“As if There is a Stranger in my House Now:” Psychological Ambiguous Loss Experienced by Spousal Caregivers of Patients of Anxiety Disorders

DOI

10.2991/iciap-18.2019.32How to use a DOI?

Keywords

psychological ambiguous loss, anxiety disorders, spousal caregivers, anxiety disorders sufferers, phenomenology

Abstract

Psychological ambiguous loss (PAL) affects varied populations including the spousal caregivers of people who suffer from chronic mental disorders. Anxiety disorders (AD) represent a common and chronic mental disorder that exerts significant impact on patients as well as their spousal caregivers. To date, only few studies have focused on PAL experienced by spousal caregivers of patients of anxiety disorders (SCPAD). This study is needed to obtain additional knowledge that will help experts gain a better understanding of the PAL experienced by SCPAD. As a consequence, public awareness can be raised and better support can be provided through more effective PAL-related psychoeducation and interventions. The current study conducted an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to investigate the existence of PAL in five SCPAD in Jakarta and its environs, and to ascertain their lived experiences of this particular phenomenon. Eight overarching themes of SCPAD experiences emerged as a result of this investigation: a lack of understanding of AD-related mental and behavioral changes, negative opinions and feelings toward their partners; the experience of loss; distress; acceptance; inadequate support from others; belief in God’s sovereignty; and hope. The value addition, limitations, recommendations, and implications of this study are also discussed in the concluding section of the paper.

Copyright

© 2019, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Liebe M. E. P. P. Poli
AU  - Sri Redatin Retno Pudjiati
AU  - Efriyani Djuwita
PY  - 2019/08
DA  - 2019/08
TI  - “As if There is a Stranger in my House Now:” Psychological Ambiguous Loss Experienced by Spousal Caregivers of Patients of Anxiety Disorders
BT  - Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Intervention and Applied Psychology (ICIAP 2018)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 374
EP  - 390
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/iciap-18.2019.32
DO  - 10.2991/iciap-18.2019.32
ID  - Poli2019/08
ER  -