Becoming strange. Narratives of people who are in treatment for depression and the misunderstandings of their environments

Abstract

The article analyzes narratives of people suffering from depression about the misunderstandings of their surroundings. It presents results of an investigation that applies the method of life stories, carried out in the city of Santa Fe, Argentina. It analyzes forty-two in-depth interviews of people who participate in therapeutic spaces and are diagnosed or self-perceived as depressed. Based on the assumption that the close ties of those who suffer from depression occupy a prominent place in the processes of recovery or perpetuation of the discomfort, this study delves into the conflicts of understanding with those close to them from the perspectives of those who suffer. Four problems are identified in the narratives of understanding by their surrounding people that reside in their frames of reference. From the point of view of the people who suffer, those close to them tend to use medical and moral frameworks that interpret behaviors as an expression of illness or personality.