Rebuilding a tolerable life: narratives of women recovered from fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic musculoskeletal pain and fatigue condition. Despite extensive research, there is currently no known therapy leading to a cure for FMS. Although studies have reported that some patients can regain their health, little is known about their personal process of becoming well.

This study aimed to explore women's narratives about the process of recovering from FMS.

The empirical material consists of qualitative interviews of eight Norwegian women who all have previously had, but do not have FMS any more. Inspired by a narrative approach we analyzed their experiences of becoming better with a focus on recovery as a meaning-making process.

The findings revealed a recovery process consisting of two intertwined narratives that are mutually nurturing each other. The first narrative telling moments of prompting changes refers to events during the recovery process where women understood themselves and their suffering in new ways and thereby enabled them to act in new ways or take further action. The second narrative a mundane process of rebuilding a tolerable daily life refers to a lasting, mundane everyday process of exploration how they initially should act to avoid becoming worse and, later, to promote improvement.

Our findings show how the women explain their recovery in terms of overcoming fear of movement, making sense of their symptoms and becoming more active in everyday life. The close analysis reveals a recovery narrative portraying a complex and ambiguous process consisting of small dramas about the efforts trying to rebuild a meaningful life.