If I asked you to tell me how this Aurora image represents your pain, I will hear different responses. One may say it represents the pain intensity as high, off the charts while someone else may say it represents the feelings of joy when the pain is low. This is because of perception, and everyone’s perception is real. Your pain is real, “whether someone is in pain is not determined by whether someone else thinks they should or shouldn’t be in pain, nor by their x-ray, scan findings or blood tests.” (2021, pain and perception, a closer look at why we hurt)

The one thing about pain is the intensity changes day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute. Knowing about pain intensity changes can lead to hope because it tells you your pain is being influenced by more than the original injury alone.

How we learn to recognize pain influencers is with Pain Education/Awareness.