‘This illness affects not only me’: Contending with Fibromyalgia
‘This illness affects not only me’: Contending with Fibromyalgia

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this study was to obtain a more profound understanding of the inner world of individuals contending with fibromyalgia that might contribute to the development of more effective intervention strategies on various levels. Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain-inducing illness that affects both physical functioning and emotional wellbeing. Society’s lack of recognition of the illness and its ramifications make coping with it even harder. The standard medical treatment consists of analgesics, but studies have found that adding individual or group psychological intervention contributes greatly to alleviating the symptoms. A group intervention at a hospital in central Israel that used skills based on the person-in-environment approach provided not only a test of the intervention’s efficacy but also a close view of the inner world of people with fibromyalgia. Content analysis of the summaries of the group meetings revealed a great difference between what the individuals felt and what others, including family members, saw or heard. Not being heard may intensify the individual’s suffering and prevent recognition by others of the illness. The article describes these issues, which were discussed in the group intervention. This added knowledge may narrow the gap between the inside and the outside and may amplify the voices of individuals contending with fibromyalgia, thus contributing to increased recognition of their condition, more efficacious interventions, and improvement of their quality of life.

• Details
• Contents