The lived experiences of mothers of daughters with mental illness: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

Abstract Background Motherhood is a transformative experience that becomes particularly complex when a daughter develops severe mental illness. In cultural contexts such as Ardabil, Iran, gendered expectations, family honor (āberu), and limited formal support intensify the caregiving burden. Despite extensive quantitative research on caregiver burden, in-depth accounts of how mothers make sense of this experience remain scarce. This study explored the lived experiences of mothers caring for daughters with severe mental illness in Ardabil. Methods An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) design was used. Ten mothers with at least two years of caregiving experience were recruited through purposive, criterion-based sampling from welfare centers, psychiatric hospitals, and counseling services. Data were collected via in-depth semi-structured interviews (face-to-face, telephone, or online) lasting 45–90 minutes and analyzed idiographically following Smith, Flowers, and Larkin's framework, moving from personal to group experiential themes. MAXQDA supported data organization. Rigor was enhanced through reflexivity, supervisory review, member checking, and an audit trail. The study adhered to guidelines and received ethical approval. Results Three interrelated group experiential themes were constructed: the Palimpsest of Motherhood (shift from intuitive mothering to unsustainable multi-roles, identity fusion, perpetual crisis, and embodied turmoil); Maternal Stigma (illness as maternal failure, self-censorship, defensive strategies, and expansion into familial and phygital domains); and the Labyrinth of Temporality (ruptured time, invaded present, foreclosed expectation, and mourning of a lost future). These themes formed a self-reinforcing cycle reshaping identity, social positioning, and lived time. Conclusions Chronic mother–daughter caregiving rewrites maternal identity, exposes mothers to gendered moral judgement, and disrupts temporal experience. Support should move beyond generic psychoeducation to address somatic strain, maternal self-blame, and culturally specific concerns such as āberu through confidential, mother-centered, and family-oriented interventions. These findings have implications for the design of culturally attuned mental health services that recognize caregivers’ own meaning-making and promote family-centered care.