Disorientation and the medicalization of struggle

Abstract

In this article, I argue for ways experiences of disorientation can highlight problems of medicalization. On my view, disorientations are multidimensional experiences of serious unease and discomfort, involving levels of bodily, emotional, and cognitive experience, that make it hard to go on. Disorientations do not fit current categories of disorder, and are sometimes experienced as benefiting rather than harming individuals. I build on the work of feminist bioethicists to caution against the medicalization of disorientation and to suggest that experiences of disorientation can indicate how the complexity of a particular emotional experience can resist dichotomies of health and harm.