Corpus, Discourse and Mental Health

The research project reported in this book is impressive and impactful in its innovative design, methodological rigor, and careful analysis ... This interdisciplinary and flexible interpretation of the data reveals the authors' deep appreciation of the complexities involved in understanding, naming, diagnosing, and treating mental illness. * Applied Corpus Linguistics * This book is a fascinating new addition to the exciting field of linguistic research on mental health. It is a meticulous and thought-provoking account of how mental distress and the self-in-distress are linguistically presented (and resisted) in online communities by two recognised experts in the field. Focusing on depression, anorexia and diabulmia, Hunt and Brookes engagingly showcase the exceptional power of corpus linguistic tools to generate richly compelling, evidence-based and systematic, yet nuanced insights from the myriad of lived-experiences available online. A highly recommended read for anyone interested in mental health, the patient perspective, online communities or applied linguistics! * Zsofia Demjen, Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, University College London, United Kingdom * I am delighted with Hunt and Brookes' book. It offers a much-needed insight into discursive workings of texts in mental health contexts. It not only offers insight into experiences of mental distress, but, perhaps more importantly, that linguistics can offer much by way of understanding it. * Dariusz Galasinski, Professor, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland. * This book exemplarily shows why a systematic language analysis is pertinent to a better understanding of mental health disorders. The carefully selected three case studies offer rich and nuanced insights into the ways in which people, who suffer from anorexia, depression or diabulimia, use language to express and come to terms with complex realities of the conditions. It is a must-read for anyone interested in combining corpus linguistics and discourse analysis to explore health communication, specifically discourses of mental health issues that remain a growing and complex concern of our modern life. * Sylvia Jaworska, Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, University of Reading, UK * This is a well-researched, excellently presented study. As such, it can inspire anyone with an interest in mental health to conduct their own research ... The authors are to be commended for the way in which they commu-nicate across disciplines and to the wider public. * Journal of Language and Discrimination * [An] ambitious book. ... this monograph by Hunt and Brookes is an erudite and carefully argued piece of scholarship. * International Journal of Corpus Linguistics *