Homework 3

Name: Mathilde
Substantive conclusion
As discovered when grouping the codes there is a large spectrum of negative emotions
present in the lyrical work of Girl in Red. Many of the phrases she uses to describe her
emotional experiences correspond to descriptions of mental disorders as described in the
DMS-5 (2013). For example, many quotes from the lyrics allude to the diagnostic criteria
defining a major depressive episode, as well as generalized anxiety disorder. The tables
bellow illustrates these findings:

Figure 1. Comparison with diagnostic criterion for "Major depressive episode"

Figure 2. Comparison with diagnostic criterion for "Generalized anxiety disorder"

Based on this comparison, it may be concluded that the lyrical work of Girl in Red can be
understood through a lens of mental illness. This comes as no surprise given that she
explicitly states her mental health issues with lyrics such as “Chemical imbalance got me
twisting things” and “Summer depression comes every year”. However, what is quite
significant is how her lyrics rephrase the diagnostic symptoms. In her songs she uses a
language which corresponds more with the day-to-day experiences of youth, as opposed to
the clinical terminology of the DMS-5. As an example, the DMS-5 describes “recurrent
suicidal ideation without a specific plan” as a symptom of a depressive episode. This phrasing
comes across being rather detached from real-life experiences, and a person struggling with
suicidal ideation might not feel represented by such pragmatic wording. When Girl in Red
sings "I just want to disappear" or "Wonder why I'm here" she is describing exactly what this
diagnostic criterion illustrates, but in a language that appears more representative of the
personal experiences of someone with a mental illness. My tentative conclusion, which will
be further explained in the final paper, is thus that Girl in Red constructs a personal narrative
of life with mental illness troughs which her listener can recognize and address their own
symptoms.

As inspired by Bernie Beck’s trick for identifying generalization in a case (Becker, 1998), I
have attempted to review my tentative conclusion without using the connotation of mental
illness. The characteristics of the lyrics were thus also analyzed without the DMS-5, which is
not and should not be used as a “cookbook” that leads to such absolute answers (Black &
Grant, 2014). These clinical categorizations are merely abstractions of the human condition,
and not exclusive and complete labels for understanding negative emotions. It may
therefore be worthwhile to remain critical of the absoluteness of the DMS-5.

The mind map bellow represents an attempt to re-order the coded phrases from the songs
according with the more general framework of negative emotions derived from Fokkinga
(2019). This may be further used to derive general emotional messages in the work of Girl in
Red.

Figure 3. Chart of negative emotion

In the end, for the purpose of this study I preferred using the DMS-5 as the main framework
since I from the beginning chose to rely on the categorizations of mental illness as my
theoretical foundation. One can also see that this mind map is rather confusing and hard to
work with.

Bibliography

American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental

Disorders (5th ed). American Psychiatric Association Publishing.

Becker, H. (1998). Tricks of the Trade: How to Think About Research While Doing It.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Black, D. W., & Grant, J. E. (2014). DSM-5® Guidebook: The Essential Companion to the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed). American Psychiatric
Association Publishing.

Fokkinga, S. (2019). Negative Emotion Typology - Dissertation. Delft University of

Technology. https://emotiontypology.com (Accessed 25/2/2021)