Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

European Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing in the 21st Century pp 151–166Cite as

Mental Health Nurses and Responding to Suffering in the Twenty-first Century Occidental World: Accompanying People on Their Search for Meaning

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Principles of Specialty Nursing ((PSN))

Abstract

Much of contemporary health and mental health practice pays little attention to suffering, and when it does, invariably suffering is conflated with pain. Within such views, the health care practitioner ought to be concerned with removing or stopping the suffering as, for many parts of the occidental world at least, suffering is regarded as antagonistic to the pursuit of happiness. However, it has been recognized since ancient times that the experience of suffering can give rise to growth. This view sees suffering as an inevitable aspect of the human condition and experience; as something that might need to be endured, minimized, relieved, explored for meaning and maybe even learned from. The former conceptualization of suffering leaves little, if any, room for the sufferer to be proud of his suffering and to consider it ennobling rather than degrading, and such views are highly congruent with the increased pathologizing of “everyday life” and with that, the inexorable proliferation of pharmacological “treatment.” Accordingly, we assert that there is a clear need for Psychiatric/Mental Health nurses to re-think their views of suffering and consider how they might help the person discover meaning in the experience; how they might accompany the individual on his/her suffering journey. We therefore identify a range of approaches and interventions that Psychiatric/Mental Health nurses can use when attempting to help those experiencing mental health-related suffering.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (2014) Facts and figures: suicide deaths. Available at Http://www.afsp.org/understanding-suicide/facts-and-figures. Accessed 12 Feb 2014

  • Barbui C, Campomori A, D’Avanzo B, Negri E, Garattini S (1999) Antidepressant drug use in Italy since the introduction of SSRIs: National trends, regional differences and impact on suicide rates. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 34(3):152–156

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Berglund M, Westin L, Svanström R, Sundler AJ (2012) Suffering caused by care – Patients’ experiences from hospital settings. Int J Qual Stud 7. doi:10.3402/qhw.v7io.18688

  • Bonney S, Stickley T (2008) Recovery and mental health: a review of the British literature. J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs 15(2):140–153

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Borg M, Kristiansen K (2004) Recovery-orientated professionals: helping relationships in mental health services. J Ment Health 13(5):493–505

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cassell EJ (1991) The nature of suffering and the goals of medicine. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Calhoun LG, Tedeschi RG (2006) Handbook of post-traumatic growth: research and practice. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Chapman RC, Garvin J (1985) Suffering: the contributions of persistent pain. Lancet 353:2233–2237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Charmaz K (1983) Loss of self: a fundamental form of suffering in the chronically ill. Sociol Health Illn 5(2):168–195

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cleese J (2008) Why being funny is no joke. The independent. Available at http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/why-being-funny-is-no-joke-769859.html. Accessed 18 Feb 2014

  • Currie J (2005) The marketization of depression: the prescribing of SSRI antidepressants to women. Available at www.whp-apsf.ca/pdf/SSRIs.pdf. Accessed 30 Mar 2014

  • Cutcliffe JR, Hyrkas K, McKenna HP (2010) Nursing models: application to practice. Quay Books, London

    Google Scholar 

  • DeBellis R, Marcus E, Kutscher AH et al (1986) Suffering: psychological and social aspects in loss grief, grief and care. Haworth Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • DeMichelle KA (2009) Memories of suffering: exploring the life story narratives of twice-widowed elderly women. J Aging Stud 23(2):103–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deegan P (2003). Recovery: the experience and the evidence. Available at http://www.recoverydevon.co.uk/download/2justflower.ppt. Accessed 6 Jan 2014

  • Diefenbeck CA, Klemm PR, Hayes ER (2014) Emergence of Yalom’s therapeutic factors in a peer-led, asynchronous, online support group for family caregivers. Issues Ment Health Nurs 35(1):21–32

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dolan P, Peasgood T, White M (2008) Do we really know what makes us happy? A review of the economic literature on the factors associated with subjective well-being. J Econ Psychol 29(1):94–122

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Egnew TR (2005) The meaning of healing: transcending suffering. Ann Fam Med 3(3):255–262

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Emblen J, Pesut B (2001) Strengthening transcendent meaning: a model for the spiritual nursing care of patients experiencing suffering. J Holist Nurs 19(1):42–56

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Erdner A, Magnusson A, Nyström M, Lützén K (2005) Social and existential alienation experienced by people with long-term mental illness. Scand J Caring Sci 19:373–380

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eriksson K (ed.) (1993). Möten med lidanden. Åbo: Åbo Akademi, Institutionen för vårdvetenskap. Report no. 4

