Chronic Pain: From Survival to Support | Kat Naud | TEDxUNBSaintJohn

[ajb]

I appreciate her speaking out on this, but choosing to be strong and live her life is amazing. But “stop the pity party”? It isn’t a pity party. It’s a fight to live. Every single day. To be this young and be chronically ill is something way more than a pity party. Every single day you wake up, you are choosing to live with this. To ensure this. We are not like regular people, no matter how much we’d like to be. Every single movement, everything we do must be calculated and weighed out. Sometimes it’s hard for people to fight that battle. But that doesn’t mean that they want a woe party. Every person that experiences chronic pain is a warrior. No matter what path they might choose.

[jacinthassecretgarden]

I live with chronic pain every day, from the age of 14. The pain has worsened over the years, and I had my dark periods, but the suffering helped me to go further into art, music and writing, and I ended up finding the courage doing things I would have never imagined being brave enough to do. Still, for me, the hardest part is not to be believed, accepted or understood by people around me. Love to all who live in/with chronic pain, you are not alone.

[Springwaterpixi]

My children are the only reason I continue to stay here. Lack of knowledgeable caring Dr's and financially accessible treatments is no where to be found.

[flowerpetals]

I live with chronic pain and my health has deteriorated. I am now disabled and need two major operations. A lot of time is spent in bed. I hardly go out. What keeps me going is watching that film or colouring in. I look out of the window and I am so happy that I have lived to see another day. Each day is a blessing. My life is a blessing and I do not need to justify it.

[jenniebigley]

Thank you for sharing your courage with me. I was hit by a 4x4 truck as a pedestrian on a crosswalk and sent flying with 19 broken bones & the pain is worsening each year.! It so helps to hear you too are living on thru this crushing experience. Thank you so much for helping me feel less alone.

[codevev]

Underrated video. I have been struggling with the chronic neck pain for years. Thousands of dollars and tons of different doctor visits and procedures, and the pain is still there. It's often just demotivating to do anything, especially once you've gone through the work day. But you just have to, otherwise it's even more miserable

[JerseyMiller]

Chronic pain patients, let's hope and pray that the legislators get to feel the pain that we feel. Then they will understand what they are doing to us. Pain is the best teacher.

[kavyakumar]

this is literally the first talk on chronic illness or pain that shows a balanced view and is actually relatable to someone who struggles with the same thing <3

[evaluna]

wow!! I am your twin... I thought I was the only one who faced agony like that. I did the same, with 2 neck surgeries, a body fusion and laminectomy to my thoracic area. I carry a cage around my spine and screws holding my spine together. I have suffered since I was 27 years old. I am 57 now. My journey I am going thru has been my inspiration to life. I am proud of the person I am now, and I believe that chronic pain I go thru, made me the strong woman I am today. I understand exactly where you are coming from. Pat yourself on the back. We are Wonder Women .

[antonsund]

Man, I honestly have no clue how she is able to take that pain without medication and live through her day. My problems are small compared to hers but still, I feel like sometimes I need a pill to reduce my suffering. The amount of willpower it takes to fight through this is just tremendous. Big congrats to her for being able to do that!

[edwarddunlap]

a doctor who has never experinced chronic pain should NEVER become a pain doctor !

[mommattplus]

You’re an inspiration. Most people don’t understand chronic pain. We usually suffer in isolation but there’s always a way to overcome the circumstances we face 💪🏼

[shahanamohammed]

I was diagnosed with chronic pain recently. I’ve been going through it since 2018, December.
From 2017 until 2018 my health was starting to get messed up. I would run out of breath, had severe respiratory infections, severe allergies, allergic conjunctivitis. Etc. I waited for it to get better. A couple months after I joined med school, I thought I was getting better. It was calm before the storm. Every single day, is a struggle. I lost my appetite almost fully. I don’t feel like eating no matter how long I starve for. I’m always tired and on my bed. I hate taking painkillers because some could affect you in the long run. Also, it could be addictive. I waited for at least 7 hours everyday until I finally took them at nights/midnights
The pain is mainly at my eyes and head, and I can’t even cry because that hurts even more. I can’t move. Everything is a struggle. Sitting upright. Walking. Everything. I don’t even feel fresh after/during shower. Some days are better than the others but some days. I wish I died. I have such a big commitment (medical school, which I always dreamed of) and it is extremely hard. While typing this, I’m on my bed, in pain without even having a meal.! The hard truth is that, it is only going to get worse and I don’t know if I could really pull myself together because the pain I go through currently is insane. I can’t imagine going through something more intense. I feel like I can’t make it through media school and I’m goin to be such a failure. I genuinely wish I died, so that I don’t be a burden on my family and friends anymore.

[nadinezachary]

I'm happy for her. After 20 years of daily pain I'm just not that strong. They've cut meds across the board, with no consideration for chronic pain patients. The med cut was in 2019, in 2020 opioid overdoses were UP 29%. Prescriptions are a small part of the problem, it's mostly street drugs, esp. Fentanyl. What this has accomplished is driving many to suicide or street drugs. What they are doing is not helping and we need change. Don't punish the innocent.

[gradgirl]

Let’s see if she has such a positive outlook after 10 or 20 yrs of chronic pain. You are not stronger from chronic pain - you lose yourself, you lose the life you knew, you lose who you are to others - kids, spouse, friends, parents, professionally and on and on. These ted talks are more about trying to make others feel good about a person’s story than about reality. It’s beyond pointless (not questioning her injuries or pain - she is just young and I think more focused on trying to tell a story with a happy ending. Life is hard and for chronic pain sufferers it can be torturous - we do our best to retain our purpose and our relationships.

[elangosubramanian]

Her speech has given me a moral support to live with the pain and how to overcome the pain.thanks

[WandaJaeMusic]

This is exactly why I searched for these videos. I want to see survivors. I need to hear stories I can relate to. I'm definitely not weak. However, living in chronic pain without meds due to my doctors almost killing me, is whack AF. I had to make sure I wasn't being a baby. A healthy reminder. Validation. Something I probably shouldn't seek out, especially on YouTube, but so many moments are spent alone in these emotions. Pushing and pressing. It makes life worth living, and me more grateful to still be here. We kick azz....seriously. Victims, we are not. I'm understanding daily that I'm not alone in dealing with mental health coupled with chronic pain, with or without medications. I appreciate everyone's stories here. And this woman's testimony is pretty encouraging. Keep rocking. 🥰🧘🏽‍♀️

[vynniev]

The moment she started talking in that breathless way, I knew she was in real agony. She's stronger than me. Bless her

[ritaj]

I am crying and thinking about how my life is done
Chronic chest pain, tendinitis in Both arms feet and Knees
Thank you for giving me 1% hope that my life could go on

[borisdvorkin]

You are such a trooper. I have atypical facial neuralgia. It started at 24 and I am almost 44. It is so hard to live with chronic pain. I feel so down most of the days because this pain changed me so much. But I guess we have have no choice and just need to keep on going