Communicating the experience of living with chronic pain: The role of non-verbal communication and the power of lessons learned

Abstract

Background: Chronic pain is hard to communicate due to its invisible, inaudible, and imprecise nature. Outside of pain scales that try to quantify pain, individuals with chronic pain have a hard time expressing it, yet pain management relies on effective communication. This study explores how women with chronic pain enrolled in an online therapeutic writing workshop communicate the experience of living with chronic pain to fellow sufferers. Methods: A six-week online therapeutic writing workshop was conducted with individuals with chronic pain who responded to weekly creative writing prompts that focused on mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy strategies including attention, emotional regulation, and examining thoughts and attitudes. Participants were recruited by their primary care provider; seven participants enrolled. All posts were aggregated and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Data analysis from participants’ posts reveal two interpretive repertoires including physical evidence of pain where participants expressed visible impacts of pain occurring in their home environments and communicated non-verbally in gestures and behaviors. Secondly, the theme of lessons learned from living with pain emerged including enhanced empathy, the need for self-care, and sharing coping skills. Conclusion: This study extends our understanding of the experience of living with chronic pain outside of a medical context by providing new insights gained from their creative writing responses. The online therapeutic writing workshop fostered a community of support where participants were empowered to express their pain, identify their pain behaviors, and invite cognitive restructuring to learn from their pain.