Display options
Cite
Fixsen AM. "I'm Not Waving, I'm Drowning": An Autoethnographical Exploration of Biographical Disruption and Reconstruction During Recovery From Prescribed Benzodiazepine Use. Qual Health Res. 2015;26(4):466-81doi: 10.1177/1049732315576496.
Fixsen, A. M. (2016). "I'm Not Waving, I'm Drowning": An Autoethnographical Exploration of Biographical Disruption and Reconstruction During Recovery From Prescribed Benzodiazepine Use. Qualitative health research, 26(4), 466-81. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732315576496
Fixsen, Alison M. ""I'm Not Waving, I'm Drowning": An Autoethnographical Exploration of Biographical Disruption and Reconstruction During Recovery From Prescribed Benzodiazepine Use." Qualitative health research vol. 26,4 (2016): 466-81. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732315576496
Fixsen AM. "I'm Not Waving, I'm Drowning": An Autoethnographical Exploration of Biographical Disruption and Reconstruction During Recovery From Prescribed Benzodiazepine Use. Qual Health Res. 2016 Mar;26(4):466-81. doi: 10.1177/1049732315576496. Epub 2015 Mar 23. PMID: 25800715.
Copy Download .nbib Format: NLM
Share it on

Qual Health Res. 2016 Mar;26(4):466-81. doi: 10.1177/1049732315576496. Epub 2015 Mar 23.

"I'm Not Waving, I'm Drowning": An Autoethnographical Exploration of Biographical Disruption and Reconstruction During Recovery From Prescribed Benzodiazepine Use.

Qualitative health research

Alison M Fixsen

Affiliations

  1. University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom [email protected].

PMID: 25800715 DOI: 10.1177/1049732315576496

Abstract

Benzodiazepines are group of drugs used mainly as sedatives, hypnotics, muscle relaxants, and anti-epileptics. Tapering off benzodiazepines is, for some users, a painful, traumatic, and protracted process. In this article, I use an autoethnographic approach, adopting the metaphor of water, to examine heuristically my experience of iatrogenic illness and recovery. I draw on personal journals and blog entries and former users' narratives to consider the particular form of biographical disruption associated with benzodiazepines and the processes involved in identity reconstruction. I emphasize the role of the online community in providing benzodiazepine users such as myself with a co-cultural community through which to share a voice and make sense of our experiences. I explain how the success stories of former users provided me with the hope that I, the "medical victim," could become the "victor" and in the process construct a new life and fresh identity.

© The Author(s) 2015.

Keywords: Autoethnography; diaries / journals; healing; recovery; self-help; social identity; stories / storytelling

Publication Types