Social recovery and the move beyond deficit models of depression: A feminist analysis of mid-life women's self-care practices

Abstract

In Australia, like other advanced liberal democracies, the adoption of a recovery orientation was hailed as a major leap forward in mental health policy and service provision. We argue that this shift in thinking about the meaning of recovery requires further analysis of the gendered dimension of self-identity and relationships with the social world. In this article we focus on how mid-life women constructed meaning about recovery through their everyday practices of self-care within the gendered context of depression. Findings from our qualitative research with 31 mid-life women identified how the recovery process was complicated by relapses into depression, with many women critically questioning the limitations of biomedical treatment options for a more relational understanding of recovery. Participant stories revealed important tacit knowledge about recovery that emphasised the process of realising and recognising capacities and self-knowledge. We identify two central themes through which women's tacit knowledge of this changing relation to self in recovery is made explicit: the disciplined self of normalised recovery, redefining recovery and depression. The findings point to the need to reconsider how both recovery discourses and gendered expectations can complicate women's experiences of moving through depression. We argue for a different conceptualisation of recovery as a social practice through which women realise opportunities to embody different 'beings and doings'. A gendered understanding of what women themselves identify is important to their well-being, can contribute to more effective recovery oriented policies based on capability rather than deficit.

‘Men just drink more than women. Women have friends to talk to’—Gendered understandings of depression among healthcare professionals and their implications

“…This essentialist idea leaves depression viewed as something caused by women being intrinsically irrational, weak, vulnerable and susceptible to critical life events such as childbirth (Ussher, 2010). In that sense, depression is commonly portrayed as a feminized condition (Creighton, Oliffe, Ogrodniczuk, & Frank, 2017;Fullagar & O'Brien, 2014;Oliffe, Kelly, Bottorff, Johnson, & Wong, 2011). Thus, the classification of depression in men tends to constitute the subordination or marginalization of men because depression as a category is connoted by a range of deficiencies in and around the person-that is, lack of strength, efficacy, rationality, independence and resilience (Creighton et al, 2017;Fullagar & O'Brien, 2014;Oliffe et al, 2011).…”

“…In that sense, depression is commonly portrayed as a feminized condition (Creighton, Oliffe, Ogrodniczuk, & Frank, 2017;Fullagar & O'Brien, 2014;Oliffe, Kelly, Bottorff, Johnson, & Wong, 2011). Thus, the classification of depression in men tends to constitute the subordination or marginalization of men because depression as a category is connoted by a range of deficiencies in and around the person-that is, lack of strength, efficacy, rationality, independence and resilience (Creighton et al, 2017;Fullagar & O'Brien, 2014;Oliffe et al, 2011). This indicates why depression in men is often manifested by aggression, irritation, numbness and focus on sexual capability and substance use, because these signs seem to be more congruent with dominant ideals of masculinity (Brownhill, Wilhelm, Barclay, & Schmied, 2005;Ridge, Emslie, & White, 2011).…”

“Halfway towards recovery”: Rehabilitating the relational self in narratives of postnatal depression

“…We are mindful of the conceptual difficulty with the term(s) (see Fullagar and O'Brien, 2014;Nicolson, 1998). In Amelia's account we see both Leder's (1990) foregrounding of the body-as-object and witness Amelia's failed attempts to respond in a 'rational' way.…”

Responding to the mental health and well-being agenda in adult community learning

“…Resonating with Morgan (2007), the female participants in particular described 'losing' and 're-finding' themselves, overcoming an erasure of self and 'recovering' their identities, often in the context of having become subsumed with the needs of others, or having experienced oppressive personal relationships. The cultural context of women's lives, which often includes unrealistic expectations and is punitive in nature (Fullagar, 2008;Fullagar and O'Brien 2014;O'Grady 2005;Stoppard 2000), means that such personal authenticity -put by another female participant in terms of 'a freedom of being who you are' -is often considered crucial for women's mental health (see, for example, Staddon 2009; Thompson 1997). The provision of a humanistic learning environment was fundamental to these processes of identity reconstruction.…”