    Google Scholar 

  • Frances A (2013) Saving normal: an insider’s revolt against out-of-control psychiatric diagnosis, DSM-5, Big pharma, and the medicalization of ordinary life. Harper Collins, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankl V (1961) Logotherapy and the challenge of suffering. Rev Existent Psychiatry 1:3–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankl V (1963) Man’s search for meaning: an introduction to logotherapy. Pocket Books, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Fredriksson L, Lindström U (2002) Caring conversations – psychioatric patients’ narratives about suffering. J Adv Nurs 40(4):396–404

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fromm E (1947) Man for himself. Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Fry S (2006) Steven fry: my battle with mental illness. The independent. Available at http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/stephen-fry-my-battle-with-mental-illness-416386.html. Accessed 19 Feb 2014

  • Gabriel Y (1984) A psychoanalytical contribution to the sociology of suffering. Int Rev Psychoanal 11(4):467–480

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg G (2014) The cult of DSM: ending our allegiance to the Great Gazoo. Psychotherapy Networker, March/April, 21–27

    Google Scholar 

  • Gustafsson L-K, Wiklund-Gustin L, Lindström UÅ (2011) The meaning of reconciliation: women1s stories about their experience of reconciliation with suffering from grief. Scand J Caring Sci 25:525–532

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hall DJ (1986) God and human suffering: an exercise in theology of the cross. Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall VP (2001) Bearing witness to suffering in AIDS: constructing meaning from loss. J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care 12(2):44–55

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hall WD, Mant A, Mitchell PB, Rendle VA, Hickie IB, McManus P (2003) Association between antidepressant prescribing and suicide in Australia, 1991–2000: trend analysis. Br Med J 10(326):1008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Healy D (2005) Psychiatric drugs explained, 5th edn. Elsevier, Edinburgh

    Google Scholar 

  • Hummelvoll JK (2010) Møte med mennesket i psykiatrien; implikasjoner for psykiatrisk sykepleie. Tidsskrift for Sygeplejeforskning 1:13–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahn DL, Steeves RH (1986) The experience of suffering: conceptual clarification and theoretical definition. J Adv Nurs 11(6):623–631

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keller H (2014) The quotations page. Available at http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/30186.html. Accessed 21 Feb 2014

  • Kierkegaard S (1983) Fear and trembling. (HV Long & EH Long Trans.) Princeton University Press, New Jersey

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleinman A (1988) The illness narratives: suffering, healing and the human condition. Basic Books, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Kogstad R, Hummelvoll JK, Eriksson B (2009) User experiences of different treatment cultures in mental health care. Ethical Hum Psychol Psychiatry 11(2):97–111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lorem GF (2008) Making sense of stories: the use of patient narratives within mental health care research. Nurs Philos 9:62–71

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McKenna HP (1997) Nursing theories and models. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Maltsberger J (1992). cited in Maris RW, Berman AL, Silverman MM. Comprehensive textbook of suicidology. New York: Guildford Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Mandela N (2014) Brainy quote. Available at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/n/nelsonmand447262.html. Accessed 22 Feb 2014

  • Maris RW (1981) Pathways to suicide: a survey of self-destructive behaviors. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  • Maslow A (1972) The farther reaches of human nature. Viking, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2014). Available at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suffering. Accessed 13th Jan 2014

  • Middleton N, Gunnell D, Whitley E, Dorling D, Frankel S (2001) Secular trends in antidepressant prescribing in the UK, 1975–1998. J Public Health 23(4):262–267

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Miller RB (2004) Facing human suffering: psychology and psychotherapy as moral engagement. APA, Washington DC

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Milligan S. (2014) Mental health forum. Available at http://www.mentalhealthforum.net/forum/thread75495.html. Accessed 20 Feb 2014

  • Mojtabail R, Olfson M (2011) Proportion of antidepressants prescribed without a psychiatric diagnosis is growing. Health Aff 30(8):1434–1442

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore M (2014) Can good come from bad? Do suicide survivors experience growth after their loss? In: Cutcliffe JR, Santos JC, Links P, Zaheer J, Harder HG, Campbell F, McCormick R, Harder K, Bergmans Y, Eynan R (eds) Routledge international handbook of clinical suicide research. Routledge, London, pp 298–307

    Google Scholar 

  • Morse JM, Johnson JL (eds) (1991) The illness experience: dimensions of suffering. Sage, Newbury Park Ca

    Google Scholar 

  • Morse JM, Carter BJ (1996) The essence of enduring and expressions of suffering: the reformulation of self. Sch Inq Nurs Pract 10:43–60

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Morse JM, Whittaker H, Tason M (1996) The caretakers of suffering. In: Chesworth J (ed) Transpersonal healing: essays on the ecology of health. Sage, Newbury Park, pp 91–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Munoz-Arroyo R, Sutton M, Morrison J (2005) Exploring potential explanations for the increase in antidepressant prescribing in Scotland using secondary analysis of routine data. Br J Gen Pract 56(527):423–428

