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Sarasso P, Billeci M, Ronga I, Raffone F, Martiadis V, Di Petta G. Disembodiment and Affective Resonances in Esketamine Treatment of Depersonalized Depression Subtype: Two Case Studies. Psychopathology 2024:1-12. [PMID: 39173608 DOI: 10.1159/000539714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 06/02/2024] [Indexed: 08/24/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Dissociative experiences are considered undesirable ketamine's adverse events. However, they might be crucial for ketamine's antidepressant effects, at least in some depression subtypes. Current understandings of ketamine's therapeutic potentials converge on the so-called "relaxed prior hypothesis," suggesting that glutamatergic blockage up-weights bottom-up surprising somatosensory/affective states. As a result, ketamine improves short-term plasticity in depression by enhancing sensitivity to interoceptive signals. METHODS We selected 2 case studies for their paradigmatic description of "depersonalized depression" (Entfremdungsdepression) symptoms. Patients were included in a 6-month-long esketamine program for treatment resistant depression, during which we collected their spontaneous experience with esketamine. According to a neurophenomenological approach, we combined subjective reports from unstructured clinical interviews and the review of previous objective neuroimaging results and neurocomputational models to unveil the relation between esketamine antidepressant effects and interoceptive sensitivity. RESULTS According to our clinical observations, esketamine-induced dissociation might be particularly effective in the depersonalized depression subtype, in which interoceptive awareness and interaffectivity are particularly compromised. Ketamine and esketamine's dissociative effects and particularly disembodiment might suspend previously acquired patterns of feeling, sensing, and behaving. CONCLUSIONS Coherently with previous research, we suggest that esketamine-induced disembodiment allows for a transient window of psychological plasticity and enhanced sensitivity, where the body recovers its permeability to affective affordances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pietro Sarasso
- Brain Plasticity and Behaviour Changes Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Martina Billeci
- SPDC, Mental Health Department, Santa Maria delle Grazie Hospital, ASL 2, Naples, Italy
| | - Irene Ronga
- Brain Plasticity and Behaviour Changes Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | | | | | - Gilberto Di Petta
- SPDC, Mental Health Department, Santa Maria delle Grazie Hospital, ASL 2, Naples, Italy
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Mancini M, Esposito CM, Estradé A, Rosfort R, Fusar-Poli P, Stanghellini G. Major Depression as a Disorder of the Narrative Self: A Qualitative Study. Psychopathology 2024; 57:423-433. [PMID: 38776880 DOI: 10.1159/000538942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Abnormal self-experiences are a common feature of major depression despite their absence from current diagnostic manuals. Current diagnostic criteria leave us with an impoverished conception of depressive disorders, and they fail to exploit the diverse experiential alterations that might be useful for understanding and diagnosing patients, and last but not least for explaining the aetiology of these disorders. Although some phenomenological descriptions of abnormal self-experiences in major depression are available, further research is needed to validate these through detailed clinical interviews. METHODS To characterize these phenomena in more detail and to verify and consolidate previous accounts, we conducted a qualitative study using the Consensual Qualitative Research method. RESULTS Our findings identified three categories of abnormal self-experiences: (1) impossibility to project oneself forward, (2) not recognizing one's self, and (3) losing control on one's self. CONCLUSION Before delving into these results, we briefly described how the self is conceptualized in phenomenological psychopathology and explored in the literature on the self-experience in major depression. After discussing our results in the light of recent and contemporary phenomenological literature, we suggest that the inability to recognize otherness as part of oneself - which is the core of depressive experiences - ends in specific symptoms of depersonalization that differ from schizophrenic ones. We conclude that the self-experience, and in particular narrative identity, is central to the development and maintenance of depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milena Mancini
- Department of Psychological, Health, and Territorial Sciences "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Cecilia Maria Esposito
- Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, IRCCS Fondazione Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Andrés Estradé
- Early Psychosis: Interventions and Clinical-detection (EPIC) Lab, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London, London, UK
| | - René Rosfort
- Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Paolo Fusar-Poli
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- Early Psychosis: Interventions and Clinical-detection (EPIC) Lab, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London, London, UK
- OASIS Service, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- National Institute for Health Research, Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley, London, UK
- Kings College Hospital in London and the Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK
| | - Giovanni Stanghellini
- Kings College Hospital in London and the Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- Diego Portales University, Santiago, Chile
