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Stress and the heart: a co-construction of new lifestyles after coronary heart disease (CHD): research


E.C. McKibbin
H.G. Pretorius

Abstract

"There are plenty of alternatives in any situation... When you attend a session of group therapy, what on earth are you going to see? That (plenty of alternatives) is what you are there for" (Freedman & Combs, 1996: 11). Using a narrative perspective, the stress construct in the lives of people with coronary heart disease is reconsidered. This permits a shift in focus in the stories of the lives of South African National Defence Force officers from the unhelpful construct of stress to one on their abilities to cope with modern-day complexity and uncertainty, including heart disease. Such reconstructions accommodate both scientific and lay theories of heart disease, and enable people to live more positively.



Die konstruk van stres in die lewe van mense met koronêre hartsiekte word deur middel van 'n narratiewe benadering heroorweeg. Dit laat 'n fokus-verandering, in die lewensstories van offisiere van die Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Weermag, toe. Hierdie skuif vind plaas vanaf die nie helpvolle konstruk van stres na hulle vermoëns om met hedendaagse kompleksiteite en onsekerheid, wat hartsiekte insluit, te leef. Sulke herkonstruksies akkommodeer beide wetenskaplike en leke teorieë van hartsiekte, en bemagtig mense om meer positief te leef.


(Health SA Gesondheid: interdisciplinary research journal: 2002 7(1): 21-32)

Journal Identifiers


eISSN: 2071-9736
print ISSN: 1025-9848