The lived experience of young women with endometriosis in South Africa: An exploration of chronic pain with regards to physical, psychological, and social wellbeing

Abstract

Endometriosis is a common disorder affecting many young women of reproductive age physically, socially, and psychologically. The disease is largely considered from a biomedical perspective and there is a paucity of literature on the psychological impact on women with endometriosis, particularly in South Africa. Women with endometriosis are often impacted physically in terms of infertility and chronic pain; socially in terms of their intimate relationships and sexual intimacies; as well as psychologically through their enhanced experiences of anxiety and stress.