Narratives of melancholy

A humanities approach to depression

Bibliographic Data

ID12692452
AuthorsDeborah Flynn (Southern Connecticut State University, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume36
Issue1
Pages36-39
Publication date2010-05-12
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMedical Humanities (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1468-215X • E-ISSN: 1473-4265
PublisherBMJ (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1136/jmh.2009.002022
PMID21393273
OpenAlexW2146319653
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited11

This paper explores narrative literature as a means of inquiry into the sense of self in depression. Described as a disease, an identity and a way of life, depression is influenced by both internal and external factors. Although brain research has provided new insight into the relationship between neurotransmitter function and depression, the symptoms are experienced by individuals whose lives are intertwined with historical and sociocultural interpretations of illness and its manifestations. At the intersection of science and the humanities, narratives aid in the interpretation of lived experiences, provide a window to that experience, and a public medium that engages writers and readers as they interpret the world. Engaging narratives to interpret both experience and medical jargon may reveal for both those experiencing depression and those engaged in their care, a way of mediating that experience. Narratives can help dissect and thus illuminate the official language of medicine and psychiatry and the personal language of depression. Such a window can enhance the opportunities for empathy and care

Aesthetics · Depression (economics · Empathy · Identity (music · Linguistics · Medical humanities · Narrative · Psychoanalysis · Sociocultural evolution · Sociology · Anthropology · Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics · Empathy and Medical Education · Medicine · Mental Health and Psychiatry · Psychology · Social Psychology

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