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Flourishing With Chronic Illness(Es) And Everyday Stress: Experiences From Soweto, South Africa, Megan Schmidt-Sane, Lindile Cele, Edna Bosire, Alexander C. Tsai, Emily Mendenhall

Brain and Mind Institute

The pursuit of flourishing, or living a good life, is a common human endeavor with different meanings across individuals and contexts. What is needed is a further exploration of the relationship between flourishing and health, particularly chronic illness, which affects individuals across the life course and is affected by experiences of stress derived from social and structural vulnerability.

Drawing on data from the Soweto Syndemics study, including a locally derived stress scale and in-depth interviews, we explore the connections between flourishing and health for those living with multiple chronic illnesses in Soweto, South Africa within a syndemic of communicable and …