Metaphors in the talk of "depressed" women in psychotherapy.

AbstractVariations in how we describe, explain, and treat and in who is labeled depressed attest to significance of social-historical contexts in which our under standings and practices are based. A prevalent, modern-day (Western) conception of is as a gendered (primarily female), devalued condition characterized by a discourse of deficient self. In an effort to learn more about particular forms of this discourse, metaphors used by 10 depressed women to talk to their psychotherapists about their selves in relation to their perceived difficulties were studied. Two broad cultural imperatives were constructed from these metaphors: (1) Don't be too mothering and (2) Don't be too child-like. At core of these two imperatives were messages about importance of autonomy, for both oneself and others. This valuing of autonomy can be clearly located at heart of 20[Symbol Not Transcribed]th-century Western ideals.Stanley Jackson's (1986) account of history of and from Hippocratic to modern times traces what he described as the variations in a remarkable consistency (p. 27). According to Jackson (1986), this pattern of change within constancy is evident in clinical description of what has been labeled melancholia or, more recently, depression, in explanatory theories or schemes that have been proposed, and in treatment practices that have been employed. Although those features that Jackson described as having remained constant (e.g., felt sense of sadness, role of biological influences, and focus on restoring equilibrium or balance) might tell us something about what we consider to be core of our concepts of melancholia and depression, variations in our descriptions, theories, and practices tell us much more about social and historical contexts in which these concepts have been embedded. One cannot fail to be intrigued by differences in social-historical contexts that have given rise to such diverse explanatory theories as an excess of black bile, a reduction or lowering of nervous energy, or disturbances in psychological development, and to such diverse interventions as evacuative procedures, dietary remedies, or moral and psychological therapies.One variation not emphasized by Jackson is gendered nature of and of depression. As noted by several scholars (e.g., Gilman, 1988; Radden, 1987; Schiesari, 1992), less severe forms of in late medieval and Renaissance periods were thought to be afflictions of passive, sensitive, intellectually and morally superior male. Artists, noblemen, and intellectuals were considered especially at risk because of their heightened sensibilities. During this time, was seen as a passive illness, as associated with attributes, and source of malady was frequently labeled as love sickness (Gilman, 1988). However, when origin of love sickness shifted over time from mind (the highest sense) to genitalia (which were controlled by reflexes), social status of love sickness also shifted from nobleman to woman, from what Gilman (1988) described as the top of social ladder to [the] bottom (p. 100). Schiesari (1992) extended this analysis of evolution and subsequent demise of and corresponding rise of modern-day disorder of by differentiating the symbolically accredited category of and devalued status of depression (p. 17). She proposed that when this condition was considered desirable it was associated with creativity, privilege, and men; when it was considered undesirable, it was stereotyped as feminine and common. According to Schiesari (1992), the melancholic of past was a 'great man'; stereotypical depressive of today is a woman (p. 95).Without wanting to deny that, as suggested by Jackson (1986), there may be some very general conceptual continuities to notions of melancholia, love sickness, and depression, focus in this paper is on how gendered, devalued condition we now call is constituted in lives of those most likely to be labeled as experiencing this condition. …