    Google Scholar 

  • Nash J. (2014) Schizophrenia daily blog. Available at http://www.schizophrenia.com/sznews/archives/001617.html. Accessed 20 Feb 2014

  • Nietzsche, F. (1992). Beyond good and evil. In: Basic writings of Nietzsche. (Trans. and Ed. Walter Kaufman.) New York, The Modern Library

    Google Scholar 

  • Olfson M, Marcus SC (2009) National patterns in antidepressant medication treatment. Arch Gen Psychiatry 66(8):848–856

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Online Dictionary (2014). Available at http://www.thefreedictionary.com/suffering. Accessed 20 Jan 2014

  • O’Mahony N (2014) Executive report for the Oireachtas subcomittee for health: main concerns to investigate regarding the influence of the pharmaceutical industry in the island of Ireland. Holistic action group/MINDFREEDOM Ireland. Available at http://psychrights.org/Countries/UK/ExecReport4HealthComm.pdf. Accessed 25 Mar 2014

  • Oreopoulos DG (2005) Is there meaning in suffering? Hum Med, 5, 2. Available at http://www.humanehealthcare.com/Article.asp?art_id=830. Accessed 18 Feb 2014

  • Priya KR (2012) Social constructionist approach to suffering and healing: Juxtaposing Cassell, Gergen and Kleinman. Psychol Stud 57(2):211–223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Redfield-Jamison K (1996) An unquiet mind: a memoir of moods and madness. Vintage Books, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Roy DJ (1998) The relief of pain and suffering: ethical principles and imperatives. J Pallaitive Care 14(2):3–5

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts M (2008) Facilitating recovery by making sense of suffering: a Nietzschean perspective. J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs 15:743–748

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rusner M, Carlsson G, Brunt D, Nyström M (2010) A dependence that empowers – the meaning of the conditions that enable a good life with bipolar disorder. Int J Qual Stud Health Well-Being 5:4653

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Råholm M-B (2008) Uncovering the ethics of suffering using a narrative approach. Nurs Ethics 15(1):62–72

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scarry E (1985) The body in pain. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Storr A (2005) Black dog, Kafka’s mice, and other phenomena of the human mind. Ballantine Books, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Sykes Wylie M (2014) The book we love to hate: Why DSM-5 makes nobody happy Psychotherapy Networker, March/April, 28–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Szasz T (2007) The medicalization of everyday life: selected essays. Syracuse University Press, Syracuse

    Google Scholar 

  • Tedeschi RG, Calhoun LG (1995) Trauma and transformation: growing in the aftermath of suffering. Sage, Thousand Oaks

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Tedeschi RG, Calhoun LG (2004) Posttraumatic growth: conceptual foundations and empirical evidence. Psychol Inq 15(1):1–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tournier P (2014) Brainy quotes. Available at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/paultourni112268.html. Accessed 20 Feb 2014

  • Van Praag H (2005) Why haven’t antidepressants reduced suicide rates? In: Hawton K (ed) Prevention and treatment of suicidal behavior: from science to practice. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 239–260

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Weiskopf-Joelson E (1980) The place of logotherapy in the world today. Int Forum Logother 1(3):3–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Whittaker R (2002) Mad in America: bad science, bad medicine, and the enduring mistreatment of the mentally ill. Perseus Publishing, Philadelphia

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong PT (1998) Meaning-centred counselling. In: Wong PT (ed.) The quest for human meaning: a handbook of theory, research and application. pp. 72–110

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organisation (2001) The World health report: 2001: mental health: new understanding, new hope. World Health Organization, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • Yallom I (2005) The theory and practice of group psychotherapy, 5th edn. Basic books, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Zborowski M (1969) People in pain. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cutcliffe Consulting, Kingston, Canada

    John R. Cutcliffe

  2. School of Nursing, Coimbra, Portugal

    John R. Cutcliffe

  3. Inland Norway University of Applied Science, Faculty of Public Health, Hedmark University College, Elverum, Norway

    Jan Kare Hummelvol, Arild Granerud & Bengt Erikson

Authors
  1. John R. Cutcliffe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jan Kare Hummelvol
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Arild Granerud
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Bengt Erikson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John R. Cutcliffe .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Coimbra, Nursing School of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    José Carlos Santos

  2. Cutcliffe Consulting, Kingston, Canada

    John R. Cutcliffe

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Cutcliffe, J.R., Hummelvol, J.K., Granerud, A., Erikson, B. (2018). Mental Health Nurses and Responding to Suffering in the Twenty-first Century Occidental World: Accompanying People on Their Search for Meaning. In: Santos, J., Cutcliffe, J. (eds) European Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing in the 21st Century. Principles of Specialty Nursing. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31772-4_12

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31772-4_12

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31771-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31772-4

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation