Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41729403›Full record

ArticleMedicine, health care, and philosophy2026

Are you weary of illness? Coping and existential positioning in life with myasthenia gravis.

Malene Missel, Nanna Witting, Malene Beck

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Medicine, health care, and philosophy, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. On the Concept of Existential Disease.Health care analysis : HCA : journal of health philosophy and policy · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Malene MisselDepartment of Cardiothoracic surgery, Copenhagen University Hospital-Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark. malene.missel@regionh.dk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3267-8038
Nanna WittingDepartment of Clinical Medicine , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0664-0709
Malene BeckChildren and Adolescent Department, Research Unit, Zealand University Hospital, Roskilde, Denmark.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4163-263X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This article explores what it means to position oneself existentially in relation to illness weariness in myasthenia gravis. Grounded in phenomenology and informed by autoethnographic principles, the study examines how the body's changing disposition shapes lived meaning and coping in chronic illness. Phenomenological vignettes serve as experiential entry points, followed by reflective interpretation inspired by Havi Carel, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Drew Leder, and Kay Toombs. Two experiential themes emerge. First, When the body doesn't always follow one's lead anymore shows how myasthenia gravis disrupts habitual rhythm and bodily trust. Bodily hesitation and the oscillation between resistance and responsiveness give rise to illness weariness-an existential modality distinct from physical fatigue or mood. Within this terrain, uncompromisingness appears as a quiet, existential stance; a refusal to let illness fully determine the direction of one's life, expressed through a persistent insistence on participation and dignity. Second, Physical activity and relational support as existential coping practices demonstrates how movement and relationship sustain existential positioning. Physical activity becomes an existential practice through which hope, orientation, and embodied rhythm are maintained, not by erasing illness weariness but by placing it alongside an uncompromising insistence on participation. At the same time, relational support, here exemplified by an attuned neurologist, serves as a subtle relational nudge that grounds and strengthens the will to continue. The study conceptualizes illness weariness and uncompromisingness as a continuum of existential responses shaped by bodily fluctuation and relational context. These insights extend beyond myasthenia gravis and point to the importance of existential attentiveness and relational continuity in clinical care.

Indexed as

Adaptation, PsychologicalExistentialismMyasthenia GravisChronic DiseaseCoping SkillsFemaleHumansMaleAutoethnographyChronic illnessExistential positioningIllness wearinessMyasthenia gravisPhenomenology

Identifiers

PMID41729403
PMCPMC13086731

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.