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Parr H, 1999, "Delusional geographies: the experiential worlds of people during madness/illness" Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 17(6) 673 – 690
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Delusional geographies: the experiential worlds of people during madness/illness

Hester Parr

Received 15 July 1998; in revised form 15 January 1999

Abstract. In this paper I contribute to recent writings concerning geographies of health, geographies of the therapeutic, and geographies of the self. By paying attention to the 'delusional' experiences of people named as having mental health problems, the spatial implications of a disruptive mesh between consciousness and unconsciousness are investigated. This empirical investigation explores individual accounts of delusional experience and the changed relationships with the body, home, and city. The 'unboundedness' of delusional experience is discussed, and the unpredictable therapeutic properties of nonmedical material spaces are addressed. It is argued that academic geography has neglected the voices of people who experience delusion and the many spaces which they inhabit.

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