Airing Pain 103: Pain and Relationships

How pain’s unpredictability can affect interpersonal relationships, and recognising help when it appears

This edition of Airing Pain is funded by the JTH Charitable Trust and the Persula Foundation.

With between one third and one half of people living with chronic pain in the UK alone, the number of people experiencing the effects of pain explodes when considering family and friendships. For some of these people, life can become a cycle of hospital visits, blood tests, and scans. So, what can be done to ease these relationships?

In this edition of Airing Pain, Paul Evans and eminent psychotherapist Dr Barry Mason speak about their personal experiences with fibromyalgia and ankylosing spondylitis.

With many chronic pain conditions being “invisible”, explaining your pain may seem impossible, and as the family’s “uninvited guest”, it can cause people to close up to those looking to help. Dr Mason explains that not speaking about this uncomfortable topic can lead to further issues, and how opening up can lead to better family teamwork.

Issues covered in this programme include: Ankylosing spondylitis, cancer, children and young people, chronic primary pain, chronic pain as a condition in its own right, communicating pain, couple’s therapy, explaining pain to children, family therapy, fibromyalgia, friends and relationships.

Contributors:

• Dr Barry Mason, Family Psychotherapist, Member of UK Council for Psychotherapy.