Angus Self-Management Course for Chronic Pain
Written by Malcolm Finlayson on 29/12/2022
A free self-management course aiming to improve quality of life for people living with chronic pain in Angus is due to start in Brechin in January 2023.
The free five-week course will be delivered by Pain Association Scotland on behalf of the Angus Health and Social Care Partnership and is open to anyone pain who lives in Angus or is registered with an Angus GP.
The course will benefit anyone with chronic regardless of the cause or stage in their chronic pain journey who would like to find out what they can do to self-manage their pain more effectively. Previous participants find they get maximum gain from attending the full course.
Starting on Tuesday, 17 January 2023, this is the first of four planned self-management courses for 2023.
The course runs once a week for five weeks at Brechin Community Campus, Duke Street, Brechin. The aim is to improve people’s understanding of pain and give them the skills to better manage their health. The course will take place between 2-4pm on the following dates:
Tuesday 17 January 2023
Tuesday 24 January 2023
Tuesday 31 January 2023
Tuesday 7 February 2023
Tuesday 14 February 2023
During each two hour session, a range of topics will be discussed including understanding pain and its impact on life, stress management, pacing skills, dealing with pain flare-ups, relaxation skills and understanding medication.
Future courses will be delivered throughout Angus and also online.
Designed to be very relaxed, the course encourages friendly, interactive participation from members with questions and answer sessions and informal discussion groups. More importantly, it brings together people who are experiencing similar symptoms, giving them the opportunity to hear how others cope with their pain.
Blair Finlay, Programme Manager (Prevention and Proactive Care), Angus Health & Social Care Partnership said, “Self-management is an important approach to health that explores the things that you can do to improve the quality of your life despite a painful condition.
“It is not a replacement for medicine and doesn’t provide direct pain relief, however, it helps lots of people to cope better with a difficult situation. Improved self-management of their condition can make a difference to people’s lives and these afternoon sessions offer short, intense training in the self-management approach to chronic pain.
“Feedback from others who have completed the course has been very positive. They reported that they coped better with their pain and felt much more positive about their ability to cope when their pain flared up. It has also had a positive impact on their relationships and their general quality of life.”
If you are aged 18 or over, live in Angus and would like to manage your pain more effectively, then this self-management course may be for you.
For more information and to book your place, please call Pain Association Scotland on 0800 783 6059 or click on the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/XFGS55H
