Chronic Pain Australia’s 2019 National Pain Survey shows people continue to face high levels of stigma when dealing with pain. Source: Getty For example, people who previously had shingles can develop ongoing neuropathic pain that lasts for years, but can struggle to find understanding from those around them because the physical symptoms aren’t there. “They’re like, ‘Well that was years ago, why is it still a problem? I can’t see anything. You don’t have the rash anymore’. That’s one of the major issues with pain,” McMaugh explains. He also says Australians’ tendency to endure pain without complaint has had a detrimental effect on those living with chronic pain. “If there’s something that’s bothering you, you seek help for it and if you can’t get help and there’s no help to be had, you just grin and bear it and cope,” McMaugh says of society’s attitude towards pain. “That’s a […]