The experiential approach to medical anthropology focuses on the illness narrative from the patient or person with the illness. Though illness narrative anthropologist can learn a substantial amount of information relating to the illness though the person’s own experience with the illness. Illness narratives display the choices that a person has made and how that has had an effect on their illness along with the course of treatment they take and challenges they face along the way. Illness narratives are important because they can provide awareness to outside populations that don’t know anything about that illness as well as creating a tie and bond to others who share the same illness. Anthropologist mainly study illness narratives to better understand the relationship between individual suffering and the social world. (lecture 4.2)
The women in this video that is living with obesity faces many challenges. Her story is more along the lines of a chaos narrative. She suffers socially, frequently being frustrated but engages in support with others in the same condition. [lecture 4.2] She cannot work any longer or do much on her own. Her husband makes her food, cleans, grocery shops, and even bathes her because she cannot do it herself. Additionally, she says that her diet really hasn’t changed since she was younger. She used to work and then developed lymphedema which has no cure. However, it can be cured with therapy. The therapy for lymphedema is basically just a gentle massage. She later decides that she needs to have weightloss surgery because she states that her two options are either getting gastric bypass surgery or dying at a young age. It’s a scary yet important step for her because there is that possibility of death when going under for surgery. However, she decides it’s a better risk than not having the surgery and only having a chance of six years left to live in her condition. She does engage in an online support group for obese people who are going to have surgery or who have. She received a package from one of the girls in her group and was touched by it because she doesn’t have any other friends. This can definitely take a toll and be a factor to her obesity. Amy faces comments being made by people when she goes out in public which makes her even more upset and not wanting to be in public because of the embarrassment. All of these parts to her story are important because she knows she has to change her lifestyle and has a want to do that and is finally doing it. Three weeks after surgery Amy has lost 45 pounds beginning the change to her new life.
I chose to analyze and talk about the illness narrative I watched on true life, “I’m obese”. The boy in this narrative starts out explaining that he has struggled with his obesity for a long time. His illness narrative is a quest. He’s finally a senior at his high school and has actually changed schools because of the way he was being treated at his previous high school. Continuously, he was being teased and says he really enjoys his new school. At his new school he does not fit in the normal desk chairs and it is really uncomfortable for him to do work at so the school provides him with a chair with no sides to sit at a table comfortably. Kenneth sometimes acts like he actually wants to better himself and knows that he has a problem but he has an addiction to food. When his mom doesn’t let him eat certain things, he states that if she doesn’t let him have it then he will end up having it somewhere else like at a friend’s house. Kenneth explains that he won’t be eating the way he is right now once he gets his surgery because the surgery won’t allow him. In this way, I think that he engages in a quest narrative because he sees the surgery as a journey and an opportunity to improve himself.[lecture 4.2] Also, Corey goes to the doctor’s to have test run to see if he qualifies for having gastric bypass surgery. The doctors tell him that he has sleep apnea and that he is at great risk for diabetes; therefore, it is a good idea for him to go ahead with the surgery. For awhile, Corey is playing the waiting game to get approved by his insurance for the surgery, which is another challenge he has to face.
References:
Tazin, Karim. "lecture 4.2 Illness Narratives". June 2015. Accessed June 18, 2015.
Gastric Bypass Surgery.2011. Gastric Bypass Surgery What You Can Expect. Web. 18 June, 2015.
2011. Faqs.org. Obesity. Web. 18 June, 2015.
References:
Tazin, Karim. "lecture 4.2 Illness Narratives". June 2015. Accessed June 18, 2015.
Gastric Bypass Surgery.2011. Gastric Bypass Surgery What You Can Expect. Web. 18 June, 2015.
2011. Faqs.org. Obesity. Web. 18 June, 2015.