Abstract

One of the most disruptive events from the biographic point of view is the breaking out of disablement and the loss of self-sufficiency. This is an experience that challenges the material, organizational and meaning structures of everyday life and it's related patterns of knowledge, demanding therefore their deep revision. The article explores the symbolic re-organisations that accompany and follow the surge of serious and chronic different care problems within the family. From the caregivers point of view, it discusses the reasons and the conditions at which caring can threaten the individuals basic conditions of wellbeing and plasticity. The thesis therein defended is that, far from being a mere functional activity, caring has strong implications on how life is conceived and therefore on some crucial social functionings. Two main "fils rouges" are followed in the discussion, the impact of uncertainty produced by chronic disorders and the effects of losses and sorrow in the processes of coping.