My Pain is More Than a Number
My pain is more than a number.
A scale of one to ten can describe an ache. It can't describe a life. Here's what actually gets left out — and how to say it out loud.
"Numbering our pain on a scale doesn't account for the damage to our soul."
— Mike, a veteran who has lived with chronic painConcentrating. Sitting. Standing. Getting through the day.
What does your pain mean for your life?
For Amanda, one of the biggest invisible impacts of chronic pain is the loss of spontaneity.
"Most people can decide on the spot if they want to go out, or duck down the street to run an errand, or take on an extra task at work, or do something spontaneous at their kid's school. But for me, even those really simple decisions require a lot of calculation. How much pain am I already in? Will this make it worse? What am I going to have to sacrifice later to recover from it?"
Chronic pain is about more than a number
Pain can affect much more than how much something hurts. Tap a card to see what it can touch.
Sleep
Tap to revealGetting to sleep. Staying asleep. Waking rested.
Work & study
Tap to revealConcentrating. Sitting. Standing. Getting through the day.
Everyday life
Tap to revealCooking. Shopping. Driving. Showering. Even tying your shoes.
Relationships
Tap to revealFamily life. Caring for others. Socialising. Making plans.
Wellbeing
Tap to revealEnergy. Mood. Confidence. Feeling understood.
What matters to you
Tap to revealMoving. Participating. Being independent. Doing the things that matter in your life.
Pain is a whole experience — it's physical, it's emotional, it's social — and reducing that to a single digit misses the much bigger picture of what someone is actually having to live through.
Your number is only part of the story.
Tell your health professional how pain is affecting your life and what you want to be able to do. You might say:
Talk to your health professional about
- How pain is affecting your everyday life
- What you want to be able to do
- What is and isn't helping
- Your medicines, side effects or concerns
- What support may be available
"Having my health professional understand how it affects my daily life, and what is important to me to be able to get better function, allows them to really tailor the care and make it personal and individual — not only to my pain, but also to my goals and how I want to be able to do more."
Your pain is more than a number.
Tell your health professional what pain means for your life — and what matters most to you.
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