Understanding the suffering of the family members of people with mental illness
Date
2010-04-13T21:27:16Z
Authors
Van Wiltenburg, Wilhelmina Maria
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Abstract
The aim of this research is to increase our understanding of the suffering of the families of people with mental illness. I am exploring this phenomena from a hermeneutical perspective. This approach lends itself to moving back and forth from the present to the historical and through extensive examination and interpretation of text uncovers new meaning. Through rigorous interaction of current and past literature and in depth interviews of several family members this study found that family members with an mentally ill relative experience intense, pervasive and relentless suffering. The descriptors family members use to describe their lived experience include the following: lost, unsuspecting, disconnected, unbearable, betrayed, guilty, forsaken, reproach, torture, terrified, grief, misunderstood, pervasive, hopelessness and transforming.
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Keywords
Mentally ill, Families