title: Healing a vulnerable self: exploring return to work for women with mental health problems.
abstract: Mental health problems (MHPs) such as stress and depression are among the leading causes of work disability. In this article we explore how women with MHPs experience sickness absence and subsequent return to work. We conducted 16 semistructured interviews and employed constructivist grounded theory for the analysis. We found that whereas sickness absence constituted a major threat to positive self-images, the experience had potential as a personal growth experience: Although some women felt handicapped, others became stronger and more self-confident. The core of the experience was not the return to work but a process of healing a vulnerable self--the ability both to refocus attention from symptoms to other life goals and to maintain or reconstruct a positive self-image. Supportive health care and acknowledgment from others facilitated the healing process.
authors.affiliation: National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark. mbn@nrcwe.dk
authors.forename: Maj Britt D
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: Reiner
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rugulies
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hjortkjaer
authors.forename: Ute
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bültmann
authors.forename: Ulla
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Christensen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D003718:Denmark; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D004532:Ego; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008602:Mental Healing; D008875:Middle Aged; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D062707:Return to Work / Q000523:psychology*; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology; D012649:Self Concept; D018582:Sick Leave; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires