Days of Our Lives Tried to Highlight Fibromyalgia — But Misled Viewers Instead

It’s thrilling that Marlena’s recent illness story included a discussion of fibromyalgia and an acknowledgment that this disease isn’t taken seriously enough because it mainly affects women.

Representation is important. Viewers who have fibromyalgia deserve to be seen. 

However, Days of Our Lives got a key detail wrong, and that could derail the soap’s intentions.

Fibromyalgia Involves Significant and Unexplained Pain

Marlena came to Sarah because she felt dizzy and fatigued and had fainted several times. 

However, she didn’t have the systemic, unexplained pain that is the hallmark of the disease.

Thus, Sarah’s comment that it was possibly fibromyalgia (often referred to as “fibro” by those who have the condition) didn’t make any sense.

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I loved the conversation that followed about the role that misogyny plays in research decisions and Sarah’s reassurance that even though there’s no cure, the disease could be managed once diagnosed.

Those are important messages, but they felt like an out-of-place public service announcement because there was zero reason to suspect that Marlena had fibromyalgia.

It’s Especially Disappointing Because It Could Have Easily Been Made To Make Sense

All Days of Our Lives needed was one quick tweak to Sarah’s dialogue and the point could have been made without sacrificing accuracy.

Instead of suggesting fibro as a possibility, Sarah could have mentioned that if Marlena had significant pain, she would suspect it.

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Marlena could have then replied that what she’s dealing with is bad enough without pain and they could have had a discussion about women’s health conditions not being taken as seriously or researched thoroughly.

That would have been a much better way to go because it would make it clear the writers understood that there is no fibro variant that doesn’t include pain.

Some Viewers With Fibro Were Thrilled. But This Is Still Bad Representation

On social media groups about Days of Our Lives, some viewers with fibromyalgia were excited. 

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This is the first time many can recall the disease they have been mentioned on daytime TV, so these viewers felt visible for the first time.

However, long-term, inadequate representation isn’t better than no representation at all. 

Fans who don’t already know what fibro is might think it’s a disease that involves dizzy spells and fatigue without pain.

While no one should substitute advice from their doctor with information gleaned from a soap, it still matters:

• Some people might worry they have fibro when they don’t because they feel dizzy or tired, which could waste time instead of getting them the help they need for their actual condition
• Some people might judge those with fibro because the condition doesn’t sound that bad if you take the debilitating and random pain component out
• Some people might try home remedies suggested for fibro instead of going to the doctor to find out about the cause of their dizziness and fatigue. Sometimes these symptoms point to life-threatening conditions, so that could be dangerous

(Of course, in the US it’s hard to get an appointment or get treatment covered by insurance for some conditions, but that’s a separate issue.)

Yes, Days of Our Lives is a soap opera, and one that doesn’t always follow real-world logic.

There are lots of things that happen in Salem that wouldn’t happen in the real world.

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Don’t get me started on the silliness of this trial, where Johnny is being defended by the father he’s accused of shooting, and his aunt is forced to prosecute him (and do it well or be disbarred!)

Still, if a disease exists in the real world, it should be portrayed accurately on Days of Our Lives, because that may be the only place some people learn about it.

What do you think? Let’s talk.

Passionate conversations about our favorite shows are what keep the lights on here at TV Fanatic, so hit the comments with your ideas!

Whether you agree with me or you think I’m taking a soap opera too seriously, let’s hear what you have to say. 

Days of Our Lives streams exclusively on Peacock. New episodes drop on weekday mornings at 6/5c.

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