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Fusar-Poli P, Estradé A, Stanghellini G, Esposito CM, Rosfort R, Mancini M, Norman P, Cullen J, Adesina M, Jimenez GB, da Cunha Lewin C, Drah EA, Julien M, Lamba M, Mutura EM, Prawira B, Sugianto A, Teressa J, White LA, Damiani S, Vasconcelos C, Bonoldi I, Politi P, Vieta E, Radden J, Fuchs T, Ratcliffe M, Maj M. The lived experience of depression: a bottom-up review co-written by experts by experience and academics. World Psychiatry 2023; 22:352-365. [PMID: 37713566 PMCID: PMC10503922 DOI: 10.1002/wps.21111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/17/2023] Open
Abstract
We provide here the first bottom-up review of the lived experience of depression, co-written by experts by experience and academics. First-person accounts within and outside the medical field were screened and discussed in collaborative workshops involving numerous individuals with lived experience of depression, family members and carers, representing a global network of organizations. The material was enriched by phenomenologically informed perspectives and shared with all collaborators in a cloud-based system. The subjective world of depression was characterized by an altered experience of emotions and body (feeling overwhelmed by negative emotions, unable to experience positive emotions, stuck in a heavy aching body drained of energy, detached from the mind, the body and the world); an altered experience of the self (losing sense of purpose and existential hope, mismatch between the past and the depressed self, feeling painfully incarcerated, losing control over one's thoughts, losing the capacity to act on the world; feeling numb, empty, non-existent, dead, and dreaming of death as a possible escape route); and an altered experience of time (experiencing an alteration of vital biorhythms, an overwhelming past, a stagnation of the present, and the impossibility of the future). The experience of depression in the social and cultural context was characterized by altered interpersonal experiences (struggling with communication, feeling loneliness and estrangement, perceiving stigma and stereotypes), and varied across different cultures, ethnic or racial minorities, and genders. The subjective perception of recovery varied (feeling contrasting attitudes towards recovery, recognizing recovery as a journey, recognizing one's vulnerability and the need for professional help), as did the experience of receiving pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, and social as well as physical health interventions. These findings can inform clinical practice, research and education. This journey in the lived experience of depression can also help us to understand the nature of our own emotions and feelings, what is to believe in something, what is to hope, and what is to be a living human being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Fusar-Poli
- Early Psychosis: Interventions and Clinical-detection (EPIC) Lab, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- OASIS service, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- National Institute for Health Research, Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley, London, UK
| | - Andrés Estradé
- Early Psychosis: Interventions and Clinical-detection (EPIC) Lab, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Giovanni Stanghellini
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- Diego Portales University, Santiago, Chile
| | - Cecilia Maria Esposito
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - René Rosfort
- S. Kierkegaard Research Centre, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Milena Mancini
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Health and Territory, University of Chieti and Pescara "G. d'Annunzio", Chieti, Italy
| | - Peter Norman
- Recovery College, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- Mosaic Clubhouse Brixton, London, UK
| | | | - Miracle Adesina
- Global Mental Health Peer Network, Ibadan, Nigeria
- Slum and Rural Health Initiative, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Gema Benavides Jimenez
- Global Mental Health Peer Network, Madrid, Spain
- Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Instituto Superior de Estudios Psicológicos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Caroline da Cunha Lewin
- Global Mental Health Peer Network, London, UK
- Patient and Public Involvement Team, NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London, London, UK
| | | | - Marc Julien
- Global Mental Health Peer Network, Douala, Cameroon
| | | | - Edwin M Mutura
- Global Mental Health Peer Network, Nairobi, Kenya
- Mentally Unsilenced, Nairobi, Kenya
- Psychiatric Disability Organization of Kenya, Nakuru, Kenya
| | - Benny Prawira
- Global Mental Health Peer Network, Jakarta, Indonesia
- Into The Light Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Agus Sugianto
- Global Mental Health Peer Network, Jakarta, Indonesia
- Indonesian Community Care for Schizophrenia, Jakarta, Indonesia
- University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Jaleta Teressa
- Global Mental Health Peer Network, Nekemte, Ethiopia
- Nekemte Specialized Hospital, Nekemte, Ethiopia
| | - Lawrence A White
- Global Mental Health Peer Network, Yellowknife, Canada
- Centre for Learning & Teaching Innovation, Aurora College, Yellowknife, Canada
- Advanced Graduate Student, Unicaf University, Lusaka, Zambia
| | - Stefano Damiani
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Candida Vasconcelos
- Early Psychosis: Interventions and Clinical-detection (EPIC) Lab, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Ilaria Bonoldi
- Early Psychosis: Interventions and Clinical-detection (EPIC) Lab, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Pierluigi Politi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Eduard Vieta
- Bipolar and Depressive Disorders Unit, Hospital Clinic, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Jennifer Radden
- Philosophy Department, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Thomas Fuchs
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Mario Maj
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy
