Out of Chaos—Meaning Arises: The Lived Experience of Re-Habituating the Habitual Body When Suffering From Burnout

Abstract

Sufferers from burnout might experience a sincere bonding to their lost lifeworld, which can result in their holding on to their previous worlds while simultaneously trying to unleash themselves. In this article, four experiential dimensions are presented in discussion with the phenomenological insights provided by Merleau-Ponty. These dimensions are “Trapped in the present body,” “the balancing act,” “precious moments of joy,” and “this is my Lifeworld now.” In the rehabilitation process, the participants demonstrated deliberate choices and reflective self-cultivation to adjust to their present situation. The illness seemed to promote a search for meaning—and out of the existential chaos, a “new” habitual body might appear. The study provides invaluable information about the rehabilitation process and the need for humanistic interventions.

“I Will Not Be Defined by This. I’m Not Going to Live Like a Victim; It Is Not Going to Define My Life”: Exploring Breast Cancer Survivors’ Experiences and Sense of Self

“…Meaning-making and the new sense of self is a moment of change in the face of the adversity by taking control and/or making emotional peace with their diseased state (Engebretsen & Bjorbaekmo, 2020; Goud, 1995).…”

“…Persons often attempt to overcome a traumatic event in their lives by actively searching for and developing coping mechanisms (Engebretsen & Bjorbaekmo, 2020;Srivastava, 2015). Coping mechanisms may be problemfocused or emotion-focused (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984), and the former type is generally consistent with survivors of chronic disease and is associated with a better quality of life (Black et al, 2020;Shakeri et al, 2015;Srivastava, 2015).…”

“At What Cost am I Doing This?” An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the experience of burnout among private practitioner psychotherapists

“…While most research on burnout has been quantitative, the current study resonates with and expands some findings in recent qualitative studies, particularly regarding the embodied aspect of burnout. For instance, Engebretsen and Bjorbækmo’s (2020) participants spoke of a “narrowing of the felt body” (p. 4), and the authors suggested that the body became objectified, limiting participation in life in the way they wished. While this is clearly difficult, the current study highlights how the physical impact of burnout was not deniable in the way that emotional and attitudinal components could be and the human physical limitations forced participants to rest and reflect.…”

“…Although the volume of literature related to burnout is largely dominated by quantitative research and theoretical frameworks, there has been a recent emergence of qualitative studies exploring the experience of burnout across mixed working groups (Ekstedt & Fagerberg, 2005; Engebretsen & Bjorbækmo, 2019a, 2019b, 2020; Eriksson et al., 2008; Gustafsson et al., 2008; Hammond et al., 2018; Kavalieratos et al., 2017; Turnbull & Rhodes, 2019). The depth and distress of an experience of burnout have been elucidated in the findings of these studies, in a manner not accessible through quantitative research.…”

“…Across the qualitative studies, the findings that emerge reflect the embodied experience of burnout, often expressed not solely as the actual physical symptoms of burnout such as headaches, backache, recurrent minor illnesses, but rather how an experience of burnout feels in the body (Engebretsen & Bjorbækmo, 2019a, 2020; Kavalieratos et al., 2017). The first study explored the experience of waiting to be formally recognised as burned out by a medical professional.…”