Losing the plot : a hermeneutic phenomenological study of the natue and meaning of psychological distress amongst third level students in Ireland

Abstract

Psychological distress, or mental health problems, constitute the leading form of disability worldwide (World Health Organisation, 2014). While much is known about the extent, or breadth, of the issue, less is known about what it is actually like to experience psychological distress. This is particulary true of the key life stage of late adolence/early adulthood - a time when the majority of Irish young people are engaged in higher education (Department of Education and Skills, 2011). Adopting a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, this study sought to (a) understand the nature of the lived experience of third level students with mental health problems, and (b) understand how these students made sense of, or ascribed meaning to, their experiences. In total, 27 third level students shared their lived experiences as part of this study. Conversational interviews, carried out with a covenience sample of students from third level institutions throughout Ireland, generated 36 hours of audio, or 997 pages of transcript. The data were analysed through a combination of the principles of the hermeneutic circle and Braun and Clarke's (2006) method of thematic analysis. The students' individual accounts, and the total of 36 thematic features that dominated these narrative landscapes, revealed much about the nature of the lived experience of the students in this study. Moreover, early on in the data analysis process, a pattern emerged in how the students made sense of their experiences. Comprising of four stages, this narrative structure, or 'plot' was drawn on by students in ordering their experiences into meaningful wholes. This study suggests that understanding, not only what it is actually like to experience psychological distress, but how we go about making sense of these experiences, is essential if we are to move on, or 'recover', from mental health problems. It also suggests that we, as a society, need to think about and understand mental health in a different way. Overall, this study proposes that understanding (both with a small 'u' and a capital 'U') must be placed at the heart of how we respond to mental health problems.