The experience of vertigo : a mutualist analysis
The experience of vertigo : a mutualist analysis
The experience of vertigo is one of fundamental uncertainty and helplessness: perceptual disorientation and disruption of physical capabilities; diagnostic confusion and only tentatively recommended treatments; anxious doubt concerning the causes, significance and likely future occurrence of symptoms, together with an inability to carry out important social and occupational activities and fulfil normal, valued roles. The traditional medical approach, which is concerned almost exclusively with the patho-physiological features of vertigo, offers only a limited understanding of the processes which contribute to the experience, and has achieved only partial and variable success in identifying means by which the negative consequences of vertigo might be avoided. This thesis presents a new perspective on the problem: namely, a mutualist analysis of the way in which neurophysiological functioning, sensorimotor capabilities, beliefs, behaviour, and environment combine to create, or ameliorate, handicap and distress. The mutualist approach focusses on the reciprocal interactions between every aspect of the individual and their environment. The immediate perceptual disorientation which lies at the heart of the experience of vertigo is shown to be affected by the activities, experience and skills of the individual, and their suitability to the environments encountered. Examination of the factors influencing long-term handicap also reveals a complex pattern of interlocking elements. For example, fear of the possible physical and social implications of vertigo both aggravates autonomic symptoms and motivates avoidance of a wide range of activities and environments. The anxiety and depression which can result from the consequent loss of valued roles and occupations may, in turn, fuel anxiety about vertigo and encourage passivity, creating an escalating cycle of handicap. An appreciation of how people shape the experience of vertigo, through their purposeful efforts to adapt to changed circumstances, opens up new possibilities for therapies which inform and support their attempts to explore and master their situation.
University of Southampton
Yardley, Lucy
21d11307-c083-479c-9c17-43f22ba0f771
1992
Yardley, Lucy
21d11307-c083-479c-9c17-43f22ba0f771
Yardley, Lucy
(1992)
The experience of vertigo : a mutualist analysis.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
The experience of vertigo is one of fundamental uncertainty and helplessness: perceptual disorientation and disruption of physical capabilities; diagnostic confusion and only tentatively recommended treatments; anxious doubt concerning the causes, significance and likely future occurrence of symptoms, together with an inability to carry out important social and occupational activities and fulfil normal, valued roles. The traditional medical approach, which is concerned almost exclusively with the patho-physiological features of vertigo, offers only a limited understanding of the processes which contribute to the experience, and has achieved only partial and variable success in identifying means by which the negative consequences of vertigo might be avoided. This thesis presents a new perspective on the problem: namely, a mutualist analysis of the way in which neurophysiological functioning, sensorimotor capabilities, beliefs, behaviour, and environment combine to create, or ameliorate, handicap and distress. The mutualist approach focusses on the reciprocal interactions between every aspect of the individual and their environment. The immediate perceptual disorientation which lies at the heart of the experience of vertigo is shown to be affected by the activities, experience and skills of the individual, and their suitability to the environments encountered. Examination of the factors influencing long-term handicap also reveals a complex pattern of interlocking elements. For example, fear of the possible physical and social implications of vertigo both aggravates autonomic symptoms and motivates avoidance of a wide range of activities and environments. The anxiety and depression which can result from the consequent loss of valued roles and occupations may, in turn, fuel anxiety about vertigo and encourage passivity, creating an escalating cycle of handicap. An appreciation of how people shape the experience of vertigo, through their purposeful efforts to adapt to changed circumstances, opens up new possibilities for therapies which inform and support their attempts to explore and master their situation.
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Published date: 1992
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Local EPrints ID: 461690
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/461690
PURE UUID: 49b7dba8-488b-4be5-954e-7e7408599a90
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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 18:52
Last modified: 04 Jul 2022 18:52
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Author:
Lucy Yardley
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