"The best lessons I have learned is that the intensity of my pain depends on me, my thoughts, and my actions. The other important lesson is that I can turn down the intensity of my pain with calm, quiet breaths and muscle relaxation." - Heather Divine

Heather Divine graduated from the Misericordia School of Nursing in Edmonton, Alberta in 1974 and worked as an operating room nurse until May 31, 1991, when persistent pain forced her from the workforce.

Very soon after that, I met with another person who had lived with pain for over 25 years and she was fasting with the intent to die. My pain doctor asked me if I would go and talk with her and talk about living with pain. I stopped by her home and began by talking about my own fears and thoughts and how scared I was to face the rest of my life with pain. We talked and laughed and cried for a few hours and at the end of my visit, she changed her mind about wanting to die. I asked her what had made such a difference and she told me “this is the first time since my pain started that somebody understood”. We started a support group together and this was the beginning of new meaning and purpose in my life.

Over the past 30 years, I have continued on this path supporting people, and their families, who lived with persistent pain.

• I was the president of the Chronic Pain Association of Canada for about 18 years.
• Represented people who lived with pain on many committees, initiatives, and projects.
• I took the Chronic Pain Self-management 6 week program and then became a leader.
• I was one of the founding board members of Pain BC.
• I worked with British Columbia’s Practise Support Program and spoke at many local community’s pain management development meetings.
• In 2011 I founded People in Pain Network to establish local community pain self-management education and support (PSMES) groups across Canada. With all the other work I had been involved with, it was clear that people who lived with pain needed ongoing education and support with the primary focus of learning to live well with their pain. One of the most valuable benefit of our groups is that people living with persistent pain are heard and understood. They have a safe place to share the struggles and solutions and be supported as they build a new normal.

o The website has resources, recorded webinars, presentations, links to other resources and organizations, and of course, links to all the PSMES groups. The website is People in Pain Network https://www.pipain.com/.

As the years went by, I learned, the hard way, how to pace, how to pay attention to my pain, and to understand that my pain is my protector and when I “listen” when it suggests that I change my behaviour and my actions, the “voice” of my pain becomes softer.

When I ignore my pain, it will soon shout as loud as it needs to make me listen. The best lessons I have learned is that the intensity of my pain depends on me, my thoughts, and my actions. The other important lesson is that I can turn down the intensity of my pain with calm, quiet breathes, and muscle relaxation.

I realized a few years ago that if I see my healthcare provider for 20 minutes a month, the remaining 43,180 minutes every month are mine to self-manage. Pain impacts our body, mind, spirit, and environment. Start with the area that means the most to you and keep going.

Our Canadian Adult and Youth Pain Toolkits (free on our website) are good places to start to learn more about self-management skills.