Unsilencing pain
November 2-8 is National Pain Awareness Week. This year’s campaign, #UnsilencePain, invites all of us to help carry that work forward in everyday conversations.
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients are no strangers to pain, whether it’s chest pain from PH itself or pain as a side effect of medications. Like fatigue or shortness of breath, pain is one of the “invisible” symptoms of PH.
But what is pain and where does it come from? A recent article in The Tyee says:
“’It’s not in your head but it is in your brain.’ It’s our brain perceiving the pain. Pain is an output from the brain, not an input.
No sensation is pain until the brain perceives it as pain. … Pain is a sensory and emotional experience. The brain is taking information about sensations and information from previous learned experience, emotions, potential threats in your environment and so on to create an experience of pain. The pain can be the result of actual tissue damage, potential tissue damage or no damage.”
Pain Canada notes that people often report feeling alone with their pain, or that they should hide it and cope with it quietly. As a result, people don’t receive the support they need and when they raise the subject, their friends and family don’t know how to respond.
During National Pain Awareness Week, check out When Pain Comes Up, a free downloadable resource that gives people practical conversation-starting points they can save and share. The goal is to make conversations about pain a little easier, more respectful, and more useful.
Being supportive does not mean having all the answers. You do not need to get every word right. What matters is making room for the conversation and helping someone know that support is available if they want it.
Building a simple skincare routine can be surprisingly satisfying when every product has a clear purpose. I prefer learning about cleansers, moisturizers, and sunscreen before experimenting with more complicated combinations of ingredients. During my research into beauty and lifestyle resources, I found lablogbeaute.co.uk, a British beauty blog. I enjoy exploring how different writers approach everyday skincare and explain the reasoning behind their recommendations. For Canadian readers, seasonal changes can make these discussions particularly relevant. A practical routine does not necessarily need numerous products, and understanding the basics can make daily skincare feel much more manageable.