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Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what?

352 points| thrwtllwy | 3 years ago

TL;DR: I'm a founder who had some success, but now I'm disabled, can't seem to hold down a job. I'm close to defaulting on my car. I am (unsurprisingly) depressed. I need help but don't know where to go.

I spent the 2010s as a founder. My company was funded by YC and several others. We were moderately successful but didn't see a meaningful exit. After my startup failed, I started consulting to pay the bills.

In 2018 I started having problems with chronic pain and gradually became less and less capable on the job. Consulting gigs were letting me go because I couldn't keep up. The last time I worked was over a year ago, and I finally exhausted my savings in early June 2022.

I live as cheaply as I possibly can at this point. I live with family and only pay for absolute necessities. It comes out between $1200 and $1500 per month.

I'm in the US and I have an application in for SSDI, but, from what I've heard, it's very hard to get benefits, especially if you have an invisible illness like chronic pain. It's likely that my application will be initially denied and I will have to focus on an appeal. It could take a year or more of fighting to be approved.

I am selling some of my old stuff on eBay but it's exhausting and frustrating given my limitations. It's not sustainable.

I have a car payment due soon and I'm already behind by one.

Worst of all, my life is pretty drab at this point. I am obviously depressed. I see a therapist and a psychiatrist but, fundamentally, the source of my depression is the state of my life. I have nothing to look forward to. I can't even afford to toss a few bucks into side projects so I at least have something to do with my time... I mostly watch TV, play video games and lurk on the internet. It's absolutely soul sucking.

I think, given the right environment, I could finish a weekly workload of a bit less than half-time and slowly re-learn how to work again even with my limitations, but no one wants to hire a middle-aged disabled person for part-time work. Further, all of my experience is in startups and that makes me less palatable to larger companies, but larger companies have more options to accommodate disabled people.

I don't know what to do. Has anyone in the HN community been here?

EDIT: A few people have asked what I’d like to do if I were to work again. The answer is that I don’t know!

Before I started having problems, I was a backend-centric web developer but I’m pretty burned out on that these days.

I’ve always wanted to get into embedded, but I have no idea if I can make a lateral move like that in my current state.

Whatever I do, it needs to be with someone who will give me the space to try and fail and try again. That’s really the main thing.

Feel free to EMAIL ME:

tyvm for the shrimp at gmail dot com

253 comments

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[+] whitepoplar|3 years ago|reply
I'm not sure what the cause of your chronic pain is, but I would highly recommend reading John Sarno's "The Mindbody Prescription." I've dealt with chronic pain for years and it's the only thing that's had any effect. Please, please, don't write it off until you've read the book. Note that Sarno's work focuses on back pain, but it applies to all types of chronic pain (including migraines, which he discusses in the book).

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jQtmSZetJM

- https://aaroniba.net/how-i-cured-my-rsi-pain

- https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/09/well/mind/john-sarno-chro...

- https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/well/chronic-pain.h...

[+] calmoo|3 years ago|reply
I've suffered from severe chronic back pain for the past 12 years or so, starting at the age of 16. It manifested as sciatica initially, and gradually became more severe. I had flare ups that would last months. It eventually started manifesting as SI joint pain, constantly switching sides.

Over the years I had been to 4 different physiotherapists, tried everything from regular core exercises formulated by Stuart McGill, to Infrared heat bands, climbing alot. It would always come back.

I picked up Sarno's book about 6 months ago and I approached it with a highly skeptical eye. My back pain is nearly completely gone. I have had very minor flare ups that last a day or two, but I just repeat a few mantras and it disappears the next day (whereas before the same kind of flare up would last for months).

I even had MRIs done at the start of the pain, I had multiple bulging disks and even a spine that appeared too straight. For anyone reading, don't let this discourage you. 50% of people who have had bulging disks appear in an MRI don't experience any pain at all!

Sarno's book has some pretty flaky theories behind how the pain manifests and the physiology of it all, but the overaching theme is that repressed anger / anxiety can manifest as severe back pain. Once you recognise this you can lose the pain. I never thought I would fix my back pain, but now I have.

Read the book if you're suffering!

[+] throw6746|3 years ago|reply
Summary linked in the comments:

https://web.archive.org/web/20101210060431/http://podolsky.e...

> Here is my summary of what I think is most important in Dr. Sarno's theory:

> 1. The mind and the body are linked. Classic example: the placebo effect -- your mind thinks it's gotten a pill that's gonna fix your body, and what do you know, believing that leads to your body fixing itself.

