TITLE:
Experiences of Living with Stress-Related Exhaustion Disorder and Participating in a Tailor-Made AntiStress Program in Primary Care
AUTHORS:
Tina Arvidsdotter, Sven Kylén, Siv Bäck-Pettersson
KEYWORDS:
AntiStress, Integrative Rehabilitation, Phenomenological Hermeneutic Method, Swedish Primary Care, Stress-Related Exhaustion Disorder (SRED)
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.10 No.11,
August
22,
2019
ABSTRACT: Approximately one million Swedes of working age suffer from stress-related exhaustion disorder (SRED). However, with the current primary care, it is difficult to manage and treat SRED due to the support needs of patients with SRED. To offer more rehabilitation options, a tailor-made 10-week AntiStress program was developed, based on Arvidsdotters thesis, in which complementary medicine was integrated with traditional medicine for persons with SRED. The purpose of the study was to evaluate experiences of participation in traditional versus integrative rehabilitation among persons with SRED during the sick leave process. The study employed a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach. In-depth interviews were conducted individually (n = 12) and in two focus groups (n = 8; n = 10). All interviews were analyzed using a phenomenological-hermeneutic method for text interpretation inspired by Ricoeur. The overall interpretation of the interview text generated five themes: two themes highlighting the internal and external barriers to healing and three themes describing the importance of participation in the AntiStress program through the provision of integrative therapy to process existential problems, a forum for personal growth, and holistic person-centered rehabilitation, during the sick leave process. The participants described that after years of various antistress activities, they finally received the effective support they sought. Through the AntiStress program, the participants experienced increased self-awareness, self-compassion, self-efficacy and harmony in life. The evaluation shows that the AntiStress program gave the participants valuable and effective tools for managing stress in everyday life. To prevent long-term sick leave, this kind of AntiStress program might serve as a model for developing a standardized treatment option to meet the needs of individuals with different stages of SRED.