Charmaz talks at length about the 4 main sources of loss of self : 1) Life restrictions, 2) Social isolation, 3) discrediting of self and 4) becoming a burden. She notes how none of this occurs in isolation and each reciprocally affects the others. These are mainly brought about through the loss of control, the loss of ideologies (eg independence) and the questioning of self worth.
In one video (titled ‘He had been shocked at the impact of RA on different aspects of his life’ in the impacts of diagnosis videos) the gentleman starts by talking of the impacts it has on his daily life, work life and marital life. I think this reflects the ‘restrictions’ that charmaz explores in her paper. These restrictions may be physical (eg having to take time off and impacting on his work life), set by others (eg his wife, having an impact on marital life) or self imposed (eg limiting expectations of himself in every day life). These restrictions will have an impact on his selfimage and may also lead to self-discreditation and withdrawal (isolation).
He moves on to skirt the subject and talk about what RA is. He is abrupt and to the point. If I were the interviewer, I would’ve been interested in how he thought RA had impacted his marital life. This may reflect another topic that charmaz talked of: discrediting by ‘intimates’ or those closets to you. Could this be the case here?
