lnu.sePublications
Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Samtidig psykisk ohälsa och missbruk: en tvåenighet som strukturerar vardagen
Linnaeus University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Social Work.
Linnaeus University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Social Work.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-1325-9965
Linnaeus University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Social Work.
2023 (Swedish)In: Socialvetenskaplig tidskrift, ISSN 1104-1420, E-ISSN 2003-5624, Vol. 30, no 3, p. 759-778Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

People with co-occurring mental illness and addiction tend to be a vulnerable group in society, often in need of extensive and collaborative care. From a social work perspective, it is crucial to gain more knowledge about these persons’ everyday lives and living conditions. The aim of this article is to explore how people with co-occurring mental illness and addiction experience their everyday lives and develop knowledge about how everyday life is structured by these co-occurring illnesses. Using a narrative method, 12 persons were interviewed, sharing their experiences. The analysis was performed using the theory of the everyday life, the normative and structural aspect. The findings suggest that participants’ understanding of the co-occurring mental illness and addiction is described as a continuous interaction between the two illnesses and experienced as a unity. The narratives imply that dysfunctional family relationships in everyday life during childhood, losing employment and financial problems are shared experiences. The narratives also include loss of everyday routines due to co-occurring illnesses, unemployment and homelessness. Therefore, several routines, such as sleep, food and household routines are negatively affected. The conclusion is that the persons’ everyday life experiences starting as early as childhood have consequences for how their adulthood is structured, where the co-occurring mental illness and addiction play a central role in everyday life, affecting various aspects of it. The implications for practice are to view and treat the co-occurring illnesses as the persons understand them, namely as a unity that affects several everyday life arenas, and offer help to create and maintain routines, economic support and participation in activities.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Linköping University Electronic Press, 2023. Vol. 30, no 3, p. 759-778
Keywords [en]
co-occurring mental illness and addiction, everyday life, narratives, social work, user perspective
National Category
Social Work
Research subject
Social Sciences, Social Work
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-134391DOI: 10.3384/SVT.2023.30.3.4995OAI: oai:DiVA.org:lnu-134391DiVA, id: diva2:1925877
Available from: 2025-01-09 Created: 2025-01-09 Last updated: 2025-01-09Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Vardagslivets vändpunkter; Berättelser från personer som har erfarenhet av att leva med samtidig psykisk ohälsa och missbruk
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Vardagslivets vändpunkter; Berättelser från personer som har erfarenhet av att leva med samtidig psykisk ohälsa och missbruk
2025 (Swedish)Licentiate thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

This licentiate thesis discusses everyday life and turning points in the recovery processes of persons with co-occurring psychiatric disabilities and addiction. People with co-occurring psychiatric disabilities and addiction tend to be a vulnerable group in society, often needing extensive and collaborative care. Viewed from the lens of social work, it is crucial to gain more knowledge about these persons’ everyday lives, living conditions, and turning points in relation to recovery processes. The aim of this thesis is to explore how people with experiences of living with co-occurring psychiatric disabilities and addiction experience their everyday lives and how they narrate turning points in their recovery processes. Using a narrative method, twelve persons were interviewed about their experiences. The analysis was performed using theory of the everyday life, the normative and structural aspect (article I) and recovery theory, the holistic and individual aspect, and turning points (article II).

The first article explores the everyday life experiences of persons with co- occurring psychiatric disabilities and addiction. A central finding is the participants’ understanding of the co-occurring psychiatric disabilities and addiction as a continuous interaction between the two conditions – which we term a unity. The participants stories contain narratives about vulnerability during the life course. Childhood experiences concern dysfunctional family relationships in everyday life, absence of a parent, and physical and psychological violence. Stories about adulthood depict other aspects of vulnerability such as unstable employment and financial problems, disrupted everyday routines, and homelessness. Due to the co-occurring conditions and the consequences, everyday routines – sleep, food, and household tasks – are negatively affected. The findings suggest that these persons’ everyday life experiences, starting as early as childhood, have consequences for how their adulthood is structured, where the co-occurring psychiatric disabilities and addiction play a central role in their present everyday life, affecting various aspects of it.

The second article explores the occurrence of turning points in the recovery processes of persons with co-occurring psychiatric disabilities and addiction. The findings suggest turning points as developing starting points, where the analysis further revealed two functions of turning points: to initiate and to restart recovery processes. We term turning points that initiate recovery processes new starts and turning points that restart recovery processes re-starts. An essential finding is that turning points have developed through crucial changes in participants’ recovery (life) processes, contributing to personal progress, improved mental health, and reduced or ended addiction. Such crucial changes relate to individual, environmental and structural aspects. The individual aspects concern developing insight where the individual’s own person or body is perceived as a prerequisite for change. The environmental and structural aspects of developing insight include the notion that compulsory care is perceived as a contributor for change. Other important dimensions of recovery processes are also highlighted, such as relationships to children and partners, employment, and cooperation with professionals.

This thesis broadens the understanding of the everyday lives and turning points in recovery processes through persons’ experiences of living with co- occurring psychiatric disabilities and addiction. It further emphasizes the necessity of a holistic perspective, including persons’ life experiences, living conditions, values, and goals in order to understand their life situations and how their insight can develop. One of the most significant thesis findings is the importance of timing in these persons’ lives. Here, timing includes both the “right” time – offering support when persons require it – and the “right” way – considering specific wishes of persons about their treatment, in order to recognize and support persons with co-occurring psychiatric disabilities and addiction.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Växjö: Linnaeus University Press, 2025
Series
Linnaeus University Dissertations ; 50Lnu Licentiate
Keywords
psychiatric disabilities and addiction, everyday life, turning points, recovery processes
National Category
Social Work
Research subject
Social Sciences, Social Work
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-134281 (URN)10.15626/LnuLic.50.2025 (DOI)978-91-8082-248-0 (ISBN)978-91-8082-249-7 (ISBN)
Supervisors
Available from: 2025-01-08 Created: 2025-01-08 Last updated: 2025-01-15Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

fulltext(323 kB)22 downloads
File information
File name FULLTEXT01.pdfFile size 323 kBChecksum SHA-512
f2d669f32ffed3c8282fcaa4469d6d5c9ad6f3bcda647e329c7392088f44605b22b1afe3543300586001a521d03171ad2434de1c9e0ef125e01f6ea56bab0aab
Type fulltextMimetype application/pdf

Other links

Publisher's full text

Authority records

Zoric, SaraJärkestig Berggren, UlrikaForkby Söderqvist, Åsa

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Zoric, SaraJärkestig Berggren, UlrikaForkby Söderqvist, Åsa
By organisation
Department of Social Work
In the same journal
Socialvetenskaplig tidskrift
Social Work

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar
Total: 23 downloads
The number of downloads is the sum of all downloads of full texts. It may include eg previous versions that are now no longer available

doi
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
urn-nbn
Total: 271 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf