About Me

Hello, my name is Liz, and this blog is where I share the realities of living with pain — the struggles, the coping strategies, and the moments of hope that help keep me going.

I live in a cottage on a sheep farm in the Scottish Borders with my husband and my dog, Kip, who often makes an appearance on this blog.

I would love to go for long walks and climb the hills with my husband and my dog, but unfortunately my pain doesn’t allow that. However, it doesn’t stop me from enjoying the scenery here – it’s beautiful.

I enjoy writing, and I also love drawing and painting. However, I don’t manage that quite as much as I would like to, but, hey — that’s life for people who live with pain!

If you’d like to know a bit more about me and my journey, I shared more in my 60th birthday post here. I was also interviewed on the Sick Lessons Podcast — you can read about that and find the link here.

About My Pain…

My story began as a youngster when I developed scoliosis (a curvature of my spine) It began to cause back pain when I was in my mid-teens, but over time, the pain became severe, extremely debilitating, and constant. By my late twenties, it forced me to retire from work.

Alongside chronic back pain, I also live with:

• Trigeminal neuralgia – a neurological condition that causes severe facial pain
• Chronic Rib pain – also due to having scoliosis
• Oseoporosis – a condition that makes bones weaker
• Coeliac Disease – which means I must strictly avoid gluten
• Arthritis, Raynaud’s, Migraines….I’ll stop at that

Learning to Cope (And Allowing Myself to Have Wobbly Moments)

Life with pain or any chronic health problem is far from easy. There are days (and sometimes weeks) when it’s hard to cope, and that’s okay – I don’t pretend to be superhuman. I allow myself those moments.

But I do try to find small joys every day: my husband’s silly jokes, Kip’s wagging tail, a Cadbury’s Wispa Gold bar. I try to grasp any glimpses of sunshine I can find and hold on to them. I will hold on to anything that can bring me hope and make my day brighter.

Why I Started Blogging

A few years ago, I had an idea that I could write a book about coping with pain, so I started putting pen to paper. I hoped that some of my coping strategies might help other people. However, I realised that writing a book would never come to fruition. But I still wanted to share my thoughts, so Despite Pain was born.

I write to raise awareness, share what helps me cope, and connect with others who live with pain or want to understand it better.

You’ll find:

• Personal stories and reflections
• Honest posts about living with chronic health conditions
• Coping strategies that I’ve found helpful
• Maybe a bit of humour, possibly some rants, and moments of hope

As my blog pages fill up, I’m learning, as well as writing. This is a journey for me. But I’m not too keen on travelling alone, so please click the subscribe button to join me here on my blog and on my social media pages.

Please, Pin and share my posts on your social media pages and drop me a comment – I love to hear what people think.

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Thank you for taking the time to be here. I hope you have a good day today. If you’re in pain, I hope you have a good day, despite it.