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Into the void

Writing a blog very much feels like sending something out into the void – a bit like dropping a bottle with a note from a ship in the middle of a vast ocean. Who knows where it will land? And what will be the reception when it gets there?

So welcome reader, you are the one who has found and picked up the bottle. I have to confess that, unlike a note tossed overboard in a bottle, I am still writing mine. Before I write it, I am actually giving you an unusual task. What should I write on my note?

But before I get you to answer that question – in fact to help you answer that question – let me fill you in a bit as to who I am and what I am thinking of doing.

Firstly, the bare facts. My name is Philip Siddall. I grew up in Sydney, Australia, graduated from medical school, spent three years in China studying acupuncture, returned to take up a path in pain medicine and obtained a PhD in pain physiology. I then practised clinically for 30 years while combining clinical work with research into pain. Last year, I stepped down from clinical practice but continue in part time research and have an appointment as Professor in Pain Medicine at the University of Sydney.

That gives you a few facts about me, but what gets my heart rate going a bit faster? I love research – the opportunity to dig deep into questions and put pieces of information together. It is like a good detective story but with the hope of finding something that will give hope to people rather than put them away. And I love teaching people about pain especially people living with pain. It is hugely satisfying to see people gain hope when they understand more of how pain works and the full range of options we have for controlling pain.

What do I love to teach about and research? I have spent many years researching and teaching about various aspects of pain such as pain and the brain and the particular issues of pain in people who have experienced a spinal cord injury.

However, over the years of talking to health professionals and people in pain, there are some big issues that I think are hugely important for how all of us live with pain and suffering. Why are some people so resilient in the face of pain, why is that some people don’t just survive pain and suffering but actually grow through the experience? How can we experience happiness and even joy when confronted by pain and suffering? And how do people maintain a sense of hope when living with seemingly unending pain?

Those are some of the issues that I would like to explore. How exactly am I going to do that? Well, my thought is to do it two ways. The first is a blog which I will use to explore what we know about some of these questions. The second is a podcast with interviews. These interviews will be an opportunity to talk to people about their experience of pain. I will interview people living with pain and seek to explore their own experience of pain – not just the challenges but those things that give them hope and joy in the midst of pain.

But I will not just talk to people living with pain, I will interview health professionals and others who have spent time looking at some of these questions. I will ask about their area of interest and the key issues that they see are crucial for helping us understand and live with pain. And, if they are willing – and that may be a big “if”, I will not just ask them about facts. I also hope to explore their own personal experiences of pain, suffering, resilience, growth, joy and hope.

So, the bottle is overboard! If you find it, please let me know and if you have comments thoughts or suggestions, feel free to send them right back to me.