Biographical Disruption

The term “biographical disruption,” coined by Mike Bury, aims to convey how a diagnosis of chronic illness can disrupt “the expectations and plans that individuals hold for the future,” requiring “a fundamental rethinking of the person's biography and self-concept.” Following a diagnosis people may be prompted to mobilize resources at their disposal to reestablish a sense of normality and compensate for the effects of disability. Critics have argued that some people may not experience disruption, but rather may incorporate illness as a normal part of life; experience it as just one more form of disadvantage; or find it only occasionally disruptive. It has also been suggested that biographical disruption is too focused on the individual and their emotional response, without paying sufficient attention to broader social structures which magnify or lessen the impact of disability.