From self-narration to a worldview: a phenomenological, narratological, and linguistic case study of a patient with a complex clinical picture of bipolar disorder
Frontiers in Psychiatry January 20, 2026 Aleš Oblak, Marko Vrbnjak, Alina Holnthaner et al.
A single-case study of a 60-year-old man with bipolar disorder type I and suspected Asperger's syndrome traces how his autobiographical writings evolved from immediate self-description into a coherent, philosophy-like worldview. Emotional memories, regardless of factual accuracy, served as organizing phenomena that provided existential structure and meaning. The analysis integrates phenomenological, narratological, and linguistic frameworks to show how mood episodes influenced self-experience and identity coherence. The authors argue that cognitive schema theory is limited and that narrative scaffolding and affect-logic better explain worldview formation. They propose that multidisciplinary analysis of autobiographical narration can aid clinical assessment and intervention for complex, comorbid psychiatric disorders.