Let’s talk about…how CBT can help with living well with pain

In this episode of Let’s Talk About CBT, Helen Macdonald speaks with Pete Moore, author and creator of The Pain Toolkit, about his journey of living with long-term pain. Pete shares his experiences of how he was able to move from being overwhelmed by pain to learning CBT techniques and strategies which helped him learn to manage it effectively, regain control, and even help others do the same.

Useful links:

The Pain Toolkit website

Live well with pain website

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Credits:

Music is Autmn Coffee by Bosnow from Uppbeat

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/bosnow/autumn-coffee

License code: 3F32NRBYH67P5MIF

This episode was edited by Steph Curnow

 

Transcript:

Helen: Hello, and welcome to Let's Talk About CBT, the podcast where we talk about cognitive and behavioural psychotherapies, what they are, what they can do, and what they can't.  I'm Helen Macdonald, your host. I'm the Senior Clinical Advisor for the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies  

Today, I'm speaking with Pete Moore, who'll be sharing with us his journey living with long term pain.  Many years ago, Pete took part in an inpatient pain management program, which among other things uses cognitive and behavioural techniques to learn how to manage long term symptoms of pain.  Pete will tell us about his journey and where he is today in not only managing his own pain and staying active, but also how he helps other people to learn key ways of living successfully with long term pain.  Pete, would you like to introduce yourself to our listeners?

Pete: Yes, well, hi everyone. My name's Pete Moore and I'm the author and originator of the Pain Toolkit. I just want to say, Helen, thanks very much for inviting me along to do this podcast and I'm really looking forward to having a chat with you.

Helen: That's great. Thank you very much, Pete. I think a good place to start would be if I ask you just to tell me a bit about how you ended up living with long term pain.

Pete: Yeah, it's, such a familiar story actually that of mine. Back then in the early nineties, I had back pain and such and I used to sort of manage it by taking over the counter medication, et cetera, or just having a rest. But I didn't really do a lot to help myself. I didn't really know what to do with it. I just, you know, it's like most people just get on with life. But I think it was about 92, back then I was a painter and decorator, and I was painting a house over in Windsor Castle. Anyway, I went home that night and the next day I couldn't get out of bed. I found out later on that I'd prolapsed some discs in my back, I think, two in the lower, and one in the middle. And I was pretty s