Grieving and precarious lives: reports on care experiences in Psychosocial Care

Abstract

This experience report explores collective health issues with a focus on the precarious conditions of existence that affect users of the Psychosocial Care Network services. The author uses his memories and notes to narrate two cases he followed as a mental health technician in a Psychosocial Care Center located in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The first scene illustrates the issues of recognition discussed by Judith Butler, highlighting how social and political norms dictate who is recognized as living and therefore subject to mourning. The second story serves as a starting point for discussing the layers of precariousness and the complexity of care, dialoguing with authors who discuss the subject. The paper concludes by reflecting on the ambiguous role of the state, which simultaneously creates and tries to mitigate precarious conditions of existence, proposing that care in vulnerable territories should be understood as a necessary political act to ensure that lives are sustained.

Keywords:
Psychosocial Care Network; Violence; Care; Psychological suffering