ABSTRACT
Experiencing acquired chronic medical conditions, such as chronic illnesses, physical injuries, etc., is described in psychological research literature as traumatic, emphasizing subjective loss of control over one’s own body and world. These experiences often lead to prolonged mourning processes over loss of a sense of self. One of the main implications of this is an experience of self-dissolution, a “shattered self.”Focusing on this subjective self-perception, of being one and an-other for oneself, this chapter presents a comprehensive narrative framework for clinical and theoretical understanding. This is done through the presentation of a new self-illness narrative model that draws on three broad theoretical strands, soon to be described. This model is followed throughout the presentation by clinical case examples. The first strand draws on philosophical and psychoanalytical discussions focusing on self-knowledge and awareness. These include the effects of perceived loss of self aspects, such as of autonomy, continuity, physical wholeness and control, and social relatedness. The second strand is based on self narrative in psychoanalytic literature. These include factors such as the sense of chaos or linearity in the progress of an illness, how people and places are linked to the medical condition, metaphysical meanings related to the experience, etc. This chapter suggests that through the construction of a diverse, yet integrative self narrative, clinicians and theoreticians can establish a thorough working model for interpretation and for building a therapeutically helpful bridge between the sense of self and sense of self as an-other.
