Living with acuteness in chronic illness: The temporal underpinnings of endometriosis

This article explores how acuteness is experienced by people with endometriosis in Finland. Drawing on in-depth interviews as well as anonymous written endometriosis stories, we trace instances when the sense of chronicity and cyclicality of endometriosis is disrupted by a possibility of risk to life. These instances include when endometriosis tissue grows in unanticipated and aggressive ways, when medical interventions lead to unexpected complications or medications raise concerns about a gradually developing risk, and when endometriosis diagnosis becomes a catch-all category that could mask the onset of a life-threatening condition. Our analysis of illness experiences suggests that, while risk to life is an unlikely outcome in chronic conditions such as endometriosis, concerns about risk shape how the chronicity and cyclicality of endometriosis are felt and managed in everyday life.