Struggling to recover or recovering the struggle: a critical examination of recovery narratives as discourses-in-practice for people suffering from postpartum depression

ABSTRACT

Postpartum depression is a prevalent condition, and preliminary data suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic further increased its incidence. Building on scholarship that has shown the value of exploring patients’ narratives for diagnosis and treatment, this study examines narratives of recovery in an online support forum, using theories of narrative identity. An online forum with 64 participants suffering from postpartum depression was analyzed according to grounded theory. A thematic analysis uncovered two dominant narratives: the full recovery or inevitable progress narrative, and the cyclical recovery or struggle as norm narrative. This study illustrates the complicated interaction between medical institutions, recovery narratives, and identity.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ Participants are identified with a random number created by the forum hosts to anonymize the data.: