Suffering of Patients Who are Considered “Mild”: Perception of Physical Decay in Patients with Spinal and Bulbar Muscular Atrophy

Abstract

It is known that patients whose symptoms are considered “mild” experience suffering in that they are seen as having an unclear role in their interactions with others, as they are not considered either a “sick/disabled person” or a “healthy person.” However, the factors that cause their suffering have not been adequately examined. The purpose of this paper is to explore how suffering arises in patients who are considered “mild” and examine some of the factors that cause it, considering the narrative of a patient with spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy. The results revealed that present suffering arose from the recall of the past self. It found that “the place” of remembering one’s past self causes suffering.