“The myth that doctors “overprescribing” prescription ‘#pain pills’ led to the overdose crisis… Data from CDC and NSDUH reveal no correlation between the volume of [#opioid] prescriptions and non-medical use or addiction to prescription [#opioids].” #cpp
Australian Study on Opioid Prescribing Is the Latest to Challenge the False Narrative about the...
It is easier to embrace a false narrative than to face the inconvenient truth.
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“Not being open about my struggle made people think I was fine and they treated me that way. In the long run, it caused me even more pain because I didn’t have the help I needed… It was so incredibly hard.” #chronicillness #chronicpain #disabilities
The Words That Haunt Me as Someone Living With Chronic Pain
A woman living with chronic pain discusses what happened when she started telling the truth after years of hiding how much pain she was in.
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“Individually it seems like there’s little we can do… What we CAN do though, is speak out…our collective voices are so powerful! While you may be the only person in your community with your #RareDisease… #YouAreNotAlone.” Together We are Strong #AI #SAI
Alone We are Rare, Together We are Strong
I have been going over in my mind the concept of rare diseases. The idea seems to be that these diseases are...
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“Doctors don’t tell you that they don’t really understand what it means to be in pain all day, every day, for the rest of your life… No one understands what being in constant pain is like unless they are in constant pain.” #chronicpain #intractablepain
24 Things Doctors Don't Tell People About Chronic Pain
The Mighty community shares what doctors didn't tell them about living with chronic pain.
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“My skin’s excruciating to the touch and my nerve endings are ablaze in a fury of a 1000 bee stings… My joints are on fire as if acid were coursing through them… As I move my fingers to write this—they are screaming and begging me to stop.” #EDS #RA #CPP
A Letter to My Disbelievers
By Jorie – Dear Disbeliever, As I sit here writing this letter, and as you sit here reading it, you may be...
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“Is it fair to a #chronicallyill person who moves mountains just to function normally to have to battle everyone just to maintain that functionality? …I fight #MS every day, I shouldn’t have to fight for the drugs I need too.” #MultipleSclerosis #CPP
The First Rule of MS Club
"I fight multiple sclerosis every day—I shouldn’t have to fight for the treatment I need too."
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“Alongside every memory for the last 20 years—there is a #Fibromyalgia memory… A quiet memory that I mostly keep to myself, almost like a dual life I lead… Always there, an intricate part of my life, intertwined with everything I do.” @SoIsFibroReal #cpp
Fibromyalgia Awareness…Oh Yes, I’m Aware! | The - So Is Fibromyalgia Real? What I Know Is Real -...
Fibromyalgia Awareness Month is here. Yes, I know it’s to spread awareness to others but as I reflect on fibro...
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“It’s a day-to-day battle… a lot of the time it feels more like just surviving… #Pain makes the most simplest tasks, like getting out of bed or getting dressed, difficult feats. You’re battling everything. All of the time.” #ChronicIllness #ChronicPain
15 Powerful Truths About What It Means to Be a 'Pain Warrior'
The Mighty and US Pain Foundation communities share what it means to be a pain warrior.
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“My #arthritis isn’t what most people think of… I wish all doctors could see the before and after photos of a patient’s life so they understand that a person’s life is not theirs anymore when #disease takes over.” https://buff.ly/3S4Lt6X @globetrotteri #axSpA #PsA #chronicpain
“You only ever bring it up when it’s a super painful day or you’re in a bad flare. So otherwise they think you’re fine when in reality you suffer in silence most days.” What People With Daily #ChronicPain Wish Their Friends Knew #chronicillness #cpp #ipp
14 Things People Who Live With Pain Daily Wish Their Friends Understood
We asked people in The Mighty's community who experience some level of pain every day what they wished their friends understood.
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“It can feel like #chronicillness is like living in a prison. Symptoms imprison you to spending a large amount of time at home… Your world becomes smaller and smaller, leading to #loneliness and isolation.” Silent Symptoms @DespitePainBlog #ChronicPain
Silent Symptoms of Chronic Illness - Loneliness and Isolation
Many people living with chronic illness or chronic pain suffer from loneliness and isolation. This post has some ideas which might help.
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“I don’t know what it’s like not to be in pain, to have a refreshing, unbroken sleep, to do things without causing pain somewhere. On a bad day, I can’t do my hair because it hurts too much.” #chronicillness #chronicpain
12 People Describe What It's Like to Live With Chronic Pain
Real people living with chronic pain describe what it feels like to hurt all the time.
