Speaker
Description
The presentation explores the interplay between perceived triggers for mental illness and the resilience strategies adopted by individuals experiencing mental illness and their support persons. Drawing on 30 semi-structured interviews conducted in nine European countries during 2024, the study reveals an asymmetry between the social nature of illness triggers and the predominantly individual focus of resilience strategies.
Research participants identified various triggers for mental illness onset, including biographical events (e.g., divorce, bereavement, workplace stress), physiological factors (e.g., pregnancy, insomnia), and broader societal influences such as violence, discrimination, poverty, and socio-political upheavals like systemic collapse. While the onset of mental illness was largely attributed to social and structural dynamics, resilience strategies emphasized individual responsibility through actions like maintaining nutrition, engaging in physical activity, cultivating hobbies, and relying on family or community support.
The disproportion in addressing resilience responsibilisation mostly at individual level draws attention to consequences of such resilience strategies, especially in the context of perpetuating inequalities, stigma and discrimination.
| Presenting author | Jekaterina Kaleja |
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