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Medicated bodies: Mental distress, social media and affect

journal contribution
posted on 2023-07-26, 14:54 authored by Ian Tucker, Lewis Goodings
Social media are increasingly being recruited into care practices in mental health. This article analyses how a major new mental health social media site (www.elefriends.org.uk) is used when trying to manage the impact of psychiatric medication on the body. Drawing on Henri Bergson’s concept of affection, analysis shows that Elefriends is used at particular moments of reconfiguration (e.g. change in dosage and/or medication), periods of self-experimentation (when people tailor their regimen by altering prescriptions or ceasing medication) and when dealing with a present bodily concern (showing how members have a direct, immediate relationship with the site). In addition, the analysis illustrates how users have to structure their communication to try to avoid ‘triggering’ distress in others. The article concludes by pointing to the need to focus on the multiple emerging relationships between bodies and social media in mental health, due to the ways the latter are becoming increasingly prominent technologies through which to experience the body when distressed.

History

Refereed

  • Yes

Volume

20

Issue number

2

Page range

549-563

Publication title

New Media & Society

ISSN

1461-7315

Publisher

SAGE

Language

  • other

Legacy posted date

2020-02-26

Legacy Faculty/School/Department

ARCHIVED Faculty of Science & Technology (until September 2018)

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