Experiences of health and illness are fundamental to how we understand ourselves, and the postmodern obsession with body image has made health even more significant in identity formation. The study of subjective experiences of health and illness can also provide a challenge to traditional objective medical knowledge and, given current healthcare interest in user involvement, can highlight the need for change in health service provision.
This book explores the interplay between identity and health, private and public, mind and body. Drawing on new material, and using and exploring...

This book looks at the relationship between health and illness, and the interplay between private and public identities. Drawing on theories of illness, culture and identity, the authors consider how illness, physical image and body-mind