Join Tim Atkinson in discussing One Thing he wants people challenged by pain to know. What does it mean to have agency? Explore the current state of pain science research and clinical practice in this straight-to-the-point interview with Tim.
About Tim Atkinson
Tim Atkinson an author of several books including a memoir about life with chronic pain, ‘Where Does It Hurt?’. He has written for the Guardian, Reader’s Digest, Irish Times, Daily Mail and Times Educational Supplement as well as appearing on national TV and radio. Tim is also a member of the Patient Voice Committee of the British Pain Society. Find out more about Tim here.
Transcript
JOSH: Hi Tim. What’s one thing that you want people challenged by pain to know?
TIM: Right. Okay. One thing, the one most important thing that I would say is that you have got agency, you have got some element of control. We, in the patient community have been educated, inculcated with the idea that we are passive recipients of medical experts, of pharmacological interventions and all the stuff that the experts, the medics will give to us in order to cure what we come to you guys with.
But the one thing that I found that has been most helpful in unlocking the key to my own patient self-management has been the idea that I come to this with something that I can do and that I can control, and it came about in the most bizarre way imaginable as a result of research for the book that I wrote, you know, the memoir of my own pain journey “where does it hurt”, which came out in 2021. And I met somebody who I approached, somebody who was, how can I put this delicately, who was very engaged in the whole world of pain is pleasure.
It was something that I kind of came out tangentially, but then as soon as I did, became absolutely utterly engaging and fascinating because she was somebody who had a totally different approach to pain than, than me. And then every other patient that I had any experience of or contact with because she enjoyed pain, literally.
There was suddenly a light bulb moment that suddenly kind of clicked. And I realized that in her, in her situation, she enjoyed pain and she could benefit from the pain that she experienced because she felt in control of it. And it was the realization that there was actually an element of my own pain management that I could control, that I could build upon. And then I could, you know, really engage with, that started me on the journey that has led to my own sort of pain self-management over the last five years, which has been transformative.
JOSH: Yeah, fascinating. Well thanks, I think you’ve at least provoked some curiosity in some people watching this and listening to this so thank you again for your time Tim.
TIM: Thank you.