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Orphanidou M, Kadianaki I, O'Connor C. Depression as an Embodied Experience: Identifying the Central Role of the Body in Meaning-Making and Identity Processes. QUALITATIVE HEALTH RESEARCH 2023; 33:509-520. [PMID: 36922708 DOI: 10.1177/10497323231154210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Α significant part of the psychological research on mental health and illness is interested in how the body can impact one's mental health. This impact is primarily explored using a biomedical framework, in studies that examine the body's role in the emergence of a mental illness, the ways it can signify the presence of an illness (i.e. physical symptoms) and, finally, its role in the treatment process. Within this literature, the body is conceptualised as an object that can be diagnosed and treated. The current study approaches the body as a subject in the experience of depression. Specifically, it demonstrates that the experience of depression is embodied and that the body mediates meaning-making and identity processes. Using qualitative findings from eight interviews with Greek-Cypriot adults diagnosed with depression, we demonstrate that participants make sense of depression through their bodies, as a painful, uncomfortable and agonising experience. Further, we discuss how the struggle to regain control over the body, experienced as hijacked by depression, leads to a disrupted relation with the self and the world that expands beyond the idea of the loss of self, as described in the literature. Theoretical and clinical implications are examined.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Irini Kadianaki
- Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
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Pellens H, Dezutter J, Luyten P, Vanhooren S. To be Scared or Scared to be: Existential Anxiety as a Mediator between Meaning Experience and Depression. JOURNAL OF HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1177/00221678221140617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Difficulty in the experience of meaning has been both theoretically and empirically linked with depression. This cross-sectional study first aimed to replicate the association between difficulty in meaning experience and depression in a sample of 77 psychotherapists and counselors (77.1% females; Mage: 49; SDage = 12.25). Second, this study wanted to extend the body of research findings by investigating whether existential anxiety, and focusing manner, that is, the ability to attend to one’s bodily felt experiences, mediated the relation between meaning experience and the severity of depression. Surprisingly, meaning experience did not show a significant association with severity of depression. Furthermore, existential anxiety mediated the association between meaning experience and severity of depression. Focusing manner showed no significant mediating role in the relationship between meaning experience and severity of depression. These findings suggest that existential anxiety might be an important underlying mechanism in depressive disorder. Addressing the anxiety evoked by existential questions in the patient’s life might be important in the psychotherapeutic treatment of depression. Future prospective research is needed to further disentangle the relationship between meaning experience, depression, focusing, and existential anxiety.
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Can changes in multidimensional self-reported interoception be considered as outcome predictors in severely depressed patients? A moderation and mediation analysis. J Psychosom Res 2021; 141:110331. [PMID: 33338695 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2020.110331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2020] [Revised: 12/05/2020] [Accepted: 12/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Somatic complaints (e.g. pain) and abnormal self-reported interoception (e.g. maladaptive bodily self-focus) are common features of major depressive disorder (MDD) with sex-specific manifestations. Whereas somatic symptoms are associated with adverse clinical outcomes (e.g. residual symptoms), studies are scarce investigating the role of interoception as an outcome predictor for specific hospital treatment of MDD. Therefore, multivariate associations between changes in multidimensional self-reported interoception, somatic symptoms, and clinical improvements are explored by hypothesizing interactions with sex and an interoceptive mechanism. METHODS In this naturalistic study, 87 hospitalized participants suffering from MDD completed questionnaires at pre- and post-treatment assessing multidimensional self-reported interoception (MAIA-2), somatic symptom burden (SCL-90-S® SOMA), and depression severity (BDI-II). We performed a multiple hierarchical regression analysis to test for interaction effects. The mediation hypothesis was path-analytically tested in a parallel mediation model by bootstrapping confidence intervals for (in)direct effects. RESULTS Improvements in self-reported interoception independently predicted positive treatment response, ΔRadj2=8.61%, ΔF(8, 74) = 3.23, p < .01. Prediction effects were moderated by sex, ΔRadj2=5.54%, ΔF(8, 66) = 2.22, p < .05. Post-hoc analyses revealed significant effects of body confidence in women, B = -4.26, t(28) = -2.78, p < .01, and of self-regulation in men, B = -3.21, t(17) = -2.27, p < .05. Effects of somatic symptom relief on treatment outcome were partially mediated by self-reported interoception, total indirect = 2.94 [95% BCa CI 0.99, 5.69]. CONCLUSION Interoception patterns changed significantly and predicted outcome of hospital treatment in severely depressed patients. Our study could imply the need to consider body sensations additionally as a target for antidepressive treatments. The development of tailored interoceptive interventions in depressive patients represents a promising vision for the future.
