Body of self and others.

For one of my papers, there is a strong philosophical underpinning where we explore different theories and paradigms which underlay our clinical reasoning (not that I have alot of that yet!) and how our worldview influences this. I have come across one article so far which really resonates with how I have observed the experience of disability in numerous patients across different settings.

Max van Manen (1998) presents a fascinating look at the human body and how we experience ourselves, others and how disability or illness impacts on the bodily experience of self and others. It is an interesting read and almost every sentence I was imagining previous patients and clients and how they are experiencing themselves. The main point of this reading that resonates with me is the notion of “body of self experienced as encumbered” which is relating to the person’s experience of their body as an object that is unreliable and diseased; as well as the notion of “body of other experienced as call by other” which is about the health professional and their moral and ethical connection to their patient referred to as the “vulnerable other that ‘bursts’ into your existence”.

Ref: Van Manen, M. (1998). Modalities of body experience in illness and health. Qualitative Health Research, 8(1), 7-24.

Powerful, thought-provoking stuff. The main message being that health professionals need to consider what modality of the body is being considered in intervention and what has the most impact on the person and their ability to re-establish the ‘livable relation’ where body and self are no longer separate and objectified.