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The core of love when caring for patients suffering from addiction
Author(s) -
Thorkildsen Kari M.,
Eriksson Katie,
Råholm MajBritt
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of caring sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1471-6712
pISSN - 0283-9318
DOI - 10.1111/scs.12171
Subject(s) - sacrifice , faith , addiction , interpretation (philosophy) , hermeneutics , core (optical fiber) , psychology , dimension (graph theory) , social psychology , psychoanalysis , philosophy , sociology , epistemology , theology , psychiatry , computer science , telecommunications , linguistics , mathematics , pure mathematics
Drug addiction is a serious health problem. The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of the core of love when caring for patients suffering from addiction. The study had a hermeneutical approach. Four nurses working at a detoxification unit were interviewed. Data were interpreted using a hermeneutical text interpretation based on G adamer's hermeneutics. The results revealed the core of love in four dimensions: love as an inner driving force, searching for the human being behind the addiction, faith in the inner power of human beings and love as a movement of giving and receiving. The hermeneutical interpretation revealed the core of love as sacrifice, showing that sacrifice is an ethical dimension and that sacrifice involves searching for the patient's ontological suffering. Sacrifice is connected to faith, and faith in love is decisive for a life without drugs. Sacrifice involves being mutual gifts to one another, a self‐reinforcing motion of sacrifice that energizes the nurses to go on with their work.