Embodiment in Patients with Bipolar Disorder: A Dynamic Model

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is usually studied under the static description and biological etiology, and hence the subjective experience of patients is rarely investigated. This study aimed to investigate the dynamic system of patients with BD through their lived experience in general and their embodiment in specific. Methods: The current research was qualitative and it was done through the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Iranian participants in 2020 through WhatsApp and Skype. 11 participants with BD type I and II were selected through purposive sampling. Results: The two super-ordinate themes were identified: body in the foreground/background of consciousness and change of power in the body. Themes related to each of them were identified and reported in the phases of depression and mania. The first super-ordinate theme included these themes: hyperembodiment (in depression) and disembodiment (in mania). Painful body (in depression) and heroic body (in mania) were the themes identified in the second super-ordinate theme. Conclusion: At the psychopathological level, our findings encourage the using of dynamic model for patients with BD in order to extend the possibility of psychotherapy for this group of patients.