Reconciling voices

There is a lack of nursing research in relation to how people with mental health problems make sense of their experiences of mental distress. Furthermore, few nursing related studies have conveyed service user's understandings and meanings for their experiences of mental 'disorder'. Narrative psychology claims that people make sense of the world and their lives by using narrative structures to organize diverse experiences. By sharing these stories with others, interpretations are negotiated and personal and cultural meanings are formed. This study used a tried and tested approach to narrative analysis to analyse the transcribed narrative of one man, Gary, who was experiencing mental health problems. The study explores Gary's process of meaning making as it appears in his narrative; the frameworks and metaphors that he uses to help him make sense of his experiences. The tensions between Gary's internal voices and beliefs and the external voices of surrounding culture and psychiatry are highlighted. Emphasis is placed on the importance of attending and responding to personal meanings embedded in narratives as a means of developing sensitive nursing care and enriching nursing research.