Power negotiation of depressed patients in narrative literature: analyzing the depressive language through critical discourse analysis

Abstract

This article analyzes the language reflecting power struggles experienced by individuals with depression in Thai literature, focusing on ‘Stories from the Tip of the Iceberg’, through critical discourse analysis. The study reveals that the literature employs language to signify these power struggles in two key ways: through vocabulary, specifically the use of verbs, and pragmatics, particularly the use of metaphors. A new conceptual framework emerges, offering perspectives on individuals with depression in Thai society that avoid portraying them as weak. However, the literature simultaneously generates a sub-discourse that negotiates power to establish this new framework. The researcher examines the discursive and socio-cultural practices involved in creating these counter-discourses, which are shaped in part by Thai societal processes that traditionally perceive individuals with depression as mentally disabled.