ABSTRACT
The usual method of collecting in-depth data to understand one’s experience is the interview. However, data obtained through interviews are influenced by language in several ways. Body-mapping, the creation of a human-sized image of the body, in which various aspects of experience are graphically represented, is a nonverbal method of expressing different states of experience that are difficult to express verbally. The aim of this study was to understand the different experiences of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) as a chronic, widespread musculoskeletal pain with increased fatigue. Sixteen women aged 30 to 60 years with FMS used the micro-phenomenological interview to describe one to two situations of increased and decreased symptoms in the physical position for body-mapping. After the interview, they completed a map and drew in it according to their described experiences. In addition to depicting various aspects of pain and other physical features, more specific features of FMS revealed aspects of their cognitive, emotional, social and physical functioning. Body-mapping has been shown to be a relevant qualitative research method that facilitates the expression of experience and provides an appropriate holistic approach to an in-depth understanding of one’s experience.
