NINE things only people with chronic pain will understand

8 September is World Physical Therapy Day 2019 and the theme for 2019 is chronic pain.

Chronic pain is something very few people will understand as it is a day to day life issue affecting relationships, hygiene and cooking. For many, it is a lifelong problem which one learns to live with.

And yet the real issue is that it is something mostly understood by people who actually have it.

So here are 8 things only people with chronic pain will understand:

1. People don’t know what ‘chronic’ means: Many people think it is something a person will just get over.
2. Noone intends to feel this way: In shona there is a word called, ‘kuzviitisa’, which is loosely translated means being a cry baby.
3. Many doctors do not understand it: Doctors who have never had it generally do not understand it at all. Rarely do doctors understand pain management because it generally isn’t part of their training. So people with chronic pain struggle to find a health practitioner to help.
4. Some days are worse than others: One thing people with chronic pain do not know is whether they will be fine the next morning. The levels of pain vary.
5. Managing pain is not just about pills: People with chronic pain try a lot before they move to medicine. Patches, kinesiology tape, exercises, meditation, self-care… the works.
6. People do try to look their best: So they will not always look like they are in pain. Even on the bad days, an effort is made to look well. So saying, ‘but you look fine’ does not help.
7. Being unable to work is not the same as vacation: Sometimes the pain becomes so unbearable that one can’t work. It may be a struggle to perform certain tasks such as getting out of bed, dressing themselves, and using the bathroom.
8. Many emotions come along with chronic pain: We are talking depression, denial, anxiety, or despair. The feeling of isolation is pretty huge too.
9. A support system helps: So don’t stop inviting them out. No matter how many times they say no, they do want to be part of life things.

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