(…) I set myself the goal of living and having control over this life – illness behaviors adopted by MS patients in order to maintain independent functioning

Abstract

The subject of this article are illness behaviors undertaken by people suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS). Those are understood as consciously implemented by the sick person, interrelated behaviors, designed to help them maintain relatively independent social functioning. In the course of the analysis, an attempt was made to answer questions about what kind of behaviors do sick people develop? What are the motivations for continuing (or ceasing) the adopted actions? What behaviors do people with multiple sclerosis consider “beneficial” and what behaviors are “risky” for their health? The research contained in the text refers to the subjective meanings given to the disease, which is why their theoretical interpretation is the concept of “illness behavior” by David Mechanic. In order to reach these subjective interpretations and meanings that patients give to their MS, a qualitative method was used, 30 free interviews were conducted with people suffering from MS (remission-relapsing form). Their opinions, descriptions of implemented activities, lived experiences, emotions and meanings that they attribute to them were the subject of analysis. The complexity of the disease (MS), ignorance of its causes, and uncertainty about its course were factors influencing what sick people mean by “relatively independent social functioning” and what behaviors they use in the disease.