Life Before Psychosis: A Qualitative Investigation into the Possible Role of Social Events, Interactions and Situations in the Onset of Psychosis
In order to investigate the possible role of social events, interactions and situations in the onset of psychosis six people who have experienced psychosis were interviewed twice and one focus group was held allowing respondents to react to and reflect on preliminary findings. Both because of the lack of previous Anthropological or Sociological research and theorizing regarding this topic as well as in an attempt to stay close to the data, theory was built from the ground up. This approach is mirrored in the structure of this thesis by proceeding from a presentation of the findings regarding respondents’ description of psychosis, the context in which it occurred as they experienced it and why they believe it occurred. Following this, possible links between social and psychotic experiences and how the similarities found in the different narratives relate to these links are presented. These findings are then connected to epidemiological, neurobiological and phenomenological research on psychosis carried out previously.
The findings thus presented in this thesis suggest that social events, interactions and situations could play a role in the onset of psychosis by implying and/or being related to (1) The Disappearance of (a) Social World(s), (2) Problematic Contact, (3) the Lack of a Mutual Construction of Meaning, (4) Social Defeat, (5) Attempting to Tackle a Problem and (6) Stress. The way in which they can be seen to do so is through their being (part of), leading to, resulting from or being otherwise associated with (1) the conditions in which psychotic experiences understandably arise, (2) setting the stage for and/or their function as triggers, (3) the mirroring of psychotic experiences and (4) the organizing principle of such experiences. In addition, their impact on the neurobiology of an individual could be seen to add to their role in the onset of psychosis.
Life Before Psychosis: A Qualitative Investigation into the Possible Role of Social Events, Interactions and Situations in the Onset of Psychosis
In order to investigate the possible role of social events, interactions and situations in the onset of psychosis six people who have experienced psychosis were interviewed twice and one focus group was held allowing respondents to react to and reflect on preliminary findings. Both because of the lack of previous Anthropological or Sociological research and theorizing regarding this topic as well as in an attempt to stay close to the data, theory was built from the ground up. This approach is mirrored in the structure of this thesis by proceeding from a presentation of the findings regarding respondents’ description of psychosis, the context in which it occurred as they experienced it and why they believe it occurred. Following this, possible links between social and psychotic experiences and how the similarities found in the different narratives relate to these links are presented. These findings are then connected to epidemiological, neurobiological and phenomenological research on psychosis carried out previously.
The findings thus presented in this thesis suggest that social events, interactions and situations could play a role in the onset of psychosis by implying and/or being related to (1) The Disappearance of (a) Social World(s), (2) Problematic Contact, (3) the Lack of a Mutual Construction of Meaning, (4) Social Defeat, (5) Attempting to Tackle a Problem and (6) Stress. The way in which they can be seen to do so is through their being (part of), leading to, resulting from or being otherwise associated with (1) the conditions in which psychotic experiences understandably arise, (2) setting the stage for and/or their function as triggers, (3) the mirroring of psychotic experiences and (4) the organizing principle of such experiences. In addition, their impact on the neurobiology of an individual could be seen to add to their role in the onset of psychosis.
