Turning points in life courses structured by co-occurring psychiatric disabilities and addiction

This article explores the occurrence of turning points in life courses structured by co-occurring psychiatric disabilities and addiction. Persons with co-occurring psychiatric disabilities and addiction tend to live vulnerable lives regarding their housing, economic resources, and personal and professional relations, and often require extensive, collaborative care. The present aim is to discover how turning points appear throughout life courses structured by co-occurring psychiatric disabilities and addiction. We draw upon a life course approach and the theoretical concept of turning points, focusing on how turning points appear throughout life courses. Using a narrative method, twelve persons were interviewed about their experiences of turning points. The findings based upon a narrative analysis suggest that turning points develop starting points, such as new starts or re-starts in life courses. Findings imply that turning points develop through crucial changes in persons’ life courses, contributing to personal progress, improved mental health, and reduced or ended addiction. Narratives further reveal how turning points emerge in individual and structural contexts; the most common individual factors were personal circumstances, such as mental and physical resistance, one’s own motivation to change one’s life situation, and relationships with children, while the most frequent structural and contextual circumstances were in narratives about compulsory care, rejection from authorities, and experienced trauma. This study demonstrates the need for professionals to consider persons’ wishes and to offer individualized support when it is requested – which we term timing – in order for these persons to develop healthier lives that include children, employment, and hobbies.