[Emotional processing of perceived stresses by myocardial infarct rehabilitation patients: a speech content analytic...

The present study investigates emotional coping with stress due to myocardial infarction (m.i.). It aimed at answering three questions: 1) In what respect do m.i. rehabilitation inpatients perceive stress? 2) What are the emotional implications of perceived stress? 3) Are m.i. patients alexithymic? Content analysis of verbal data obtained by a semi-structured interview, which includes a narrative part suitable to Gottschalk Gleser Content Analysis of anxiety and hostility, reveals that m.i. rehabilitation patients perceive adaptative tasks in the areas of bodily damage, psychic restrictions, loss of self esteem, and challenge to social identity, in their experience at the time of the interview as well as retrospectively in the acute phase. Emotional coping employed in these fields can be interpreted 1) as defence of needs for dependence and regain of autonomy and 2) as narcissistic rage as a response to narcissistic mortification. The speech of m.i. patients resembles that of psychosomatic patients. Finally, factors that influence the expression of emotions in a research interview are discussed.