Kim Silow Kallenberg

One Concept – One Voice?

Introduction

One concept – one voice?. Explore exhaustion disorder in female academics through lived experiences and autoethnography. This article uses poetic inquiry to combine voices on stress-related illness.

Abstract

Exhaustion disorder is one of the most common stress-related illnesses of our time, particularly among highly educated women in professions such as academia. This article aims to explore the lived experiences of stress-related ill health, as expressed through the stories of female academics who have experienced exhaustion. It is based on empirical research in the form of interviews with female academics working as university teachers and researchers in Sweden who have experienced stress-related health issues and have been diagnosed with, or self-identify as having, exhaustion disorder. Furthermore, it draws on autoethnographic materials – the author’s own experience of falling ill and taking sick leave due to exhaustion disorder. The article uses creative writing tools, such as “poetic inquiry”, “co-created narratives” and writing as a “method of inquiry”, to gain a better understanding of stress and exhaustion as lived experiences, combining the voices of the interviewees and the author into one multifaceted and complex voice.

Full Text

Comments

You need to be logged in to post a comment.