Abstract
Purpose: This study was conducted to explore the meanings of Korean patients’ experiences of being restrained in psychiatric wards. Methods: Data were collected through in-depth individual interviews (N=6) and analyzed based on Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology. Results: Four bodily themes of being restrained were evident: wounded body after being shocked, dented body with scarred dignity, powerless body, and reflexive body dealing with the chaotic mind. Meaning dimensions such as time, space, language, emotions, and perception were also applied and explained by the bodily themes. Conclusion: Psychiatric patients’ bodies, under physical restraint, were not silent and simply belonging to the situation, rather were embodied as a part of their existential worlds. Based on the findings of this study, nurses can better hear and understand the bodily voices of being restrained when caring for patients in mental health settings.
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