Guest Article: Lived Experience Community to support people experiencing pain
Living with persistent pain can make daily life really difficult. Feeling isolated, in particular, can make everyday difficulties worse. Many people may not understand or know what your pain is like. This can include the people closest to you, including your family, friends, and healthcare professionals. This can lead to feelings of being excluded.
But others who experience persistent pain may be able to identify with your experiences. This might help you to feel more able to express yourself, in the knowledge that others with similar experiences can listen, understand, and empathise with what you are going through.
This is why the Pain Revolution Lived Experience Community was created. The Community offers a safe and accessible space for geographically isolated people to come together to both share their individual experiences and learnings and support each other in acting on this information to make a positive change in their pain care journey.
If you, or someone you know, is living with persistent pain, please join us for our next monthly event. We meet on the last Thursday of each month at 6pm (AEDT), and it’s free to attend.
The Community was developed following a workshop with people in pain, researchers, and policy makers last year. Pain Revolution then implemented a 6-month pilot program for a Lived Experience Community to support better outcomes for people dealing with persistent pain. The positive reaction to the first session meant Pain Revolution decided to make The Community a monthly event, and it’s only getting bigger and better.
The community meets each month via video conference and discusses different pain education concepts and experiences together, led by a facilitator and a pain educator. The sessions thrive on the collective wisdom of people engaged with that journey to help others at earlier stages and to support and inspire each other to persevere.
To find out more, or to register your interest, please email Seanna: seanna@painrevolution.org
Come join the revolution, from the comfort of your own living room.