Adolescents' experiences of recovery from CFS/ME. An interview study

Purpose: The aim of this study was to gain knowledge of adolescents` experiences of long-term illness and recovering of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME), including the importance of health professionals in the process of recovering. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four adolescents aged 17-20 from different parts of Norway. The participants became ill as children, and gradually experienced significant recovering. The interviews were analysed thematically and resulted in four main topics: When treatment becomes stress, the encounter with a special therapist, when treatment gives hope and when the body and everyday life works again. Findings: The findings show that the recovery process takes time and can be understood as a relational and an individual process. The findings describe how the participants developed integrated body knowledge, which may have contributed to mastery experiences and hopes for recovery. The findings show that physiotherapists can support adolescents in their recovery process through individually tailored measures and good dialogue emphasizing mutual understanding that the process of recovery will take time. Conclusion: The findings contribute to expanded knowledge about experiences of recovery for adolescents with CFS/ME in a field previously focusing mostly on causal relationships and the hopelessness associated with living with a chronic illness where recovery is almost impossible.