|
1. Chronic pain is a Frustrating, Persistent, Daily, and an Hourly Struggle
|
“A constant internal battle, managing pain is done or experienced on an ongoing, daily basis.” “It’s pretty frustrating because you – well, you’re one person 5 years ago and you’re a totally different person now.” “It is more constant than intermittent. On average, it sits at a 5/6. It can get to an 8 at night.” “Frustrating, stressful, sometimes depressing, aggravating. You just want to scream.”
|
|
2. Resilient in Living with Chronic Pain is the New Normal
|
“I love to run 5 miles a day, and I cannot do it anymore. So, I tried to say that even though I was in pain at times, I tried to be as active as possible. I still do. I push myself. I try to ignore the pain and keep going.” “I’m on the Team [Name]for the Warrior Games and Team USA for Invictus, an adaptive sports program for people in the military who’ve been injured. It’s so beneficial for me mentally, emotionally, and physically to be a part of this team that coming together to heal and learn how to adapt to the injuries that they’ve sustained.” “I’ve learned to live with it. Tough it out and it becomes your new normal, being in pain.”
|
|
3. Mission First and Impact of Invisible Pain
|
“Do your job and deal with the pain. It’s a struggle – be strong and do your job; no one wants to talk about it. You learn to live with it.” “Trying to work out as much as I can. I do not want to be on extra medications. So, you avoid talking about it as much as possible and play it all down.” “The military teaches you, ‘You need to tough it out and do what you need to do.’” “I push myself. I try to ignore the pain and keep going.”
|
|
4. Self-Care Management—The Internal Locus of Control in Using Non-pharmacological Therapies
|
“The first two hours of the day, I take care of myself, and I’m good for the whole day. I manage it through yoga, stretching, and walking.” “Maintaining movement—“Motion is lotion.” “You need to work out to maintain a sense of life.” “The secret to life is mobility.” “I try to maintain a positive attitude, develop coping strategies, and eat a gluten free diet to mitigate the pain.” “First thing in the morning, I already expecting pain. So, another one of my routines is, I use Bio freeze for my lower back.”
|
|
5. Pain Accepted and Managed to Improve Quality of life
|
“I’m not as depressed as I used to be, but that pretty much gone. So, it’s just, wake up, workout, don’t force yourself, take your time, so, it’s better.” “Because you have to learn how to function with it, I have to learn how to still be a full-time mom. Get my degree. Volunteer. Try to work.” “It is definitely something I live with every day. I would say on average my pain is a 6 or a 7. Well, it’s debilitating, I spend many hours of my day trying to mitigate the pain.” “I walk on cement a lot because I am a warehouse supervisor. So, I wear supportive boots, steel toe boots. Those boots provide support for my lower back. So, if I’m cooking or going to be on my feet, I wear my boots.”
|
|
6. COVID-19 Decreased Social Interaction
|
“I retired in April. Because of COVID-19, getting a doctor appointment is hard because I’m a new patient. I have been taking less medication than I normally want to take, so I can make sure it lasts for a longer period of time in case I can’t get a prescription.” “I do a lot of things to mitigate the pain, …With COVID-19 all the things shut down like physical therapy, massage, or acupuncture, but luckily I was able to get me a TENS unit prescribed, and they send me new pads once a month and that helps just alleviate that chronic tension.” “I prefer to keep it [gatherings] to really three or less, including myself because that just seems a bit more manageable for me than a lot of people. COVD-19 has been great for me because it gives me an excuse to be anti-social.”
|
|
7. Pain of Military Sexual Trauma is Not Reported
|
“I really wanted to stay in and retire, but I was harassed. It was just too bad, I got out. I was the only woman in that field at the time in my shop, and the men did nothing but harass me.” “I can deal with the TBIs, the neck and back pain, the nerve pain from all the injuries from the job because I knew that I was willing to give my life when I signed up for the military, but what I can’t handle is what I’ve gone through mentally, emotionally, and physically when it comes to being raped by your own ‘brothers.’ . . I stored it all down; it took its toll and all the pain.” “I was sexual assaulted, but I do now want to talk about it.”
|
|
8. Disparities in Health Care due to Self-perception of Providers’ Bias as Pain is Not Understood
|
“Being an African American person, I don’t get treated medically the best I could be, is my opinion. I tell them I have this pain, and they do an X-ray or MRI, but I don’t see anything. Something is wrong with me.” “I am a female, and a minority and when I say I’m in pain, how I am viewed just like with the unconscious bias - as I said – because I’m a very small segment of a pretty large population.” “I’ve seen the difference on active duty, and I see the difference now. My husband gets better health care than I do. It’s like I have to fight and push to get better care.” “Women get discounted because they are too sensitive. And so, many of my concerns regarding the pain, is really for the care after I get out. But often times, female-specific pain is overlooked.”
|
