Journal article
Exasperations as blessings: Meaning-making and the caregiving experience.
Journal of Aging and Identity, Vol.7(2), pp.113-132
06/2002
DOI: 10.1023/A:1015439218276
Abstract
This study examines the process of how caregivers can shape the frustrations and exasperations of caring for a family member with Alzheimer's disease into blessings. Heidegger's hermeneutic phenomenological perspective is used to interpret a caregiver's narrative, in which she describes caring for her husband with Alzheimer's disease. The interpretive analysis focuses specifically on how the caregiver finds meaning in the caregiving process. The analysis reveals that the caregiver constructs meaning by emphasizing particular aspects of her experiences, including cherished memories, creating a happy life by living life intensely, and counting her blessings. While some caregivers naturally find such meaning, this study suggests that reading the narratives of others as well as writing about one's own thoughts and feelings can facilitate this meaning-making process. Structured written emotional expression, in particular, fosters meaning-making, diminishes psychological distress, improves immune function, and promotes health and well-being.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Exasperations as blessings: Meaning-making and the caregiving experience.
- Creators
- Howard K Butcher - University of IowaKathleen C. Buckwalter - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of Aging and Identity, Vol.7(2), pp.113-132
- DOI
- 10.1023/A:1015439218276
- ISSN
- 1087-3732
- eISSN
- 1573-3491
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 06/2002
- Academic Unit
- Nursing
- Record Identifier
- 9983557107702771
Metrics
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