“I feel like they don’t understand me”: the construction of affect in the narratives of Chilean patients with fibromyalgia

Abstract

This article approaches the experience of chronic pain from male perspectives, specifically those of patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Drawing on the framework of Systemic Functional Linguistics, the study seeks to analyse the experience of illness through the affective meanings constructed by Chilean men diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Two semi-structured interviews with patients diagnosed with this condition were analysed. The data were classified according to the type of affect expressed, based on the Appraisal System (Martin & White, 2005). Subsequently, relationships were established between these meanings and the entities evaluated (Hood, 2010). The results indicate a marked predominance of two types of affect: dissatisfaction (displeasure) and insecurity (disquiet). Displeasure was significantly associated with fibromyalgia (its effects), medical specialists, family members, and work. Notably, there were few or no instances of affective meanings related to happiness (cheer—only two instances—or affection—none) in these narratives. The concluding observations offer reflections on how these patients construct their experience of suffering through affective meanings that reveal underlying tensions, as well as the need for greater understanding and support from key social actors, such as family members and medical specialists.