasis. The chapter approves the role of dance in maintaining mental and bodily health. As dance is deeply cultural by its nature, it is worth extending its framework of healing from social-psychophysiological towards the cultural. The chapter explores the cultural, social, psychological, and bodily benefits and homeostatic functions of dance in an age of sedentary lifestyle. Sedentarism proved to be a silent killer responsible for increased cardiovascular, oncological morbidity and mortality; therefore, one should explore the lifestyle medical gains of dance along the whole life course. We explore the PNI-related and neurological aspects of endocrine functions of active muscle and its role in the prevention of chronic diseases and ageing. Dance also proved to be beneficial in mental health problems. We pay special attention to Hungarian folk dance revival, the so-called Táncház (Dance House) movement, and its practical potential in physical and psychological health protection, social skill development, gender socialization, and personal development.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (107) ◽  
pp. 46-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saulius Šukys ◽  
Živilė Dargenė ◽  
Diana Karanauskienė

Background. Moral behaviour and moral education of young athletes still remain an important issue in sports context. This study was designed to examine coaches’ perspectives on moral education in sport. Methods. In this study, aiming at establishing the perspectives of coaches on the moral education of athletes in sports activities, qualitative research was selected. Primary data were collected via semi-structured interviews with nine basketball and football coaches of different experience and age. The data were analysed applying thematic analysis. Results. Thematic analysis indicated that coaches identified goals of athletes’ education as the development of athletes’ personality, motivation, the development of sports excellence and the encouragement to achieve victory. Coaches defined moral education as the development of the authority of an athlete, fair play, compliance with rules, and integrity. The most common means coaches used for moral education were explanation, discussion, lectures, meetings, personal examples, case analyses. Such means are important for athlete’s personal development, pursuit of results, and career planning. The qualities of good coach were professional knowledge, authority, competences of creating motivational climate, and also moral competences. Conclusion. A central finding of the study is that coaches define moral education in sport through the education of moral values and the goals set by coaches related not only to the sports results, but also to the development of the personality of athletes. Personal role of coaches in moral education encompassing professional knowledge and moral competences of athletes is of great importance.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Topor ◽  
Lisa Skogens ◽  
Ninive von Greiff

Purpose The possibility of recovery for persons with co-occurring addiction and mental health problems has been contested. Though, recent studies show that recovery might happen, but without connection to specific treatment interventions. The purpose of this paper is to analyse professionals’ perceptions of their contribution to improvement. Design/methodology/approach In all, 15 experienced professionals were interviewed. The interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings Recovery processes were dependent of the persons’ access to different forms of recovery capital (RC). Lack of RC was often associated with lack of trust in one’s self and others (identity and personal capital). Professionals had to be accepted as trustful agents through co-creating changes in the person’s life. Trusting a professional might be a basis for trusting one’s self as an agent in one’s recovery process and develop a social network (identity and relationship capital). Other aspects stressed by the professionals were to manage their own fragmentized organisations and societal shortcomings (economic capital). Practical implications Recovery has been described as a profoundly individual journey. However, it is also deeply social, involving other persons and contextual factors. Focusing on just one level might counteract the complex work behind double recovery. Originality/value Improvement was described as dependent on the presence of personal, inter-personal, organisational and societal factors. The findings give a deep and concrete understanding of the process constituting the development of a working alliance and its dependence on factors outside the direct relation between the staff member and the person.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Eliza Guetta ◽  
Clair Cassiello-Robbins ◽  
Deepika Anand ◽  
Mark Zachary Rosenthal

Misophonia is a newly described disorder associated with significant emotional distress, functional impairment, and a wide range of mental health problems (e.g., mood, anxiety, and personality disorders). Although recent studies have begun to validate self-report measures of misophonia, no psychometrically validated interviews have been developed. To advance a scientific understanding of misophonia, rigorously developed structured interviews are needed as a complimentary measurement approach to self-report inventories. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to develop and begin preliminarily validating a semi-structured clinical interview for misophonia. We took an iterative, grassroots approach to item generation and interview development involving key stakeholders (i.e., misophonia sufferers, experts in the field). Initial psychometric analyses from the current sample (n = 30) evidenced excellent preliminary estimates for internal consistency, convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity. Results from this study provide preliminary support for the Duke Misophonia Interview, and we recommend that this interviewer-rated measure be iteratively developed and refined using larger and more diverse samples.


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