Being Human under Inhuman Conditions: Meanings of Living with Severe Dissociative States Involving the Experience of Being in Parts

Issues Ment Health Nurs. 2024 Apr 19:1-10. doi: 10.1080/01612840.2024.2330572. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTSevere dissociative states involving the experience of being in parts, typically associated with diagnosis such as dissociative identity disorder and other specified dissociative disorders, continue to be a controversial and rarely studied area of research. However, because persons with severe dissociative states are at risk of being harmed instead of helped within psychiatric care, their experiences of living with such states warrant further examination, while innovative ways to include them in research remain necessary. Against that background, this study aimed to illuminate the meanings of living with severe dissociative states involving the experience of being in parts. This is a phenomenological hermeneutic study with data collected from three social media sources, one personal blog and two Instagram accounts, in February and March 2023. The results were illuminated in light of four themes; Striving to remain in the world, Balancing exposure and trust, Balancing belonging and loneliness and Owning oneselves. The interpretation of the themes suggests that living with severe dissociative states means being a human under inhuman conditions, striving for coherence and meaning in a world that is often unsupportive. This calls for a trauma-informed care to better support recovery for persons with severe dissociative states.PMID:38640493 | DOI:10.1080/01612840.2024.23305...

Source: Issues in Mental Health Nursing - April 19, 2024 Category: Nursing Authors: Anja S öderberg Sebastian Gabrielsson Git-Marie Ejneborn Looi Lena Wiklund Gustin Josefin B äckström Britt-Marie Lindgren Source Type: research