Stigma, Work, and “Unseen” Illness: A Case and Notes to Enhance Understanding

Abstract

Phenomenological research into life and work for people with invisible chronic illness has revealed many examples of stigmatization. In trying to make sense of one particular case, the available literature on stigma is helpful yet unsatisfying, especially when considering life and work for those with unseen illness. The article presents a review of the stigma literature followed by the presentation of a taxonomy of potential determinants and detriments of stigma for those with invisible chronic illness. It would seem that stigmatization is influenced by numerous issues: knowledge of the diagnosis, moral judgments, and incorrect knowledge held about the disease as distinct from an absence of or incomplete knowledge. The proposed taxonomy is suggested to have been helpful in explaining one person's poignant comments and is advocated for use in the analysis and interpretation of future stories of those with invisible illness.