Chronic Pain Champions

Live More. Struggle Less.

You can change the pain experience

Understand pain

The path to recovery starts with education to make sense of the pain so we don't have to focus on it or worry about it.

Pain is more than just a physical "biomedical" problem. It's an experience shaped by an interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors. It's not just a number on the pain scale or an accurate indicator of tissue damage or disease.

Accept pain

It's often the struggle with chronic pain and its related conditions like anxiety, depression, and fatigue, that is the worst part of having pain, not the pain itself.

The struggle can make it easy to feel distressed and like a victim.

To minimize the struggle, it's helpful to come to terms with the pain as our "new normal", accepting the pain as a part of life with no magical medical cure, not focusing on the pain, and having no need to reduce it or avoid it to participate in life. Focusing solely on pain reduction, especially elimination, can make it difficult to recover.

Change pain

It's easy to become preoccupied with chronic pain. We can feel distressed, give up, and become a victim, just based on how much attention we give it.

We can change pain and turn down the volume by changing how we think, feel, and behave around pain using self-management. This includes skills and strategies like cognitive restructuring, deep breathing, and pacing.

Recovery is possible. The pain experience can change, even go away. And, if it doesn't, we can live well despite the pain.

Read my published articles

How to Move Patients from Passive Management to Active Self-Management - published in MedCentral
A Letter to Pain Providers: 10 Do and Don’t Tips from a Chronic Pain Patient - published in HealthCentral
We Have a Chronic Pain Problem, Not a Prescription Opioid Problem - published in HealthCentral
Are You Missing Two-Thirds of Your Potential Pain Treatment Plan? - published in HealthCentral
Five things I wish I knew earlier in my journey with chronic pain - published in StatNews
Hopping Off the Pain Merry-go-round - published in Practical Pain Management
My Time at the Mayo Clinic Pain Rehabilitation Center - published in HealthCentral
Stop Whining and More No-Nonsense Tips from a Chronic Pain Champion - published in Practical Pain Management
25 Tips to Get the Best Treatment - published in National Pain Report
Tinnitus: Part of a Larger Puzzle and Challenge - published by American Tinnitus Association
Living With Chronic Pain: ‘Suffering Is a Choice, and I Choose Not to Suffer’ (GoodRX article about my experience)

Hear my story

Fighting Pain Made It Worse — Here's What Finally Worked (Podcast episode hosted by Mark Kargela, DPT)
A Path to Peace with Chronic Pain (Part of a Peace Talks Radio episode about what people do to seek peace with chronic pain)
Compass Opioid Stewardship interview - Learning to Champion Chronic Pain (Podcast episode hosted by Don Stader, MD, and Rachael Duncan, PharmD)

Want to learn more about pain and how you can change the pain experience?

Consider taking the Break Free from Chronic Pain education course.
A combination of five hours of video content and downloadable resources.
Only $19

Learn More

Take Control

Imagine being in a car with chronic pain.
Where is the pain?

Is pain behind the steering wheel - determining where you go and what you do?
Or are you driving?

You can change the pain experience.
You can take control.

CHRONIC PAIN CHAMPIONS, LLC, AND THIS WEBSITE DO NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE
All information is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Use at your own risk.
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Are you tired of fighting chronic pain?​Champion it!​