A Silent Epidemic

A long-time friend from my childhood contacted me this morning. He’d read my blog for the first time, and was amazed to find out I live with chronic pain. Turns out, so does he. We’d renewed communication some time ago, but neither one of us had mentioned this fact in all that time, though the pain has a huge impact on our lives.

It’s just not something you talk about much.

Most people don’t mind talking about being diabetic, or if you have thyroid problems, heart problems, high blood pressure… all sorts of things you can’t tell a person has just by looking at them. But many people with chronic pain don’t talk about it.

It’s not like there aren’t a lot of people out there with the problem. According to an article on the American Pain Society’s website nearly half of all Americans see a doctor with the primary complaint of pain each year. In 2003, it was estimated that 35.5% of the population, or 105 million people in the United States, have chronic pain. Who knows how many more there are by now?

If at least one in three people presently have, or at some point experienced problems with pain, why don’t we hear more about it? Why are we so reluctant to talk about it?

Maybe it’s because you can quantify stuff like diabetes or heart problems and the like. Lab tests and other procedures can give a fairly clear picture of the extent of those conditions. It’s safe to talk about, because you have proof of the problem.

But pain? There’s no test to show how much pain you’re in. How do you prove it’s not all in your head? The doctors ask you to tell them what your level of pain is, using a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being no pain, and 10 being the worst pain imaginable. Only one person can say how bad the pain is, and that’s the person experiencing it.

Since people can’t see your pain, there’s no test to prove you have pain, and about 2/3rd's of the population have little to no concept of chronic pain, then people who DO have chronic pain run up against the constant struggle to explain what it’s like to live with chronic pain, and people who find it hard to believe they can be in much pain, because after all, ‘You look good!”

End result? Lots and lots of people with chronic pain don’t talk about the fact they have pain. Just go about your life, and don’t mention the pain. It’s too hard to explain. Many become more and more reclusive, as pain makes it harder to get out and about, and the added mental stress is just too much.

Organizations like The American Pain Society, American Pain Foundation, American Chronic Pain Society and more try to help people with chronic pain, and get the word out to the public. Pain costs the individual, their significant others and family, and even society as the cost of medical care, lost time from work, and reduced productivity take a toll.

The epidemic is here. Right NOW. People need to hear about it.