> 2. Not only can the mind-body connection lead to your body healing itself (as with placebos), it can also lead to the body harming itself, or creating pain.

> 3. Now why would your body do this? In my experience, people with chronic RSIs are, deep down, not happy.

Not terribly impressed, especially the last one, try to be happy when you have pain every minute, especially when you were happy beforehand.

From wiki:

> Sarno's most notable achievement is the development, diagnosis, and treatment of tension myoneural syndrome (TMS), which is currently not accepted by mainstream medicine.[...]

> Patients typically see their doctor when the pain is at its worst and pain chart scores statistically improve over time even if left untreated; most people recover from an episode of back pain within weeks without any medical intervention at all.

> James Rainville, a medical doctor at New England Baptist Hospital, said that while TMS treatment works for some patients, Sarno mistakenly uses the TMS diagnosis for other patients who have real physical problems.

[+] honkdaddy|3 years ago|reply
For those curious enough for a brief explanation -

>Sarno explains how your unconscious mind can provoke physical pain by manipulating your autonomic nervous system to deprive muscle tissue of oxygen. The book posits that the unconscious does this because of unresolved, unconscious stress that exists deep in your mind. By inducing physical pain, the unconscious creates a distraction that prevents this stress from becoming conscious. You can eliminate the pain by addressing the unconscious stress and becoming consciously aware that the pain is merely a distraction, thus rendering the unconscious's technique unnecessary and ineffective. The book provides specific methods for accomplishing this. I applied these methods and my pain disappeared.

Seems like it could be very effective, and something I'll keep in mind if I ever end up suffering from chronic pain.

[+] 2OEH8eoCRo0|3 years ago|reply
Everybody should read Sarno's book. It's a short read and even if it doesn't help your back pain it will probably alleviate something else. My partner and I both had pain that disappeared from reading Sarno. Back and wrist pain are gone.
[+] anm89|3 years ago|reply
Personally I think Sarno is BS. He's telling people what they want to hear and covering up for the failures of of our medical system.

He basically says that your pain is coming from stress from psychological issues and what you need to do is therapy and Journaling.

I believed this nonsense in regards to my own back pain for a long time. Ironically my pain of 5 years started to subside as I gave up these beliefs although I don't think that was causal.

I had a physical injury to my neck muscles. It turned out what I needed was years of rest and pt to that muscle system. No amount of Journaling is going to fix real injuries

[+] dataangel|3 years ago|reply
As somebody with chronic pain I think Sarno is a total crank. It has been decades and TMS still hasn't been demonstrated in a way that's objectively measurable. He puts forward what should be testable hypotheses about what's going on in the body and yet still can't publish anything showing it's actually happening. When you read the forums for his books it's a bunch of people cultishly telling each other that they need to believe in order for it to work.
[+] skeeter2020|3 years ago|reply
Q: My life is falling apart on all fronts and I'm struggling with physical and mental health issues; what should I do?

A: Read this book.

Only on HN...

[+] empressplay|3 years ago|reply
This is not without merit and to some degree I suffer from TMS but I also have EDS (hypermobility syndrome) which is a very real physical condition, and the two work in tandem to make life somewhat uncomfortable, to say the least.

So while I agree the mind does play a part in chronic pain, it is not necessarily the only part.

[+] m00x|3 years ago|reply
While it might be a possible reason for OP's pain, a lot more often, it's actual physiological issues.

I read this book and it did nothing for me. I had actual medical issues, and I kept going to different doctors and physios until I found one that found the issue and solved it.

OP needs to go see a sports physio and neurologist.

[+] fallingfrog|3 years ago|reply
When my grandmother was in her 20's, her hair turned white and she started losing weight. Convinced it was psychosomatic, the doctors at the time gave her 10 rounds of electroshock therapy. Later it was discovered that she had Addison's disease, an autoimmune condition. All she needed was some medication.

So, let's say I'm skeptical when it comes to the "mind body connection".

[+] sejo|3 years ago|reply
Do 1 task a day, no matter how small it is, do it consistently for a week or two. Then every other day you do 2 tasks for a month, and you start working up to a point where you feel you do what you can within your limits and get joy from that 1 (or 2) items you can scrap off.

If you live with family focus your tasks maybe on easing their life, pull out 10 weeds out of the garden, take out the trash, fix a squeaking door. Small but attainable things.

