I have been an insomniac, literally, since the day I was born.  As a baby, I think my parents thought they were going to go insane from lack of sleep because I simply never slept. As a child and later in my teens, my sleeping got worse, to the point of keeping my parents up […]

Currently I have multiple issues with my health, among other things, that I am waiting on.  Sometimes that is the worst situation to be in.  I am having tests done today and will spend the next week or so waiting anxiously for the results.  I also have appointments coming up where I need to make […]

This is the first part of a series on Pet Therapy and how your canine (or feline) friend can help control pain and emotional issues.  This is an introduction to my therapist, Coco, and how I discovered the benefits of Pet Therapy. Almost 2 years ago, following my first spinal surgery, I had the brilliant […]

So, to end this week’s series on ways to explain chronic pain, I present my own theory.  I have used this metaphor to describe how living with chronic pain has changed me.  I call it “The Wolf Theory.” From She-Wolf to Domesticated Dog: How Pain Changed Me Approximately 35,000 years ago, the Grey Wolf was […]

Emotional pain can be more excruciating than physical pain.  Having been going through a very difficult time, I have realized that the pain in my body is a welcome change to the one in my heart and mind.  But what kind of toll can the stress of emotional upset take on the body? When you […]

Recently I had a major life change in addition to the chronic pain that has left me fearing my future.  It is natural for anyone to fear their future when something happens that drastically changes their lives.  However, when you live with a disability or chronic pain, the future can seem even more terrifying. Because […]

Right now, I feel like my life has spun out of control.  I am in the midst of a personal crisis, not completely related to my chronic pain, but a definite result of it to some extent.  It is just one of the many things that are controlling me, silencing me.  Other things I often […]

My Pain is NOT in my Head…! Many people have the incredibly misguided idea that people with chronic pain are malingerers, or that the pain can’t possibly be “that bad,” or that the physical pain is a manifestation of some sort of emotional issue that has not been dealt with.  This is especially true for […]

Jonathan Kos-Read via Compfight Many people in Chronic Pain feel very alone sometimes, myself included.  There is a big reason for that loneliness, mainly the fact that YOU are the one in pain.  Despite how much we wish our doctors or loved ones could feel our physical pain in order to understand and validate how […]

   When you have chronic pain, a disability or any kind of chronic illness, especially the invisible kind, learning how to effectively communicate and deal with doctors is an art form that must be mastered.  Throughout the past several years, having had my fair share of unusual maladies, pains and invisible illnesses, I have tried […]