Chronic Pain Stories: A New Perspective on Life with Constant Hurt

Jasmine Reed has lived with chronic illness since she was 15. After years of seeing doctors and trying different treatments, she doesn’t feel much better. Reed wishes others would believe she is in pain even though she doesn’t look sick. Chronic pain doesn’t necessarily come from a specific external cause, so it’s hard to treat and hard to prove to others. But that doesn’t mean it’s not real. Countless patients suffer from chronic pain with little relief. There’s a lot we can learn from hearing these chronic pain stories that can help us develop greater empathy and find solutions. In this podcast episode, we talk to chronic pain experts about treatments and chronic pain’s connection to the opioid epidemic. We also talk to neuroscientists about pain patterns in the brain and how we can help to heal ourselves. Podcast Guests: Jasmine Reed, Chronic illness. Daniel Clauw, Director, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan. Tor Wager, Professor of Neuroscience, Dartmouth College.