RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Narratives of melancholy: a humanities approach to depression
JF Medical Humanities
JO J Med Humanit
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Institute of Medical Ethics
SP 36
OP 39
DO 10.1136/jmh.2009.002022
VO 36
IS 1
A1 Deborah Flynn
YR 2010
UL http://mh.bmj.com/content/36/1/36.abstract
AB 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.