Unless Something Goes Wrong: Making Art to Understand and Mitigate the Risk of Therapeutic Inertia in the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

In the long-term management of a degenerative illness there is a risk that the approach we take to treatment can be characterized by therapeutic inertia (TI). With no evidence of disease progression clinicians can be reluctant to make a change to treatment regimes. This can lead to less choice and suboptimal outcomes for people with multiple sclerosis. The risk of TI is however greater when clinicians have an aversion to ambiguity and a low tolerance for uncertainty. (1) This article is an art-based inquiry into the possibility of TI in decision making when the advice from my neurologist was to stick with the treatment unless something goes wrong. (2) Through a unique process of rusting an existing canvas, the article reveals that the phrase, unless something goes wrong, is an expression of openness to uncertainty and ambiguity. (3) Art making offers the artist an opportunity to lean into and grow and capacity for tolerating uncertainty and ambiguity, thereby minimizing the risk of TI.