Chronical pain is a mess, it's relentless and it's always there, it doesn't go away, but you learn to deal with it. Focus on the pain initially, learn what pain you have and focus on it. I learned to focus on it and make a mental note (do not know how else to say) that it's not worth paying attention to, and I get by without medication. It's not always easy and there are days where you want to cry and cry and just fall asleep so you do not have to feel it. It's normal and accept that not all days will be the same and successful.

It's a tough hill you are up against, but all shall pass and all will be well in the end. It's unbelievable sometimes, but all shall pass. Remember that.

Good luck, don't falter, reaching out is the first step!

[+] LunarCamper|3 years ago|reply
I was in a similar situation, minus the physical disability (I was mentally in a really bad place though). The only advise I have is to not think of any job as below you. I don't know your exact situation or your disabilities, but if you can deliver pizzas to at least keep your head above the water, do that. Having gone through YC you're obviously also a bright and intelligent person, how many different companies have you tried consulting for? Some companies could be more understanding than others of your situation, in which cases making 1500 a month shouldn't be a huge problem in this industry. Sorry you're going through this friend..
[+] bartread|3 years ago|reply
Do you have any particular IC skillset? E.g., software development, QA, UX. Would you be willing to learn a new stack if you had to?

No promises but, if so (and assuming you don't get plenty of better suggestions and offers here), drop me an email: bart PERIOD read THEALIKECHARACTERTHATISNTANAMPERSAND savanta DECIMAL POINT com.

I'm the CTO so have a meaningful level of influence but can also tell you that what's most likely to scupper us working with you, apart from a skillset mismatch, will be some BS about creating IP and taxation within a US state (or some other legal nonsense that makes it hard or impossible to work with you even though we are incorporated in the US).

I'm sorry I can't be more directly encouraging but do reach out if you're interested and I'll see if I can help.

EDIT: One other thing that might be useful to us, doable part time, and would I think sidestep any issues around IP creation. How are your management skills? And might you be willing to work slightly odd hours? E.g., afternoons, to cross over with the UK (obviously depends where you are in the US).

[+] berberous|3 years ago|reply
Not to derail this thread or to sound like I am criticizing OP, but everyone should take this post as a reminder to look into having a disability insurance policy. Your megacorp may offer a policy, but look into getting your own guaranteed renewable non-cancelable policy, as it provides greater protection. The Bogleheads wiki has a good page describing what is important to obtain in such a policy.
[+] ChrisMarshallNY|3 years ago|reply
I have a friend that was a doctor for over 25 years. Made great money, but ended up having a career-ending disability.

He had been buying disability insurance, the whole time (he says it was pretty expensive).

It ended up saving his ass. He makes more money from the disability insurance, and SSI (It is possible to get it, if you have doctors. Many lawyers also help -for a percentage), than many folks make, working.

[+] brianwawok|3 years ago|reply
It’s unclear to me that this case would be covered though? It’s not hard if you lose your legs or arms. Pain and related topics are likely excluded from your standard policy.
[+] thrwtllwy|3 years ago|reply
I am not in any way offended by this. I agree 100%. It was a mistake not to have disability insurance.
[+] encryptluks2|3 years ago|reply
> disability insurance policy

You know people on group disability policies can have to wait up to 18 months for disability while their disability insurance unreasonably denies their claim, and that the laws governing these plans don't actually allow you to collect damages but only the disability benefits you were actually owed in the first place?

It might be better than SSDI, but not much.

[+] xyzzy_plugh|3 years ago|reply
I wouldn't go so far as to recommend not getting disability insurance, but folks should know how much of a scam it is.

I know of two folks personally, and many more folks second hand, who have battled to get disability insurance they are rightly owed. The insurance agencies will do everything they can to prove you are a fraud, like have private investigators tail you for weeks to collect photos of you doing things that people who are disabled obviously can't do. They'll go to your door to trick you into talking to them, they'll talk to your friends and family and colleagues and clients behind your back. They'll track your car.

Both cases I know personally ended up giving up on collecting insurance due to the full-time nightmare it required. One even moved overseas to get the insurance company off their back years later.

[+] sethammons|3 years ago|reply
This needs to be said more. Especially for the young, disability insurance is vastly more important than life insurance usually.

When I got licensed, they quoted to us saying that "you are 8 times more likely to need disability insurance than life insurance (and you are guaranteed to die!)." This is due to something like 20-25% of people needing disability insurance during their working careers and most people dying during retirement with not a lot of bills left behind.

