Reflections on the decade where I went from able-bodied athlete to living with chronic pain

It’s the 4 year anniversary of life throwing me a curveball – to put it lightly.

There’s FOMO – the fear of missing out – and then there’s this. The Actually Missing Out I experience due to chronic pain.

As more people have to isolate, they are getting a small glimpse into what it’s like to be chronically ill.

Chronic pain is a diverse condition that range from mild to severe, intermittent to constant and from daily annoyance to disabling. It can be a symptom of another condition, chronic illness, injury or unexplained (by current health care technology).

It’s very prevalent, affecting about 20% of the population (that’s a lot!!) – of which 40% report it’s frequently limiting their ability to work or do other normal life activities. It’s actually the leading cause of disability and it’s associated with a reduced quality of life, including increased risk of anxiety and depression.

And it’s that last bit I want to talk about today. How the problem with chronic pain is not just chronic pain.

Continue reading to learn what chronic pain and onions have in common (It’s more than making you cry!)

“So are you in pain right now?” she asked.
Wait what? …. Oh right. It’s not normal to be in constant pain. Not everybody feels this way.