Chronic Pain: My Journey

Don S. Hunter is a child and youth counsellor, clinical social worker and psychotherapist with over 50 years experience in the mental health field and has lived with chronic daily pain for 40 of those years. Living with chronic daily pain has an enormous impact on one's relationships with family, friends, colleagues and most importantly with themselves. Feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, frustration, anger and fear threaten to become overwhelming, often on a daily basis, with thoughts of ending one's life—of ending the pain—floating in and out of mind. As it is for people who struggle with anxiety and depression, nighttime, alone with one's self is one of the most difficult and painful times, which makes sleeping a challenging time. Working daily to create and strengthen a foundation of relaxed calm, separate from the pain, has been life-saving. Through this daily practice, using every therapeutic technique available, it is possible to connect with moments of beauty and joy in life—the will to live life to the fullest, becoming stronger every day. This is Don's story.