The hardest thing about my ongoing pain is the recurring thought that I am a burden. It's taken me over a month to write this post. That's how hard it is to even think about, even now when most of the time I don't have thoughts that I am a burden. When my pain is …
Sad, not happy
Question from health professional: "How do you feel?" Answer from me: "Sad... not happy". Pain is multidimensional. The experience of pain is not generated from physiological processes alone. Considering the multidimensionality of pain is especially important for both 1) understanding why chronic pain has such a large impact on peoples' lives, and 2) for developing …
Hiding pain
This pinch sets up my next two pinches. I am now open about my pain with my family, friends, colleagues and even people I've just met. This is not how I was for most of the time I've had chronic pain. For a long time the way I handled my pain was to tell myself …
Thoughts (2)
I drafted this pinch on my phone one evening. I've left the first half as I wrote it in the moment. Pain in the moment It is 6.20pm on a Tuesday evening and I'm struggling. My pain has flared up over the last week. I'm stuck in a loop where I'm sore so I'm not …
Fibromyalgia (1)
I planned to make this post live on Friday. However today, Tuesday 12th May, is Fibromyalgia Awareness Day. The topic seemed appropriate. My chronic pain has the diagnosis fibromyalgia. I can see that I'm going to write many pinches about fibromyalgia as this is my pain condition. I've labelled this pinch "fibromyalgia (1)" as I …
Images of pain
One thing I starting noticing once I had chronic pain was the images used to depict pain. I noticed what images were commonly used to show pain, and what images weren't. Open a new tab now and Google "pain", look at the images tab. What do you see? Do the same for "chronic pain". You'll …
Thoughts
One of the key changes in the way that I think about my pain that resulted in great improvements in how I manage my pain is: Chronic pain is my brain and body being really, really, really good at protecting me. I was first introduced to this way of thinking about pain at the Pain …
The first pinch
I am Hazel. I experience chronic pain. I have conducted research to extend our understanding of chronic pain. I live a full life. Most hours I am in pain. Sometimes I suffer, most of the time I don't. I am a wife, a daughter, a friend. Pinches of pain is starting out as a place …
Pinches of Pain 