OF BODIES AND SYMPTOMS
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Final remarks So far there have been several answers to our questions about women with fibromyalgia, approaching their suffering and getting ill at work. It seems that the loss of senses and meaning in work is the major determinant of this illness. Since work is a vital element for developing creative activities among human beings, or for having social approval and collective support, this loss may be one possible interpretation, if not an explanation for the present situation. The social order of work in the capitalistic world production is a key factor to be assessed as a possible explanation for the process of getting ill in several categories of workers who are losing professional identity due to the degradation of their work (Luz, 2006, 2007, 2008). In our case study, we try to explain the activity of work as being a major generator of suffering, instead of bringing personal and collective self-esteem, creativity and accomplishment. Are there any strategies to go beyond this situation? We could see in this study and in previous ones that the collective bodily practices, holding positive collective values as solidarity and mutual support, are health alternatives that create social strategies and sociability that help reduce the feeling of oppression and suffering in work, source of pain and illness. In a survey conducted in 2008 as part of our field work, we found some interesting data: 50% of women participating of the Project reported high or very high stress in work. About 22% were on sick leave because of bodily pains. Other studies found that 58% of women that became ill in 2003 had intense skeleton muscular pain (QuĂŠruel, 2008). To approach and explain the new order of work remains a major problem to social sciences, which imposed sudden changes in the rhythm and intensification of labor activities, without providing material or symbolical gratification. The productive worker must now be available at any moment to meet the demands of his organization, minimizing his own and familiar interests. As a consequence, the loss of professional identity increases. Work is no longer a way of creating and expressing meanings for life. We