Chronic pain is only incomprehensible if… …the wrong model is being used. The biomedical model does not explain chronic pain—the variety of expressions people describe. And that’s many people; millions across the globe. Each has their own experience of a painful moment, generated top-down as a best guess to explain their lived world. That’s the modern take, which does explain the variety and the many different scenarios that create confusion. But the confusion stems from looking through the wrong lens. This is not a blame-game however. People are trying to make sense of it all—both the person having the lived experience and the clinicians attempting to help. The sooner that society and healthcare moves to a person-first, whole approach, the sooner suffering will be eased on a greater scale (IMHO). What does that mean? Instead of trying to squeeze people into pre-determined boxes, we can meet them where they are and fit the model to them. There is no single way to help a person suffering chronic pain—no approach, no therapy, no treatment. Seeing and listening to the person is the first step. What is happening in their world? What is their picture of success? Now we can begin to help them understand their experiences and offer ways forward in their chosen direction.. It is empowering, respecting autonomy and encouraging. Getting better is an active process on the part of the person, often requiring collaboration with a compassionate clinician who is the guide (on the side, not a sage on the stage 😄). Embodied cognition, enactivism and predictive processing offer ways of understanding what is happening and how. Much more work needs to be done looking at chronic pain through these lenses, yet they are able to explain people’s experiences, biology and other measurables such as investigations. In turn, this leads to a wide range of skills and strategies that form a daily practice to build wellness and live a best life. If you would like to learn more about Helping others Our Massage and Reflexology Courses are a Good start www.sohmar.com