Illness Narrative And Identity Of Postpartum Depressed Women

Postpartum depression,as a mental illness that harms women’s physical and mental health,is hard to find because it does not have obvious symptoms,and the simplistic and sensational reporting framework in the media further stigmatizes the illness.However,previous studies have paid more attention to media discourse and medical discourse.Research based on patients,who are the main body of postpartum depression,is of great significance to help the public understand and face up to the postpartum depression positively.This paper focuses on Postpartum depression women,holding the perspective of those who have experienced the illness,and interpret through the online self-disclosure text of Postpartum depression women.It will also discuss their illness narrative and process and characteristics of self-identification.Based on Giddens’ theory of self-identity and symbolic interaction,this study adopts narrative research method,literature review and interview,etc.,and four-unit narrative analysis model to analyze narrative materials.In the process of case analysis,the narrative is interpreted from multiple perspectives according to the needs of the research focus of each chapter by comprehensively considering the context of the narrative and the social and cultural background.The main conclusions of the article are the following.First,the illness narrative of Postpartum depression women on the online platform often starts from the description of their own fear,and by describing their own personality and experience before becoming a mother,which form a strong contrast with the fear of Postpartum depression experience.Second,in the narrative of Postpartum depression,self-maladjustment is mainly divided into two aspects: one is the identity confusion caused by the change of identity,that is,the conflict between the "ideal self" and "real self",including personal and family aspects;the other is the identity disorder in the social context: the mass media’s perspective on the identity of "mother”,especially the stigmatization of the topic of postpartum depression,and the near-perfect depiction of the "mother" image have caused great pressure on the psychological state of postpartum women.Third,for individual women with Postpartum depression,self-identification is a process of self-development based on interaction with others.Postpartum depression women get care and love in the interaction with their family and friends,also they get information and emotional support in the interaction with others on the Internet.Forth,the recovery process of Postpartum depression is also a process of adaptive self-identity adjustment and self-interaction of the sick women.Through the definition and confirmation of self-identity and the choice of self-construction direction,it is clear who "I am" and "who I want to be".Through the study of postpartum depression and self-identification,we discovered some crucial reality worth thinking about.First,the public often process incorrect perception towards postpartum depression and know little about the measures against this mental illness.Second,the mass media tend to stigmatize postpartum depression and often hold a negative stereotype associated with the image of “mother”.Third,women face tremendous pressure in society and find it difficult to balance among multiple roles.We hope this study can shed some lights on and bring attentions to this important social problem.