Joelle Palmieri needs time to act. But fibromyalgia prevents her from moving quickly. This paradox becomes an ally in understanding and acting rather than reacting, in changing rather than accepting. This work is fraught with strong emotions. Esther Salmona cries when she makes the connection between her symptoms and her family history, her grief, her traumas. She talks about her feeling of dehumanisation. Corinne Lepage laughs about her refusal to recognise her illness as serious, about the permission she gives herself to do nothing, to rest, to ignore demands. Peggy Pinchart expresses her need to feel useful, to prove her effectiveness. Playing sports, acting in theatre... encourage them. They all talk about the lack of time and money. They all realise that their bodies and brains need to be ‘dissociated’.

Copyright © Joelle Palmieri and Virginie Jortay

Credits:
Excerpt from the poem ‘Un véritable chant’ by Esther Salmona.
Excerpt from the film ‘Pain and Glory’ by Pedro Almodovar, 2019

Links: The Unthought Pain – Feminist autopsy of fibromyalgia, a ‘women’s disease’: https://joellepalmieri.org/2021/08/23/fibromyalgie-derriere-la-porte/

With: Esther Salmona (author, artist, landscape designer), Peggy Pinchart (communications and marketing strategy consultant), Corinne Lepage (actress, community educator).

Production team:
Writing, interviews and production: Joelle Palmieri
Editing and mixing: Virginie Jortay
Voice-over: Peggy Pierrot