What is chronic pain, and why is it different for different people? How do we begin to treat chronic pain? If my pain fluctuates, what can I do about it? We answer these questions and more in our latest episode. This is the first of two episodes about chronic pain, produced by Trainee Clinical Psychologist, Mariam Shah, and Research Fellow, Dr Kathryn Bates. In this first episode, we interviewed Dr Anna Hood, Lecturer at the University of Manchester and expert in the biological, psychological and social challenges experienced by young people living with chronic pain. This eye-opening conversation reveals how individuals experience chronic pain, as well as the structural and social barriers many people face when they are trying to seek help. We discuss how chronic pain is defined, why people feel they need to hide their chronic pain, and how a better understanding of the complexity of chronic pain and the bias present in healthcare could improve access to support. We answered listener questions in this episode - make sure you follow us on instagram to see the shoutouts to contribute to episodes. Please rate and subscribe in your favourite podcast platform - it really helps us reach more people! You can also click the subscribe button on this page to receive a monthly newsletter with our latest episode.What you’ll find in this episode:00:26 - Chronic pain introduction08:56 - Explaining pain and hiding pain – what might lead people to hide and what can make it easier12:32 - Ken’s lived experience story16.06 - Moving away from a medical approach and incorporating biopsychosocial and structural18.05 - Disparities and racism in healthcare19:26 - Discrimination in sickle cell disease21:00 - Examples from the research on pain care discrimination23:27 - Young people experience of pain and phones29:05 - Mind body connection and science behind it34:06 - What to do if your experiencing chronic pain36:55 - Fluctuations in chronic painResources and recommendations from the episode:* Article we discussed: “Racism in pain management causes needless suffering” by Dr Anna Hood, published in the British Medical Journal: https://www.bmj.com/content/389/bmj.r848* Pain UK: a charity with resources and information about support groups: https://painuk.org* NHS information on chronic pain: https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/brain-nerves-and-spinal-cord/chronic-pain/The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or The Science or Fiction Podcast. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.scienceorfiction.co.uk

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