Dit wetenschappelijk-verpleegkundig artikel (Engels) gaat over het belang van het maken en hebben van een verhaal over jezelf en je relatie met de wereld, en de rol die visualisatie daarin kan spelen. Het draagt bij tot verdere reflectie op wat belangrijk is in het leven en een gedeeld narratief.
The article is about how people use narratives to make meaning from their experiences when tackling the impact on their lives and the consequences of mental health problems. It also goes into recovery and how recovery involves the development of new meaning and purpose in one’s life. The article describes how ‘man’ is involved in a constant interaction with his environment, adapting himself as well as possible to that environment in order to upkeep his own biological system. Using his cognitive capacities a person can make an internal representation of reality that also encompasses how one relates to reality. It is argued that there is a need for a story about oneself and one’s relationship with the world that represents one’s intentions, goals and values in a credible way. The article describes how nurses can respond to service users’ narrative. We will argue that visualization of someone’s narrative contributes to a shared narrative and will stimulate further reflection on the things that are important in life.
