Hidden traumas : the experience of multiple sclerosis

While it is true that individuals with disabilities have made strides in their acceptance in occupational, social, and sportive contexts in the past two decades, disabilities still present both measurable changes in one's negotiation of the world on a superficial level and qualitative changes in the ways one deals with the world. Because of the nature of these changes, the experience of becoming disabled is not always quantifiable or measurable. Hence, the purpose of this study was to examine the experience of multiple sclerosis, and, secondarily, to qualitatively examine the phenomenon of disability using a pheneomenological approach. Six participants with multiple sclerosis were queried regarding their experiences of the loss or compromise in movement and in vitality as a result of the onset of their disease. Thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews revealed that participants were concerned with the notions of certainty and uncertainty in time, becoming or changing in time, the perceptions of others about their disability, and the alienation from others that their disability caused. Implications for Caregivers and family members of individuals with multiple sclerosis are discussed.