Abstract
This autoethnography offers an account of my experience with mental illness and provides an analysis of the performative aspects of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). OCD is a genetic disorder triggered by environmental stressors involving a chemical imbalance in the brain. The resulting biologically altered state leaves individuals to steer themselves among and between "appropriate" performance and secret rituals. Analyzing my own communication practices through a performance lens highlights the importance of image management for people struggling with disability. In telling my own story, this article provides readers an in-depth look at OCD as a traumatic brain disorder whose sufferers rely on communicative performance to maintain their public and private identities, and as a disease that impedes social life for its sufferers. Implications of this account for those struggling with mental disability and for practitioners aiming to help them are discussed.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 249-261 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Qualitative Health Research |
Volume | 21 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 1 2011 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- autoethnography
- lived experience
- mental health and illness
- narrative analysis
- ritual
- stigma
- stories
- storytelling
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health