Independent Living: A Phenomenological Study on the Experiences of People with Mental Illness

Purpose: This study is to understand the experiences of people with serious mental illness following adjustment to independent living.Methods: Aphenomenological research approach was used. Research participants were recruited from community psychiatric rehabilitation centers where they received the support for successfully independent living in the community. In-depth interviews were conducted with a total of 20 research participants from September 2019 to August 2021. The collected data were analyzed using the phenomenological analysis method previously described by Giorgi.Results: Four major themes emerged from our analysis: (1) feeling free in everyday life changed when they started living independently; (2) being the owner of my life; (3) feeling surrounded by barriers at the start of independent living; and (4) required efforts and support for fully living independently.Conclusion: Our study findings encourage fundamental understanding of benefits and difficulties in adjusting to independent living and the adjustment process among people with serious mental illness through in-depth analysis of their experiences. It is necessary to conduct further studies to develop interventions to support people with serious mental illness once they start living independently and instruments to measure their independence.