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September is Pain Awareness Month, a month during which we acknowledge those who live with Chronic pain – daily, continual pain, either as part of a larger illness or because of a pain disorder.  Everyone has experienced some kind of pain in their lives, but for people with Chronic pain it is a daily fact, to be dealt with and allowed for in everything they do.

Last year was the first Pain Awareness Month in New Zealand – the custom started in America – and the winning piece, Broken Wings by Clare Caldwell, is displayed on the right of the screen. Despite it being the first competition of its kind in NZ, we recieved more than 30 entries, and raised over $450 for various charities in the charity auction.

This year will be bigger. The theme this year is Metamorphosis – showing in your way how pain has helped or forced you to grow, become stronger… your interpretation of that theme. Any medium you like, anything you want to create – so long as it corresponds to the theme. for information on how to enter & the entry forms, the link is here

Chronic pain is still largely a mystery; doctors have not defined how exactly it manifests, or why, but it is now a recognised condition, and is more widespread than people think. Already this year i have encountered people who had never heard of Chronic Pain – and yet known someone with a chronic pain condition. The more knowledge we can get out about these conditions, the easier we will make it for those who have them to get on with their lives.

Pain comes alongside chemotherapy treatment, as the medication burns its way through the system; arthritics experience extreme pain & stiffness in all afflicted joints, affecting mobility among other things, and fibromyalgics suffer acute severe pain throughout their muscles because of a malfunctioning nervous system. There are so many pain conditions, or conditions which come with pain that they’re hard to list (though i’ve tried, under the Chronic Pain link) We’re reaching the point now where more people have heard of specific pain conditions, but they know very little about what they are, or what it is like to live with them. Medical treatments have come a long way in the last few years, but are still extreme, with strong painkillers & nerve blocks being the most universally effective. Alternative treatments such as massage and acupuncture can also offer short term relief – in fact, all relief is in the short term, and many medical options come with extreme side effects. Self-management of your condition and a good team of doctors are essential in making headway against this major obstacle – to have to deal with disbelief, scorn or being thought of as weak because of something no one can see on top of this is too much.

Pain is a taboo subject. It is hard to define and discuss, as all experiences of pain are subjective – it is impossible to decipher the difference between how two different people experience pain – so explaining ‘what it feels like’ or what it IS like is hard. People are not comfortable in discussing pain, as in most peoples lives its a temporary thing that is to be avoided, not a daily fact of life that is always there.

It’s not easy for friends and family to listen to their loved ones talk about being in pain. Despite it being a part of daily life for one party, the others understand it as something to be avoided, and feared. Discussions either upset those are not used to pain as a daily occurrence, or conclude in argument as it is hard for them to understand how someone can be in that much pain and yet have no outward sign of it, or reason for it.

What we aim to do with this event is to provide an opportunity for pain to be discussed and explored. For people to express their pain without censor to those who will understand, and to give others an opportunity to gain some understanding of what their lives are like.

So please! Bring your creativity to bear on a difficult subject, and lets see how much beauty we can create out of pain.