Chapter 3 - Vulnerability, Stress, and Burden in Mental Illness

Summary

In Chapter 3, we present the traditional framework for understanding mental illness: diathesis-stress theories. We outline diathesis-stress models for each of the four disorders our participants suffer from, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and borderline personality disorder. We show how these theories of etiology inform treatment targeting underlying causes. We argue that this understanding will benefit from our approach: a first-person narrative identity perspective of consequences of mental illness and experiences bringing well-being. Finally, we review studies of the consequences of mental illness, including lower educational and vocational achievement, decreased role functioning, and stigmatization, and explain that the first part of our life story analyses focuses on illuminating how psychosocial costs are subjectively experienced and interpreted as a part of narrative identity.