Abstract

FERNANDEZ SONEIRA, Andrea. My multiple sclerosis and me: a personal growth experience through writing. Index Enferm [online]. 2019, vol.28, n.4, pp.219-222.  Epub Sep 14, 2020. ISSN 1699-5988.

In recent years, scientific literature have shown a growing interest in the psychosocial factors surrounding physical illness, as well as in personal change experiences that take place after the diagnosis of a serious illness. The aim of this paper is to show a particular experience of personal growth in chronic disease and describe the factors that have contributed to this process. To this end, the biographical method of the qualitative methodology has been used, obtaining the story from an in-depth interview. This story, narrated in first person, describes the experience of a young patient with multiple sclerosis, and how expressive writing and unconditional support of her followers in social networks helped her initiate an unstoppable and genuine process of post traumatic growth that has led to the publication of her first book.

Keywords : Personal growth; Post-traumatic growth; Multiple sclerosis; Health related quality of life; Expressive writing.