[+] eclipticplane|3 years ago|reply
Since we're on this topic: any notably good insurance companies that folks would recommend if we're talking privately purchased disability insurance?
[+] TimPC|3 years ago|reply
I’m sorry you live in one of the worst countries in the world to be disabled in. While this can be challenging everywhere, the US is especially bad at providing adequate support, both financially and otherwise.

What might help you is looking for a job with part time responsibilities and part time wages and investing full-time into that job if you need to to keep up. If this is viable for a tech role you’re likely to easily afford your fairly modest lifestyle living with family. I know this sounds a bit depressing as you’re essentially taking on a full-time schedule for part-time pay but it’s better than not having a job at all. Other options include looking at work where pain isn’t likely to substantially impair your performance so that you’d be able to get things done. This may involve drastic pay cuts as well, but again while you’re living with family and have a modest lifestyle even a drastic pay cut from peak of the tech market can lead to affording what you need.

As far as therapists go, I’d be considering reevaluating the ones I’ve talked to if you talked with them about your dwindling financial resources and none of them attempted to find an adequate solution or tried to help you get back on track. If you haven’t mentioned it at all you may want to consider doing so if they might have useful advice.

If all else fails, cut costs aggressively. The lack of freedom from not having your own car sucks but it’s better than being bankrupt or cutting needed therapy (if a family member can drive you there). If cutting a car is absolutely impossible for your life then it seems essential to figure out what work you can manage to handle and seek employment in that quickly.

[+] bonestamp2|3 years ago|reply
Debt: Can you sell the car? Now is a great time to sell. If it's a lease, you could post it on leasetrader.com (or similar)... again, it's a great time to get out of a lease. It's nice to have a car, but it seems like getting out of that would be a healthy financial decision. Remote jobs are a plenty, and you live with family, so you can tag along with them when you need to get groceries until you've got a job and can afford a car again.

If you live within a couple miles of a cafe, then you can walk there and back everyday to get out of the cabin fever feeling, get some exercise, and change up your scenery for a boost in energy. I know a couple miles sounds like a lot, but you have to recalibrate your thinking to your current needs. When I didn't have a car, I used to walk 4 miles/day. Then I got a bike, no car payment or insurance. Then I got a car. Find your path back to what makes you happy. Chances are, that doesn't require a car.

Depression: It sounds like you've gone down the clinical route, so there's no need to cover that. From there, I'm not sure what your aspirations were in the startup world, but you might have to be honest with yourself about what is realistic and where your skills are now. Again, recalibrate your thinking and take it one step at a time. Your immediate task, besides your health, is to get a job that you can do.

Again, remote jobs are a plenty. What are your skills? Keep applying, keep working, eventually you'll find a remote job were the expectations are low and you can keep up. If we knew what your skills are, maybe there's even someone here who needs a part time person with those skills. Avoid startups and consulting, those are going to be high demand and that's not right for you right now. You've got this.

[+] daguar|3 years ago|reply
I'm really sorry you're dealing with this. I'm going to mostly share info about public benefits in case it's helpful, just because that's what I know (and I don't have as much knowledge about some of your other questions.)

What state are you in? I know you mentioned SSDI, but just to relieve some of the stress of getting by, you should try to apply for as many public benefits as you might be eligible for (SNAP/food assistance, Medicaid [medical care], affordable connectivity program [internet], Lifeline [phone.]) With little or no income, you should get some decent support from these programs.

For getting disability support (SSDI, or SSI), you might consider getting a lawyer. You're right it can take a long time to get this, but odds go up if you have a lawyer helping you. You can also contact your local legal aid which you may qualify for based on income.

In terms of jobs I'll do some thinking and see if I can post more. Are there any activities that you can definitely do without getting stuck due to your disability? There are definitely options for flexible computer work, and also things that are more phone-oriented.

[+] kwatsonafter|3 years ago|reply
Hey there! I was in a similar boat. This might not be a popular solution but what got me, "out of the poverty trap" was going back to school. I have high ACT scores so I can get all my housing, meals, transport, paid for by grants and scholarships and what's left over I can always manage with student loans. I keep a part-time (Wednesday and Thursday) job so I have modest disposable income. I'm still in the thick of it; I won't receive full financial aid until the fall so family's helping out.

Don't lose hope! There are workable solutions to social problems.

