Perspectives on Pain

Real People. Real Stories.

Pain Points of View™ is proud to collaborate with The Mighty to bring you the real stories of real people living with pain. The Mighty is a story-based, digital health platform with over 2 million registered users. The pain community on The Mighty includes roughly 200,000 followers, including patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals.

Pain affects each of us differently, but by sharing these stories, we can begin to understand its true impact.

A video from the #MyPainPointOfView Community

The Mighty’s chronic pain community has been open and honest about what it is really like living with chronic pain. In this video, we asked the community what questions they should ask their doctor and what advice they would give to someone just starting their journey, in the hopes that it will help others living with chronic pain.

Pushing Forward—
How People Face Pain in Their Everyday Lives

Pain can have a negative impact on your usual way of life. Here’s a list of simple lifestyle practices and behaviors that you can implement into your daily routine to help you combat your pain.

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Story

Jory Bowen • Follow

Chronic Pain

January 8, 2019

The Top 10 Ways | Combat Chronic Pain

Like most chronic patients, I spent years seeking the elusive, yet coveted, diagnosis. I saw specialists of every kind, and while the

Story

Candida Reece • Follow

Chronic Pain

January 18, 2019

If Your Chronic Illness Is Making You Want To Give Up

Having a chronic illness can mean life can be rough. It means going to the store with only one sock on because you didn't want to go through

Treating and managing pain can be a never-ending, exhausting battle. But it’s important not to give up. You might feel alone in your pain, but there are others out there who feel what you feel and are doing their best to keep moving forward.

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Building a Stronger Care Team
Between Professionals and Patients

When people experiencing pain see their healthcare providers, it can be hard to describe exactly how their pain affects them each day. By sharing photos of themselves dealing with pain, contributors try to paint a clearer picture of what it means to live with an invisible illness like pain.

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Story

Erin Migdol • Follow

Chronic Pain

November 8, 2018

17 Photos People With Chronic Pain Wish Their Doctors Could See

When you sit down at the doctor's appointment, it's hard to make your doctor fully understand what chronic pain does to you each day. With

Story

Tracy Augustine • Follow

Back Pain

August 3, 2016

When a Nurse's Compliment During My Procedure Changed My Life

As I sit and write this, my black pain is flaring up. Just sitting in a computer chair makes it feel like my back is on fire. Let me explain

Having a supportive healthcare team when dealing with pain is incredibly important. When it came to her surgery, Tracy found that a single word of encouragement from a healthcare professional can make a huge difference for those struggling to push through the pain.

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Moving Past the Myth—
What It’s Really Like Battling Pain

Getting through the day with chronic pain requires a fight...for understanding from friends and family, to keep up with the demands of work or parenting, or to complete everyday tasks others take for granted. Here, people who live with daily pain share what it means to be taking on that fight against pain and what it means to be a “Pain Warrior” each day.

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Story

Erin Migdol • Follow

Chronic Pain

August 30, 2018

15 powerful Truths About What It Means to Be a 'Pain Warrior'

When we talk about people with chronic pain, we often use the term "pain warior". But what does that mean? What makes someone with

Story

Heather Turner • Follow

Chronic Illness

February 25, 2019

How I Hosted an Invisible Disability Awareness Event

In college, I co-founded a support group that provides encouragement, empowerment, and advocancy to students with chronic pain illness

Powering through daily pain or any invisible illness (not obvious to others) can be lonely and isolating. There is strength in numbers, and many have found that by forming a community with others, they can get the support they need.

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Living with an invisible illness—which many chronic illnesses are—can be confusing and hard to understand for outsiders. Here is a crowd-sourced listing of the things that appear “lazy” to others, but are daily realities for chronic pain warriors.

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Story

Erin Migdol • Follow

Chronic Illness

March 16, 2018

19 Things People With Chronic Illness Do That Seem 'Lazy', but aren't

While you know the things you do to reduce pain and save energy are necessary accommodations that make your life easier, outsiders may

Getting the Support You Need—
from Family and Loved Ones

For Sage, communication is key to managing her pain. This article presents a few suggested guidelines to help you and your loved ones have a more supportive, respectful dialogue about pain.

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Story

Sage Justice • Follow

Chronic Pain

June 18, 2018

How to Be Heard When It Feels Like No One Wants to Hear About Pain

Living with chronic pain can be traumatic. There is a tremendous sense of loss that compounds with each nwe experience

Story

Elizabeth Eckert • Follow

Chronic Pain

September 9, 2018

What to Do If You Have a Chronic Illness and Your Family Thinks You're Lazy

With the condition of multiple sclerosis and fibromyalgia, I am a part of numerous social media groups who have chronic illness.

Dealing with criticism from loved ones who can't understand what it's like to live with pain can be incredibly difficult. Sometimes it's all about realizing that your friends and family are struggling to understand the effects and implications of living with pain.

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People with pain need understanding, support, and compassion from their friends and family—because sometimes that support from the ones that matter most makes all the difference. In this article, members of The Mighty open up about the things they wish their loved ones would say more often.

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Story

Paige Wyant • Follow

Chronic Illness

November 14, 2018

12 Things People With Chronic Illness Wish Their Loved Ones Would Say More Often

If you have a loved one with chronic illness, it can be tough to know what to say. Sometimes, even the most well-intentioned comments can