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“When I am in a #painflare it can be very difficult to get food down… I sometimes feel nauseous… It’s not as easy as forcing yourself to eat… Most times, I will make a smoothie… I don’t have the energy to make anything else.” https://buff.ly/4bHvTW1 @sarahlynn358 #ChronicPain
“We might work through grief and then we’re feeling better, maybe participating in things. But then all of a sudden you might flare and end up in the hospital and boom, you’re right back at the beginning of experiencing that grief again.” #chronicillness
How to Move Forward When You're Grieving Your Life Before Chronic Illness
The Mighty talks to Amanda Pratt, LCSW about how to cope with the grief that can accompany chronic illness.
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“#Fatigue as a symptom is not the same as being tired. When I wake up in the morning—no matter how well I’ve slept—my “battery” is only charged 25%. Imagine starting every day with your body only 25% restored by sleep.” #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #pwME
4 Things People With Chronic Illness Wish Everyone Else Understood
A Personal Perspective: It’s hard to respond skillfully to the emotional pain of feeling misunderstood, yet it’s ...
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“I overdo things. With #CRPS—a fine line exists between pushing past the breaking point… between the freedom of #mobility and the reality that I could send myself into a downward spiral that could last days, weeks or months—every flare.” #raredisease #cpp
When I 'Overdo' Things in Life With Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
Andria discusses finding a balance between physical activity and not overdoing things and causing a flare of her complex regional pain syndrome.
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“The real me lost in the fog of #chronicillness. All they could feel was pity, all they could do was judge. I was still me. I just got ill… I didn’t cause it, I can’t cure it. I didn’t change. My health changed.” @Osufferer #FND #pwME #Fibro #severeME
I’m right over here, why can’t you see me? I keep dancing on my own
My interpretation…. I think about those who left, friends no longer able to see me. The real me lost in the ...
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“I don’t have a “low pain threshold”… neither do others who suffer daily… When it’s possible physically, we do things…but we do it in such pain that if anyone else experienced it, they would demand pain relief at the closest ER.” #chronicpain #cpp
To the Person Who Thinks Chronic Pain 'Can't Be That Bad'
A letter to people who don't understand chronic pain and think it's "not that bad."
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“But the saddest part about it is that no one even knows they existed, although they mean so much to you. In their heads it’s just “she’s not into such activities”, yet if you could, you would be a star.” Grieving the Life That I Will Never Have @AChVoice
Grieving The Life That I Will Never Have
My psychologist tasked me with writing a diary entry, “Grieving the Life That I Will Never Have”, as a person with chronic illness and pain.
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“It often literally feels like thinking through a fog. #FibroFog can affect memory, the ability to focus or concentrate… even make it tough to formulate what you want to say. This is an aspect of living with #Fibromyalgia I find particularly frustrating.”
The 6 Hardest Things About Living With Fibromyalgia (and How I Cope With Them)
A woman with fibromyalgia explains what she finds most challenging about living with this chronic pain condition, al...
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“Being home all day is not a dream lifestyle… I doubt they’d say, “I wish I could be home all day with #pain that no medicine can relieve” or “I wish I could be home all day with such debilitating #fatigue, I can’t concentrate on anything.” #Disability
4 Things People With Chronic Illness Wish Everyone Else Understood
A Personal Perspective: It’s hard to respond skillfully to the emotional pain of feeling misunderstood, yet it’s ...
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“The fear is controlling because the #pain is constant. When my pain levels aren’t a 10, I desperately want to try to be normal but the constant pain won’t allow for that… a 10 could break through at any moment leaving me unable to take care of my kids.”
15 Powerful Truths About What It Means to Be a 'Pain Warrior'
The Mighty and US Pain Foundation communities share what it means to be a pain warrior.
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“We may not be able to go out as it’s simply too painful, especially with #allodynia and hyperalgesia. Noise, lights, even people walking past causes a surge in pain intensity…a breeze can be excruciating.” @apainprincess #CRPS #chronicpain #migraine #cpp
The Isolating Loneliness of Chronic Pain & Invisible Illness
Chronic pain and invisible illness can be incredibly isolating, sometimes in obvious ways but other times, it's far ...
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