The experiential approach to studying type 2 diabetes
The experiential approach to studying type 2 diabetes involves finding out about all the ways a diabetic patient thinks and feels about their illness. The primary things that are examined with this approach are the illness narrative, or story, of the patient, their experience of living with the illness, and the ways that people make sense of their illness. This page focuses primarily on the illness narrative. The reasons for this are that the narrative empowers the person with the illness, allows them to make sense of their suffering, and helps them adjust to living with the illness. For the listener, it encourages them to share stories about their own experiences with illness and helps them feel less isolated if they have the same illness. For diabetics, the narrative offers a way to connect with other people who are suffering in the same way and also have a voice in the improvement of their personal health.
There are also three types of narratives that a patient can have. The first is a restitution narrative, which is when illnesses are seen as short-term and the goal of the patient is to restore their health. The second is a chaos narrative, which is usually used when an illness is long-term or degenerative. The third is a quest narrative, which is used when the patient sees them self as being on a journey that will ultimately improve their overall well-being.
There are also three types of narratives that a patient can have. The first is a restitution narrative, which is when illnesses are seen as short-term and the goal of the patient is to restore their health. The second is a chaos narrative, which is usually used when an illness is long-term or degenerative. The third is a quest narrative, which is used when the patient sees them self as being on a journey that will ultimately improve their overall well-being.
An illness narrative from a type 2 diabetic
The following is a chaos illness narrative from a real-life type 2 diabetic, my father. My father was diagnosed as a diabetic 8 years ago. Unfortunately the disease has progressed, as you will read. The story is the result of an interview I conducted with him for the purpose of this website.
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Al was once a strong, slender UPS truck driver. After he worked 8-10 hours, he would eat dinner at home, and then head out to coach sports for his kids as they were growing up. This is how things were for many years. In the back of his mind, Al was aware that diabetes could be in his future. His parents both died of complications from diabetes. His oldest sister was starting to experience the same thing and his brother lost a leg because of it. However, Al was always fairly fit and tried to keep himself moving during the day. Unfortunately, a few years short of retirement, his doctor diagnosed him with type 2 diabetes.
The diagnosis came as a shock. Even though he knew that he was likely to get it one day and everyone else in his family had it, he did not think about what it would be like to be diagnosed. His parents instilled in him a love of Mexican food to celebrate their culture and always made him finish his meals no matter what. Growing up poor made him value that advice and carry it with him later in life. After he was diagnosed, however, Al immediately changed his eating habits and began to exercise regularly. Shortly after the diagnosis, Al's exercise plans were derailed. While unloading a truck at work, Al fell off of a loading dock and injured his back. In fact, the injury was so severe that he was forced into early retirement and would have trouble exercising for the rest of his life.
The lack of exercise altogether coupled with added financial stress caused Al to gain some weight. His eating habits began to slip and although he tried to remain active during the day, he would often have to rest due to back spasms. The loss of structured exercise and proper diet accelerated the diabetic effect on his body and his doctor eventually had to start prescribing insulin injections. Al takes these once a day and records his sugar levels throughout the day in a journal.
Al knows that his diabetes was the result of both his choices and events that were out of his control. The traditional eating habits passed down from his parents as well as a drastic change in physical activity are the most major causes. At this point in his life he believes that diabetes is an annoying friend that he has to hang around with all day. Logging his sugar and taking his insulin has become second nature to him. He knows that diabetes will be with him for the rest of his life, but does his best to live with it. He exercises as best he can and encourages his children to continue to get outside and eat right. He hopes that his children can be the ones to break the family free from diabetes.
The diagnosis came as a shock. Even though he knew that he was likely to get it one day and everyone else in his family had it, he did not think about what it would be like to be diagnosed. His parents instilled in him a love of Mexican food to celebrate their culture and always made him finish his meals no matter what. Growing up poor made him value that advice and carry it with him later in life. After he was diagnosed, however, Al immediately changed his eating habits and began to exercise regularly. Shortly after the diagnosis, Al's exercise plans were derailed. While unloading a truck at work, Al fell off of a loading dock and injured his back. In fact, the injury was so severe that he was forced into early retirement and would have trouble exercising for the rest of his life.
The lack of exercise altogether coupled with added financial stress caused Al to gain some weight. His eating habits began to slip and although he tried to remain active during the day, he would often have to rest due to back spasms. The loss of structured exercise and proper diet accelerated the diabetic effect on his body and his doctor eventually had to start prescribing insulin injections. Al takes these once a day and records his sugar levels throughout the day in a journal.
Al knows that his diabetes was the result of both his choices and events that were out of his control. The traditional eating habits passed down from his parents as well as a drastic change in physical activity are the most major causes. At this point in his life he believes that diabetes is an annoying friend that he has to hang around with all day. Logging his sugar and taking his insulin has become second nature to him. He knows that diabetes will be with him for the rest of his life, but does his best to live with it. He exercises as best he can and encourages his children to continue to get outside and eat right. He hopes that his children can be the ones to break the family free from diabetes.
* Doble LOL. "Feb How Annoy People New Friends Funny." Accessed August 6, 2014. http://www.doblelol.com/feb-how-annoy-people-new-friends-funny.htm.
** Empathic Perspectives. "Empathic Perspectives." Accessed August 6, 2014. http://empathicperspectives.wordpress.com/2010/02/11/symbols-empathy/.
** Empathic Perspectives. "Empathic Perspectives." Accessed August 6, 2014. http://empathicperspectives.wordpress.com/2010/02/11/symbols-empathy/.