2018
24 citations Research paper

Depression: Out-of-Tune Embodiment, Loss of Bodily Resonance, and Body Work

Mette Toft Rønberg

Abstract

Based on fieldwork among adults suffering from depression in Denmark, I explore depression as an out-of-tune embodiment, characterized by disturbances of bodily experiences and loss of bodily resonance. I depict my informants' efforts to attune to the rhythm of the everyday through different kinds of body work. This perspective calls for an acknowledgement of the resonant body, and provides a non-reductionist portrayal of depression that differs from the dominant understanding of depression as an individual (brain) disorder. These findings suggest a paradigm shift, in which depression slowly is beginning to be acknowledged as a bodily, relational, and social phenomenon.

Topics

Art Therapy and Mental Health Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies Empathy and Medical Education

Categories

Arts and Humanities Conservation Social Sciences

Tags

Acknowledgement Art Computer science Computer security Depression (economics) Economics Engineering Epistemology Macroeconomics Mechanical engineering Perspective (graphical) Phenomenon Philosophy Psychology Reductionism Visual arts Work (physics)
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Referencing articles

Mental States
Depression Explained: What’s Going On in Your Brain, and How to Heal

The causes, stages, and treatments of depression, plus new approaches that go beyond medication.

Written by: Clara Bennett