Date of Award
10-16-2023
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Theology
First Advisor
Aana Vigen
Abstract
Invisible chronic illness is a common, complex phenomenon that applies to any illness, disease, or collection of symptoms that is not always or ever outwardly apparent or discernable to onlookers, even in biomedical contexts. Interestingly, despite 96% of those with chronic illness fitting under the “invisible” umbrella, patients are frequently misdiagnosed, invalidated, dismissed and marginalized because they do not “look sick” enough within the context of the disease-focused medical model. This thesis aims to argue that many of the most significant and damaging problems associated with chronic illness are not due to the actual illnesses themselves but rather, are socially constructed phenomena caused in part by the devaluation of illness narratives as well as the perspective that diseases and suffering must look a particular way to be deemed as valid and worthy of concern. Attitudes, biases and beliefs surrounding illness, suffering and the body, influenced by various Christian perspectives, ultimately perpetuate the supposed invisibility of chronic illnesses. Medicine serves as society’s “pseudo-religion” where people place their faith in institutions and their leaders to offer answers, purpose and reason(s) for their suffering rather than looking to the actual sufferers. All of this creates legitimate consequences for patients and major ethical issues to ponder. This project explores these problems while simultaneously looking at the potential benefits of reframing invisible illness as “dynamic,” drawing upon the notion of “dynamic disability,” the narrative medicine care approach as well as liberatory theologies of disability and embodiment. This reimagining is focused on viewing the chronically ill from a phenomenological lens, which approaches each patient as an embodied individual rather than a body or disease. This opens the door for better care experiences and fewer problems for patients. Through shifting to a dynamic illness framework, “invisible” chronic illness is no longer a stigmatizing experience hiding in plain sight, but a real lived experience illuminated through human solidarity and narrative.
Recommended Citation
Ropski, Samantha Susan, "“But You Don't Look Sick…:” Shedding Light on the Socially Constructed Problems of Invisible Chronic Illness and the Benefits of Shifting to a Dynamic Illness Framework" (2023). Master's Theses. 4503.
https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/4503