[+] flatline|3 years ago|reply
Can you write code? Plenty of places will hire part time, let you work from home, etc. Don’t look for big companies, look for small and mid sized private businesses. As an aside, I think this is an important reason to develop and maintain a social/professional network that you can lean on in times like this. I’m sure I have friends that would give me a chance at work under these circumstances. Maybe you have some of those from years past that you could reach out to? You may be surprised who is willing to help.
[+] poochkoishi728|3 years ago|reply
Would you have any suggestions for finding work in small-mid private businesses like this? As a developer (mobile with some web and backend), I would love to have ongoing part-time work to provide enough income and free time to pursue other projects.
[+] titanomachy|3 years ago|reply
Radical idea: try a long meditation retreat. Some of them are free or by donation (e.g dhamma.org, a little cult-like but I think well-intentioned). It also forces a rigorous routine on you for a short while, which can help a lot with the aimless feeling. The challenge of getting through the full ten days gives you some purpose.

It helped a lot with my depression, and some people have found serious benefits with chronic pain. It seems to help people disconnect from the physical pain and not have it affect other aspects of their life as much.

If that doesn’t appeal to you, look for other changes that can enforce some routine in your life. Taking in-person classes at a college, joining a yoga class, meeting a friend for coffee every morning, volunteering at a shelter, cooking breakfast for your family every day… something that turns your focus towards others a little can be helpful.

[+] therealdavesky|3 years ago|reply
Your story is sadly not unique: being broke and unemployed is awful, and there are millions in the same situation. You are not alone! Firstly, this post you made right here and now may be the turning point, at least your story is known by others and maybe the right person will read it. Secondly, although it may sound a bit trite, perhaps now is the time of your life to really decide what matters the most to you, and focus just on that. Whatever it is that you really love, try to make it your primary thing. And the better you get at it, the more likely there is someone out there who needs your help. It is a big world and no matter what your skills are, there is someone who can benefit from them if you are an expert. Keep putting your name out there and make sure people hear from you. It sounds as if your mind is still working just fine, and it is your greatest resource, and can be a source of wealth to come!
[+] SkyMarshal|3 years ago|reply
It sounds like the root cause of all your problems is this chronic pain, and you need to focus all your efforts on solving it first. One option is to sign up for clinical trials at various chronic pain research centers around the country. Stanford is one of them, there are plenty others, hopefully near where you live.

https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-clinics/pain-manageme...

https://med.stanford.edu/pain.html

https://med.stanford.edu/pain/about/chronic-pain.html

Some years ago I developed chronic lower back pain from poor sitting posture. It was partially debilitating - not to the level yours is, but it significantly negatively impacted my ability to stay active and thus healthy and thus able to maintain peak performance at work. But I joined a Stanford clinical trial on lower back pain, and it cured me permanently, and they even paid me a small stipend for it! So I think it’s worth a try if you can swing it.

[+] halo37253|3 years ago|reply
Playing Video Games, Smoking Weed, Jerkin Off, etc isn't going to get your life on track.

I'm a traveling controls engineer, systems integrator, it is not a easy life. I've had plenty of burnout moments, those 100hr weeks where you worked everyday just getting the job done. As that is what needs to happen when a scheduled shutdown of a facility that pulls in over a million dollars a day is non operational. Falling behind is not an option. Luckily for me I've had pretty good luck for the most part and have always been on top of things.

But issues do happen, like the electrician landing 120v to a analog card that the lead times for makes it unobtanium. And with that the old VFD's that relied on that card for a return speed reference. In those times using generic remote IO you had in your truck with a analog card can get things up and running, and make you look like a hero. But going without sleep to get it workin is not enjoyable. Anyone that knows AB Hardware and its shitty support of Modbus would know. Using a add-on you've never used, as you'd normally use a red lion in this use case.

My body aches all the time. and I always have a full work load. On top of three kids at home.

There is no excuse to being lazy. Even pain. Disability is min wage, it is a sad shitty life. My wife's mom is disabled, she has to live on what would be considered poverty wages. She doesn't do anything with her life, and she can't drive because of said disability.

Get to the Gym, get a job, get life back on track.

If you are done with programming, deliver pizza.

My best friend is a full stack web dev, but he too would rather not work as the idea of having day to day responsibilities is too much. He moved homes a year ago, and it still looks like he moved last week. Issue? he smokes pot non stop and gets by on minimal contract work while his wife bring in 80% of the income.

