Our shared humanity, grief, why I’ve been away, and some musings on pain, biology, life…

I promised a post on the major turning points in my pain experience at the beginning of the year. Then life, and death, happened and it was put on hold. Those posts (there are two, reflecting two major turning points) will come soon, but first I wanted to share why I’ve been away, for those who may be wondering. It’s

Acceptance revisited ~ what has acceptance meant to me?

These days I’m feeling like I’m just a person, not a person with chronic pain, which is an interesting perch to view the past eight years from. I’m trying to piece together how I got here. Granted, I’ve been trying to do so for some time! But never from this vantage point. I recognize how much acceptance has been a part


Psychological: Let’s talk about the P in BioPsychoSocial

Psychological. What do you think when you see that term? Be honest with yourself, what’s going through your head right now? When you think about the word psychological or the phrase ‘psychological factors’, what comes to mind? I ask because I have seen misconceptions abound when it comes to the P word. Misconceptions about the term ‘psychological’ I have seen

Tell me your story: the power of dialogue

I’ve been thinking about this a lot in the last few weeks. Thinking about it ever since Peter O’Sullivan asked me to tell him my story when I was a patient demo during his Cognitive Functional Therapy workshop at the San Diego Pain Summit. And every time I think about it, I get teary. It touches something deep within me

Trying to get better while having to prove we’re in pain

How do we get better if we have to constantly prove we’re in pain? And does that constant need to prove we’re in pain prevent us from getting better? In recent posts I wrote about the shame I felt after developing chronic pain and how I’ve been working through that shame. They were the hardest posts I’ve ever written, my most vulnerable by far. And


The dis-ease of busyness and benefits of easing up a bit

Lately I’ve been feeling really busy, not productive, not engaged, just busy, like there’s always something to be done or somewhere to go, a general sort of buzz of busyness. I don’t like it. It makes me feel anxious and ill at ease. I don’t think it’s good for me, or for any of us, to be in that constant


It’s ok to talk about chronic pain

After my flare at the end of last year (which I talk about a bit here), and the months of getting through it, I started reading a book on pain called Pain: The Science of Suffering, by Patrick Wall, the guy who literally co-wrote the textbook on pain. I took my time, just recently finishing it, and figured I’d share some of

The power of language in body image

I’ve been talking about language a lot lately, mostly in regards to pain and wellness and such, but it’s important in all aspects of our lives. One such area that I’ve been thinking about and talking about a lot lately is body image. So I figured what the hell, why not write about it, too. ;) Body image is another


How the words we use can limit our ability to heal

We are the story we tell ourselves. I’m not sure where I heard that but it really rung true for me. We are the story we tell ourselves, we are the words we use to describe ourselves, our lives. So why is it that so many of us tell ourselves a negative story? Or a sad story? Or an angry story? Language

Facing My Fears: Can I Get a Do-Over?

Ok, folks. Confession time. Again. I’m still a big fat chicken when it comes to blogging. I’m still worried about pleasing everyone, still worried that the posts aren’t good enough, still worried that no one will be interested in what I’m writing about. Just worried, worried, worried. I’ve always been a worrier and a perfectionist. I’m working on it. Trying