“Dr Browne’s book is an outstanding example of the new phenomenologically informed, qualitative empirical research on the experience of mental illness. Based on extensive interviews with thirty-seven women with depression, she explores how the multiplex cultural meanings of depression interact with women’s senses of self. As a psychiatric educator, I can think of no better book to prepare beginning clinicians to understand the manifold expressions of this condition, and its impact on people’s lives. Seasoned clinicians, in turn, will be intrigued by the novel insights gained.”
About the Book
Depression is widely recognised as the leading disability worldwide. Though classified as a medical condition, depression also contains very personal and social aspects which are integral to the experience - as those who have experienced it know all too well. Drawing on research interviews with women who have experienced depression, this psychological study elucidates experiences of depression and the meanings attached to it. In so doing, Browne challenges current understandings of depression as a chronic and endogenous illness and stresses the importance of the perception of authenticity among depression sufferers. Written in plain language accessible to non-specialists, Depression and the Self argues that in depression perceptions of control and the self are intertwined - and that this has important implications for diagnosis and recovery.
→ Uses individuals' reflections on their experiences of depression to shed light on our concepts of the self
→ Challenges common understandings of depression as a chronic and endogenous illness
→ Suggests that the feeling of control, in its different guises, is a key lever in perceptions of the self
→ Offers a reason for why some view their depression as chronic while others do not
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: The self and related concepts
Chapter 2: The view from inside: the variety of views of depression
Chapter 3: Going for help: the impact of diagnosis on the self
Chapter 4: Taking the medicine: the impact of medication on the self
Chapter 5: Crossing your fingers: predicting depression's role in the future self
Chapter 6: Conclusion
Reviews and Endorsements
“Tamara Kayali Browne’s Depression and the Self presents a sophisticated and original view of depression from the sufferer’s point of view. It uniquely captures the experiences of depression, treatment, and recovery and will be of great interest to those who suffer from this condition as well as clinicians and scholars of mental illness,”
“Browne’s innovative research invites us into the world of expectations and identifications among those recovering from mood disorders. The yield of her study is of immense importance. It enhances our understanding of how depression fits within these subjects’ selves as they persist through lives, not just through episodes of disorder. And in so doing, it reveals ways of being well, as much as ill.”
“Browne’s Depression and the Self is an important new contribution in helping to untangle a great riddle of our times: depression as the number one disability in the world. The book examines complex questions about the self – and in particular, what authenticity means to those with depression, their sense of control, as well as identified triggers for depression – to draw out key conclusions from which researchers, practitioners and patients can all benefit.”
“… this is an interesting exploration into depression and the ways that the diagnosis can impact on an individual’s view on their sense of control and responsibility. The narrative that Browne creates allows us to see the influence that the biomedical model has had on the women and gives us the chance to reflect on the wider context of the condition, further encouraging a sense of empowerment and possibility to change within these individuals.”
“This is a highly readable book, excelling in being led by the respondents themselves, and exploring nuanced differences between their accounts, for instance in how they relate medication to authenticity. … It will be of use to sociologists of (mental) health and illness, and applied mental health scholars and practitioners alike. Her arguments for how to draw on, and take advantage of, people’s own accounts of depression are particularly appealing and relevant, and stand to make a timely intervention in mental health research and practice.”
