'Not-belonging': illness narratives of Mexican patients with ankylosing spondylitis

In the study that we describe in this article, we aimed to preserve the voices of people suffering from chronic pain by encouraging them to tell the story of their suffering. Participants' stories reflect how chronic pain has altered their lives. This is partly due to their discomfort, but also to the frustration they experience from delays in diagnosis and treatment. Patients often pursue a lengthy quest for medical care that culminates in the diagnosis of an 'incurable' disease and a prognosis of disability. This in turn affects patient interactions with doctors and their social network. We illustrate how chronic pain leads to a sense of alienation or 'not-belonging,' whereby patients perceive pain as an entity parallel to yet dominating their own lives.