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

Mette Rønberg

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

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.
Original languageEnglish
JournalMedical Anthropology
Volume38
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)399-411
Number of pages13
ISSN0145-9740
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Keywords

  • Denmark
  • body work
  • depression
  • out-of-tune embodiment
  • resonance
  • suffering

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