Embodied stories of mental illness treatment of a loved one. Coercion unveiled with body mapping

This article draws on a body mapping workshop set up to explore the lived experiences of people who are dealing with the mental disorder of a close family member. Participants engaged in multimodal and sensory storytelling: they were asked to trace a life-size body outline and decorate it with images and pictures, fabrics, and drawings that symbolise their lived experiences about treatment and coercion. The body mapping storytelling disclosed evocative images revealing the emotional effects of their experiences, powerfully connecting body and mind, as well as individual and collective dimensions. A thematic analysis cross-referencing visual, narrative and observation data demonstrates that caring relations are underpinned by complex moralities, forms of obligation, contrasting feelings as well as the social judgement and isolation that circulate around suffering, care and coercion. The research process opens thus a rare window into nuanced and multiple aspects of mental illness care and yields unique insights into participants’ lived experiences, the meanings thereof, and how these meanings are impacted by affective and social contexts