Aloneness and loneliness – persons with severe mental illness and experiences of being alone
By: Gunnel Andersson, Anne Denhov, Per Bülow and Alain Topor
Abstract
People with severe mental illness (SMI) are often described as lonely and socially incapable – an inability resulting from the mental illness. The aim of this article is to explore experiences of being alone among persons with SMI. The article is based on interviews with 19 persons diagnosed with psychosis who were interviewed between four and nine times over a period of three years. The findings show that experiences of being alone can be identified by two concepts: aloneness and loneliness. The persons in the study appeared as socially able and active in relation to their social lives. However, a social agent does not operate in a void but in interaction with specific living conditions; the experiences of aloneness and loneliness may be viewed as the result of the interplay between the individual and the social and material environment.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15017419.2014.941927 | Journal eISSN: 1745-3011
Language: English
Page range: 353 - 365
Submitted on: Jan 27, 2014
Accepted on: Mar 6, 2014
Published on: Aug 4, 2015
Published by: Stockholm University Press
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Keywords:
© 2015 Gunnel Andersson, Anne Denhov, Per Bülow, Alain Topor, published by Stockholm University Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.