At an inter-disciplinary conference on “pain” several years ago, I struggled to make sense of the first-couple of presentations because the presenters used the words ‘pain’and ‘suffering’ interchangeably. Of course, it’s ordinary linguistic practice to use the word ‘pain’ (and synonyms for pain like ‘hurt’, ‘ache’, and ‘painful’) to refer to suffering. It’s normal toContinue reading “Pain is not suffering, and suffering is not pain”
Tag Archives: pain
The importance of conceptual clarity – defining pain
This blog is closely related to my previous blog – “Stuart Derbyshire on foetal pain”. In that blog I reported that Stuart now rejects his former view that foetuses and early stage infants can’t feel pain because of a change in his theoretical position not because new evidence had emerged. This was intended to highlightContinue reading “The importance of conceptual clarity – defining pain”
Why ‘The Pain Jam’?
It was my wife’s idea. Names like ‘About Pain’, ‘Pain Explained’, and ‘The Pain Blog’ seemed suitable to me. “Too boring”, she thought. “How about ‘Andrew’s Pain Blog’ or ‘Wright-on Pain’” I suggested. “Eeeek” she replied. She suggested some pretty weird alternatives. “All in tune with the zeitgeist of the times” she reassured me. ForContinue reading “Why ‘The Pain Jam’?”
Questioning the significance of the biopsychosocial approach to pain treatment and management
My recent research (for an article) into the biopsychosocial (the ‘BPS’) approach to pain treatment and management has really surprised me. This approach has been around for quite a long time and in that time it’s come to dominate mainstream treatment and management of pain, so I expected to find a fully developed and thoroughlyContinue reading “Questioning the significance of the biopsychosocial approach to pain treatment and management”
The Pain Jam 