September is Pain Awareness Month and is dedicated to raising awareness for those who live with persistent pain. Many people suffer from chronic mental or physical pain on a daily basis.
During September, people and organizations come together to raise public awareness about what life is like for those with chronic pain.
Living with Chronic Pain
Living with chronic pain can greatly affect your daily routine, work performance and your physical and mental health. Some of the issues related to chronic pain include:
- Mood swings
- Fatigue
- Trouble sleeping
- Lack of an appetite
- Loss of interest in things that you used to enjoy
- Reduced energy
There are many symptoms that can affect someone with chronic pain, yet these signs alone can make someone a shell of who they used to be. Chronic pain is not something to take lightly.
To fully appreciate this month, it’s important to understand how it all started.
History of Pain Awareness Month
The American Chronic Pain Association created Pain Awareness Month in 2001, when they partnered with several organizations dedicated to raising awareness about chronic pain and pain management. Together, they formed Partners for Understanding Pain, which works to highlight issues faced by those with chronic pain.
Pain Awareness Month was created to raise consciousness of the issue through mass media, public forums and other platforms to accomplish the following: raise awareness about the number of people affected by chronic pain, reduce stigmas and develop better treatment and management techniques.
Since its inception in 2001, Partners for Pain has held an annual meeting, dedicated to different topics surrounding chronic pain. To this day, they continue to work to raise awareness and find solutions for people who live with chronic pain.
What You Can Do
Whether or not you have chronic pain, there are lots of ways you can get involved.
- Tell friends and family. Let them know that September is Pain Awareness Month, and use this opportunity to talk about chronic pain. Start by discussing ways to make resources in your community more accessible!
- Use social media as an outlet to spread insight on Pain Awareness Month. Some people may not consider the needs of those with chronic pain, and this is your chance to fix that.
- Share information. “Like” Pain Resource on Facebook and share articles that talk about pain management to help spread the word and see the latest information on coping with chronic pain.
- Join or support pain awareness groups by donating or actively taking a role in their programs. These are great ways to help people suffering from chronic conditions!
- Join support groups. If you are living with chronic pain, taking care of yourself is one of the most important things that you can do.
- Call your local government and community leaders to let them know that September is Pain Awareness Month. Now is a great time to advocate for legislation that helps those living with chronic pain.
- Speak with local media personnel and ask them if they’ll be covering a story on Pain Awareness Month. The more interest there is for a topic, the better the odds that they’ll run a story!
How will you observe Pain Awareness Month?
Tell us your plans in the comments!
What chronic pain topics should we cover?
Email your ideas to info@painresource.com
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