We’re sharing a drink called pain

• Mar 20, 2024 • by Paul Ingraham
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Weekly nuggets of pain science news and insight, usually 100-300 words, with the occasional longer post. The blog is the “director’s commentary” on the core content of PainScience.com: a library of major articles and books about common painful problems and popular treatments. See the blog archives or updates for the whole site.

I could have studied chronic pain for an extra twenty years and I wouldn’t have come close to what I understand about the topic thanks to the delight of experiencing a lot of it myself. The pain has sustained and guaranteed my keen interest during a phase of my career when I might well otherwise have gotten a bit burned out and moved on.

Nothing is as good for learning as just being really interested.

I have also suffered much less, thanks to a community of smart friends and PainSci readers who educate and support me … even as I educate and support them (you). To paraphrase Billy Joel: “we’re sharing a drink called pain, but it’s better than drinking alone.”

A simple image of a quote in a slightly decorative white text on a blue background: "We’re sharing a drink called pain, but it’s better than drinking alone." Adapted from the Billy Joel lyric.

If you’re new here: in 2015, I developed unexplained chronic widespread pain (AKA “fibromyalgia”). A bunch of ME/CFS-y stuff too. It’s been a lot like long COVID … only it started years too early. The most likely explanation is that it’s “long flu,” but there are several theories.