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Caputo, Andrea

When the body is defective : an object relations informed narrative analysis of the illness experience of people affected by pulmonary hypertension

2020 - Franco Angeli

817-834 p.

  • Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) can be considered as a paradigmatic disease for the understanding of repairing processes enacted to restore internal regulation when the body is defective. The present study aims at providing an object relations informed narrative analysis of the illness experience of people affected by PH through a qualitative phenomenological analysis of the illness narratives of 12 adult Italian patients with PH. Four thematic areas (each consisting of three subthemes) were identified that respectively deal with progressive stages of illness story: coping with early symptoms (mean-inglessness, minimization, self-blame), searching for a diagnosis (helplessness, burden, refusal of medical advice), reacting to diagnosis (shock, resignation, acceptance of limitations) and facing the future (medical benefits, faith in God, support from patients' associations).
  • Findings make a significant contribution to the exploration of people with PH's several subjective challenges in coping with a defective body from symptom onset to after diagnosis. [Publisher's text].

Forma parte de

Ricerche di psicologia : 3, 2020