[+] ad404b8a372f2b9|3 years ago|reply
I'm working on a bootstrapped SaaS, I didn't plan on hiring developers because I just don't have the budget for it but I've been where you're at. I'm disabled and severely ill, with not much to look forward to in the future, thankfully I'm still employed and have enough to survive.

If you can program elixir and you can settle for a below-market rate I can give you a few billable hours and whatever schedule you can accommodate with your difficulties. It's not a long term solution but hopefully it could help patch the leak in your finances.

[+] mehulashah|3 years ago|reply
Hang in there. You have the courage and intelligence to write such a thoughtful and articulate message. There’s fight left in you yet. Reach out to me directly, and I’m happy to just talk. You can find me online as I’m a member of the Sort Benchmark committee. We as a community are here for you.
[+] cjbgkagh|3 years ago|reply
I went through a very similar thing with ME/CFS and hEDS (which has a chronic pain component). Before I even knew what was I knew that I was on the decline. I was doing ok at work but my ability to maintain a working pace kept diminishing. I went from full time to part time to less than part time to the occasional contracting. I ended up having to do a bit of a Hail Mary to try to save myself. I took a bunch of stimulants for three months and made some software that I was able to sell for enough money to keep afloat. It was niche software that was obviously going to make money but it was a lot of unpleasant work. I likened it toilet scrubbing work. I knew if it didn't work I'd run out of money and without family support my backup plan was to take a long walk off a short pier. Since then I've been able to find out the underlying problem, no thanks to doctors who were all less than helpful, and now treat it fairly successfully with a variety of meds.

I guess my advice would be, do whatever is needed to make money, no matter how unpleasant, so that you can survive long enough to figure out what is wrong and get treatment. And don't rely on doctors for treatment.

[+] hotpotamus|3 years ago|reply
> I guess my advice would be, do whatever is needed to make money, no matter how unpleasant, so that you can survive long enough to figure out what is wrong and get treatment.

The greatest TV show ever made (IMHO of course) was actually based on this premise, only the main character was a chemist, not a developer.

[+] Arete314159|3 years ago|reply
Your story is very familiar to me....I worked for years in a failing body, trying to make enough money to survive.

It sounds like you've found treatments that help you, but if not the Center for Complex Diseases is great with both ME/CFS and hEDS. If you have spine issues due to hEDS there are some PT's in the Bay Area that specialize in craniocervical instability and related issues. Just FYI.

[+] tashmahalic|3 years ago|reply
I can relate. Is there a way I can message you? (maybe via Reddit?)
[+] dmos62|3 years ago|reply
I heard good things about Viktor Frankl's books, e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%27s_Search_for_Meaning. He went through Auschwitz and learned (and then tought) how to deal with hardship.

People who are willing to work with you, who you can help, even in the context of your handicap, exist. Find them. Be honest about your handicaps.

[+] myshpa|3 years ago|reply
> In 2018 I started having problems with chronic pain and gradually became less and less capable on the job

Tame the Beast — It's Time to Rethink Persistent Pain, Lorimer Moseley This 5 minute animation explains how pain works, how our nervous system can learn pain, and explains new approaches to help reduce an individual’s pain. (5 min) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikUzvSph7Z4&vl=en]

Best Advice for People Taking Opioid Medication, Mike Evans This 11-minute video is great for both patients and clinicians. It explains what chronic pain is, what we know about the benefits and risks of opioid medications, and how to avoid the pitfalls that can be associated with opioid treatment. (11 min) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Na2m7lx-hU]

Understanding Pain: What to Do About It in Less Than Five Minutes? This easy to follow 5 minute video about chronic pain helps individuals understand what current research has been saying about chronic pain - that it’s not a joint or muscle problem, rather a 're-wiring' of the brain’s perception of itself. (5 min) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_3phB93rvI]

Chronic Pain Self-Management Resources This document provides a list of recommended chronic pain self-management resources that might be useful for primary care practices and their patients. Materials listed include three provider workbooks/manuals, along with resources your clinic might consider suggesting to patients. [https://depts.washington.edu/fammed/sixbuildingblocks/wp-con...]

[+] sixhobbits|3 years ago|reply
Have you considered technical writing? I don't have experience with chronic pain but if you can still comfortably play video games maybe you can also write articles?

I used to do this as a side gig and collected some resources and places that pay here [0]

I have since started a technical publishing company [1] so it's a full time focus and most of our writers work 20h/week or less. Feel free to apply if it sounds interesting.

[0] https://github.com/sixhobbits/technical-writing

[1] https://ritza.co