Häpeä suomalaisten mielisairaalamuistoissa

Authors

• Taija Karoliina Maanmieli Jyväskylän yliopisto

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30666/elore.79540

Abstract

Shame is the inexorable companion of mental illness and psychiatric care. Hospitalisation is a particularly shameful experience for many and difficult to talk about. This article explores these feelings of shame in the light of memories of psychiatric hospitals written by patients, their relatives and hospital staff. I analyze the personal experiences of shame by studying the narrative construction of shame in the memories. I evaluate the factors that may have eased the shame associated with mental hospital experiences. The nature of those experiences varies for different groups of people – in the case of patients there is a built-in stigma.The article is based on the Finnish Literary Society’s (SKS) Muistoja ja kokemuksia mielisairaaloista [Mental hospital memories] material.