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Damsgaard JB, Overgaard CL, Birkelund R. Personal recovery and depression, taking existential and social aspects into account: A struggle with institutional structures, loneliness and identity. Int J Soc Psychiatry 2021; 67:7-14. [PMID: 32611264 DOI: 10.1177/0020764020938812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although depression is one of the most studied mental illness phenomena, the studies attempt to understand depression as different phases, turning points and transitions, but depression has an existential and social resonance. There is progress to be made in seeking to understand how people experience, cope and process, living with depression. There is a need of supplementary and alternative approaches that goes beyond medicine and traditional treatment of psychiatric disabilities. AIM The aim of this study was to explore perceptions and challenging issues related to living with depression, allowing the researchers to get a deeper understanding of existential and social aspects. METHOD A phenomenological-hermeneutic study design was applied, based on the French philosopher Paul Ricoeur's theory of interpretation. Data were collected through observations and semi-structured interviews. FINDINGS Several of the interviewees were lonely at home as well as at the hospital. This caused experiences of sheer isolation with feelings of sadness enhancing desperation concerning what to do with themselves. This could even cause physical feelings of pain. In different ways, the interviewees expressed how being with other people filled their lives with relationships and closeness. Health care professionals were focused on applying structure into the users' everyday life, shadowing the person's individuality, strengths and resources. The prioritizations between users and healthcare professionals were not always in concordance. The interviewees experienced recurrent situations where their authority and individuality were ignored or felt non-existent. CONCLUSION Existential and social aspects are vital in regard to understanding people living with depression. However, personal recovery can be diminished by controlling structures and lack of a caring guidance, creating feelings of stigmatization missing out on autonomy, causing inner doubts. A recommendation is that we challenge institutional structures and accelerate education developing the healthcare professionals' empathic competences and ability to make wise judgments, empowering the users' autonomy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janne Brammer Damsgaard
- Psychiatric Research Unit West Herning, Regional Hospital West Jutland, Central Denmark Region, Herning, Denmark.,Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Camilla Lyhne Overgaard
- Psychiatric Research Unit West Herning, Regional Hospital West Jutland, Central Denmark Region, Herning, Denmark
| | - Regner Birkelund
- University Hospital of Southern Denmark, Vejle, Denmark.,Department of Regional Health Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
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Lyons N, Michaelsen MM, Graser J, Bundschuh-Müller K, Esch T, Michalak J. Bodily Experience in Depression: Using Focusing as a New Interview Technique. Psychopathology 2021; 54:150-158. [PMID: 33951644 DOI: 10.1159/000514128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2020] [Accepted: 12/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Research on body aspects in depression primarily focuses on somatic complaints, while phenomenologists emphasize the pre-reflective bodily experience of depression as relevant for the psychopathology of it. Despite this increasing acknowledgement of the subjective body's impact on depression, empirically, it remains rarely studied. METHODS Relying on the psychotherapy method of Focusing (Gendlin, 1982), interviews were developed, which enable participants with depression to get in contact with pre-reflective bodily experiences through turning inward, attentively observing all bodily feelings that arise, and finding symbolizations for these feelings. RESULTS In 501 codings of the conducted interviews, the theme of passivity emerged on a continuum ranging from inhibition of drive to lack of drive. It can be split into 5 components (heaviness, emptiness, paralysis, blockage, and alienation), which were felt in the head or the whole body. Moreover, participants reported active, pressuring feelings in the chest and stomach areas, which were associated with specific emotions in some participants. DISCUSSION In conclusion, through focusing, participants were able to take note of their pre-reflective bodily feelings and described feelings of passivity, active, pressuring feelings, and an ambivalence between these two parts. Results support the notion that depression is associated with specific pre-reflective bodily experiences and lay a foundation for future research.
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Effects of Psychoactive Massage in Outpatients with Depressive Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Mixed-Methods Study. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10100676. [PMID: 32993175 PMCID: PMC7600300 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10100676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2020] [Revised: 09/16/2020] [Accepted: 09/21/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The clinical picture of depressive disorders is characterized by a plethora of somatic symptoms, psychomotor retardation, and, particularly, anhedonia. The number of patients with residual symptoms or treatment resistance is high. Touch is the basic communication among humans and animals. Its application professionally in the form of, e.g., psychoactive massage therapy, has been shown in the past to reduce the somatic and mental symptoms of depression and anxiety. Here, we investigated the effects of a specially developed affect-regulating massage therapy (ARMT) vs. individual treatment with a standardized relaxation procedure, progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), in 57 outpatients with depression. Patients were given one ARMT or PMR session weekly over 4 weeks. Changes in somatic and cognitive symptoms were assessed by standard psychiatric instruments (Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and the Bech–Rafaelsen–Melancholia–Scale (BRMS)) as well as a visual analogue scale. Furthermore, oral statements from all participants were obtained in semi-structured interviews. The findings show clear and statistically significant superiority of ARMT over PMR. The results might be interpreted within various models. The concept of interoception, as well as the principles of body psychotherapy and phenomenological aspects, offers cues for understanding the mechanisms involved. Within a neurobiological context, the significance of C-tactile afferents activated by special touch techniques and humoral changes such as increased oxytocin levels open additional ways of interpreting our findings.
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Bygstad-Landro M, Giske T. Risking existence: The experience and handling of depression. J Clin Nurs 2017; 27:e514-e522. [PMID: 28861916 DOI: 10.1111/jocn.14056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To gain insight into how people suffering from depression experience and manage life. BACKGROUND Depression is the leading cause of incapacitation and constitutes the second largest healthcare burden worldwide, causing considerable discomfort for depression sufferers and their significant others. Depression must be understood against the backdrop of a person's context as well as biological, psychological and social factors. While various studies have been conducted on the process of depression, only a few studies have examined its existential aspects. DESIGN A classical grounded theory methodology employing open and selective coding was used to identify the participants' main concern and the strategies they used to handle it. METHOD Data were collected in 2015-2016 during 18 in-depth interviews with people with current or former moderate depression. The data were analysed through constant comparisons until the grounded theory emerged. RESULTS/FINDINGS The main concern of the participants was Longing for belonging, and they handled their depression through a process named Risking existence. The process comprised four phases: (i) Ungraspable processing; (ii) Giving clues; (iii) Daring dependence; and (iv) Courage to be. The process of risking existence was accompanied from beginning to end by three essentials: to hope, to endure and shame. CONCLUSION Working in mental health care involves encountering the pain, suffering and despair that humans endure. This challenges nurses to go beyond the symptoms and to listen for their meaning to each individual person. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE The grounded theory of risking existence provides a model by which nurses can orient themselves when working with people who are depressed. Each phase describes different strategies that patients use that can help the nurse recognise what is going on, thus enabling him or her to understand and guide his or her patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marte Bygstad-Landro
- VID Specialized University, Center for Diakonia, Values and Professional Practice and Solli District Psychiatric Center
| | - Tove Giske
- VID Specialized University, Faculty of Health, Bergen, Norway
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Danielsson L, Bertilsson M, Holmgren K, Hensing G. Working in dissonance: experiences of work instability in workers with common mental disorders. BMC Public Health 2017; 17:472. [PMID: 28521731 PMCID: PMC5437399 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-017-4388-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2017] [Accepted: 05/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Common mental disorders have a negative impact on work functioning, but less is known about the process when the functioning starts to destabilize. This study explores experiences of work instability in workers with common mental disorders. METHODS A grounded theory study using a theoretical sampling frame, individual in-depth interviews and a constant comparative analysis conducted by a multidisciplinary research team. The sample involved 27 workers with common mental disorders, currently working full or part time, or being on sick leave not more than 6 months. They were women and men of different ages, representing different occupations and illness severity. RESULTS A general process of work instability was conceptualized by the core category Working in dissonance: captured in a bubble inside the work stream. The workers described that their ordinary fluency at work was disturbed. They distanced themselves from other people at and outside work, which helped them to regain their flow but simultaneously made them feel isolated. Four categories described sub-processes of the dissonance: Working out of rhythm, Working in discomfort, Working disconnected and Working in a no man's land. CONCLUSIONS The experience of work instability in CMDs was conceptualized as "working in dissonance", suggesting a multifaceted dissonance at work, characterized by a sense of being caught up, as if in a bubble. Focusing on how the worker can re-enter their flow at work when experiencing dissonance is a new approach to explore in occupational and clinical settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise Danielsson
- Section for Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Box 453, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Monica Bertilsson
- Section for Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Box 453, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Kristina Holmgren
- Section for Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Box 453, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Gunnel Hensing
- Section for Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Box 453, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
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"Crawling Out of the Cocoon": Patients' Experiences of a Physical Therapy Exercise Intervention in the Treatment of Major Depression. Phys Ther 2016; 96:1241-50. [PMID: 26847007 DOI: 10.2522/ptj.20150076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2015] [Accepted: 01/25/2016] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although the effectiveness of physical exercise for depression has been studied for many years, few studies have described patients' experiences of what exercise means to them, beyond the biological focus. Moreover, exercise as a treatment for depression is rarely explored in a physical therapy context. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to explore a physical therapy exercise intervention, as experienced by people with major depression. DESIGN This study had an inductive approach and used qualitative content analysis. METHODS Semistructured interviews were conducted with 13 people who participated in physical therapist-guided aerobic exercise in a randomized controlled trial. All participants were diagnosed with major depression according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Data were collected and analyzed in an inductive manner using qualitative content analysis according to Graneheim and Lundman. RESULTS Four categories emerged: (1) struggling toward a healthy self, (2) challenging the resistance, (3) feeling alive but not euphoric, and (4) needing someone to be there for you. The participants experienced that although the exercise intervention was hard work, it enhanced the feeling of being alive and made them feel that they were doing something good for themselves. These feelings were a welcome contrast to the numbness and stagnation they experienced during depression. LIMITATIONS The study was conducted in Swedish primary care. Transferability of results must be viewed in relation to context. CONCLUSIONS Exercise in a physical therapy context can improve the patients' perception of their physical ability and create a sense of liveliness, improving their depressed state. The therapeutic relationship is essential for supporting the patient's vulnerability and ambiguity in an empathic and perceptive way.
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Danielsson L, Rosberg S. Opening toward life: experiences of basic body awareness therapy in persons with major depression. Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being 2015; 10:27069. [PMID: 25956354 PMCID: PMC4425812 DOI: 10.3402/qhw.v10.27069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Although there is a vast amount of research on different strategies to alleviate depression, knowledge of movement-based treatments focusing on body awareness is sparse. This study explores the experiences of basic body awareness therapy (BBAT) in 15 persons diagnosed with major depression who participated in the treatment in a randomized clinical trial. Hermeneutic phenomenological methodology inspired the approach to interviews and data analysis. The participants’ experiences were essentially grasped as a process of enhanced existential openness, opening toward life, exceeding the tangible corporeal dimension to also involve emotional, temporal, and relational aspects of life. Five constituents of this meaning were described: vitality springing forth, grounding oneself, recognizing patterns in one's body, being acknowledged and allowed to be oneself, and grasping the vagueness. The process of enhanced perceptual openness challenges the numbness experienced in depression, which can provide hope for change, but it is connected to hard work and can be emotionally difficult to bear. Inspired by a phenomenological framework, the results of this study illuminate novel clinical and theoretical insight into the meaning of BBAT as an adjunctive approach in the treatment of depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise Danielsson
- Department of Health and Rehabilitation, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,University of Gothenburg Centre for Person-Centred Care (GPCC), Gothenburg, Sweden.,Närhälsan Gibraltar Rehabilitation Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden;
| | - Susanne Rosberg
- Department of Health and Rehabilitation, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,University of Gothenburg Centre for Person-Centred Care (GPCC), Gothenburg, Sweden
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