Narratives of Health - Lecture Four

Question 1

Younger (1995): The primary experience of suffering is alienation of 3 phase

Answer 1

1. You become alienated from yourself, even hatred
2. You become alienated form others (rips aside the social self, need to speak, unsure of reception)
3. Makes strangers out of those you know well (an insight into a foreign territory)

Question 2

Suffering, influenced by Cassell

Answer 2

A state of distress brought about by an actual or perceived threat to the integrity or continued existence of the whole person

Question 3

What does suffering involve?

Answer 3

A sense of submitting to a set of circumstances (loss of autonomy)

Question 4

What does suffering destroy?

Answer 4

The ability to communicate

Question 5

Younger (1995): Healing of suffering

Answer 5

If we can find some way to regain our voice then this is the basis of the mastery of suffering

Question 6

Younger (1995): Regaining of voice

Answer 6

Mute suffering
Expressive suffering
Finding an authentic voice

Question 7

Jaye (1998): Healing

Answer 7

Relates to notions of transformation, restoring, resolution and being made whole

Question 8

McGuire’s New Jersey Christian Group - Example of healing in a faith based setting

Answer 8

Health is not a physical attribute but rather a quality linked to the person’s spiritual resources and personal attitudes
Outwards sign of health
Healthy is a good relationship with God
Pure health was holiness with Jesus as its perfect manifestation, and death was the ultimate healing
Health is a process of growth and mending which brought one closer to God, and took repeated opportunities for healing

Question 9

McGuire’s view of healing

Answer 9

If one did not receive the healing one prayed for but a friend or kin did
If one was praying for a condition to be averted and the medical tests revealed no condition existed
For the tiniest increases in movement or diminution of pain
If the supplicant received no external healing at all but died

Question 10

Outward signs of health

Answer 10

To be able to face trial, drawing on God for support, to be whole in body, spirit, soul and mind

Question 11

Healing in biomedicine

Answer 11

A clear discourse around physical health, including psychotherapy and counselling

Question 12

Healing in a spiritual sense

Answer 12

Singing hymns at 2am or closing surgery with an internal prayer

Question 13

Healing of community

Answer 13

Public health programmes

Question 14

Helman (2000): Healing

Answer 14

Through language, ritual and the manipulation of powerful cultural symbols

Question 15

Kleinman (1980): Healing

Answer 15

Healing has three stages; labelling the sickness with a culturally appropriate category, the label is ritually manipulated to cultural transform it, this creates a new potent cultural symbol of ‘cured’ or ‘well’ that is applied independently of behavioural or social change

Question 16

Moerman (2002): On psychotherapy

Answer 16

Psychotherapy works by helping us to create stories and make our demoralisation less painful, healing emerges from the depth of the meanings we create for our suffering through these culturally specific stories we learn to tell

Question 17

Ligins (2018)

Answer 17

Suffering vs Healing

Question 18

When is pain suffering?

Answer 18

When pain serves no useful purpose

Question 19

Curing

Answer 19

Physically getting rid of the disease

Question 20

Ligins (2018) narrative

Answer 20

Chaos - suffering
Quest - journey to wellbeing
Restitution - wellbeing, curing, healing

Question 21

Outcome of Ligins (2018) narrative

Answer 21

During healing we become active from passive, making use of the objects available to us. Psychiatric recovery needs to focus on healing for a richer goal