Pained VS PAIND!

I found PAIND!

Now I can hear you asking, what is PAIND.. and if your happy to stay, I'll most certainly tell you all about it. And not just from my point of view either.. but from one of the founders Charles! 

So let me start at the beginning. 

Now I've mentioned instagram a lot.. Instagram for me is my go to platform. Yes I use Facebook, TikTok, threads, X etc.. but instagram is the one place I post regularly. I'm comfortable and happy and I know how to use Instagram better then any other platform. But everyone has there favourites. I can honestly say instagram has been the one place I've connected with more spoonies and actually learnt important lessons, information and knowledge. I've met some amazing people who aren't just spoonies but life long friends.. and this is exactly how I found Charles and PAIND.

Early one morning.. my usual magic hours I was of course scrolling through my insta feed.. I came across this post..

Now if you do follow me on my socials.. you'll know learning is a big thing for me. The more I learn and understand the more i can pass on to hopefully one day help others. Knowledge is power after all! 
So I saw this as a key message. 
And I did what any curious and intrigued person would do.. I checked out the account.. 

You know when you do something and you realise this was one of the best things you've done.. yup it was one of those moments. 
It was a powerful move that would benefit me so much in the long run.. and I didn't even know it then! 

Within 10-15 minutes I was downloading the PAIND app and registering myself. I knew this was the right path for me. I knew the information I'd learn would be powerful and priceless. I knew when it comes to my pain levels, something needed to be done. 

Living with chronic pain is a fight within itself. There's so many things to factor in that you can get lost in just trying to manage it all. And what some people don't realise is.. you can't treat pain with just medication, therapies or some kind of treatment.. not all pain is physically or biological.. some can be mental, emotional and even social pain. Yup.. you read it right.. so many things can cause pain.. and there is so much that the professionals aren't telling you either.. but when your the patient.. you believe that the professionals know best.. so you listen.. 

Charles and his team of professionals are different. They listen. They understand. They've made a difference. 

You feel validated and heard.. 

So what is PAIND?

PAIND is an app (available for apple and android phones) with certain courses specifically designed for those dealing pain, every, single, day! 

It's not just any old app either, not some new app being released just because. This amazing app is all about Pain. Both snippets you'll get from professionals and vast amounts you didn't know! It's set out in certain courses and levels so it's breaks it down into small, compact but super informative videos with captions as well as simple questions dotted through out each level. 

The first course without giving too much away is the one that hits home with what's been hidden. The stuff some professionals don't always want you to know and I'll be honest, it's not always what you think. I learnt a lot just from the first course alone and I'm eager to see what's to come next..

And your probably questioning what makes PAIND different to any other health app or group making a difference.. here's how!

We've all come across people and professionals who say they understand what we're living.. but actually.. they have no clue as they've never experienced it themselves. They've been taught, they've learnt.. (not too much either.. if you have the app.. you'll know what I mean!) they've probably heard and seen what pain can do and be like.. but they've never ever felt it before.. 

What if I told you PAIND was designed and thought about by someone who did experience pain, who does understand what pain can be like, who understands fully what pain and having no or little management to help is like. Even when you've tried everything the professionals have recommended and referred you for.. 

What if I told you this app was designed for you to dig and delve deeper into the world of pain. Which helped you understand different factors of pain. 

And the best bit is it's not just me telling you.. right here, right now.. I also have Charles to tell you too!

So when it came to me doing each level on the foundation course, I learnt things I've never thought about before.. things that have truely helped me over the past few weeks. And so I wanted to ask Charles all about PAIND. So the most obvious thing to ask is how PAIND came about.. so we started at the beginning. 

For those who have used the app they will know the basics, but those who haven’t are possibly unaware.. can you please tell us more about yourself before PAIND?

"Before PAIND? How far back do you want me to start? 🙂

Let's break it into two - before the surgery that went wrong, and after.
Before the surgery, I had a job in real estate that had taken me to Berlin and was in a long term relationship. I didn't really have a care in the world. I knew nothing about pain, aside from the odd sporting injury, and thought I would be staying with my partner of the time, and staying in my career at the time, for the foreseeable future.

And then I had surgery..."

Can you walk us through the journey of how the idea for the app came about? Was there a particular moment or experience that sparked its creation?

"After the surgery (2013) I spent 6 years gradually losing everything I cared about. My job, my girlfriend, lost relationships with some family members, but above all I lost my identity. I didn't know who I was anymore. In 2019 things were pretty dark, and I remember thinking to myself, "if you are going to stay on this planet (which I had only just decided that I wanted to do), and be in pain for the rest of your life, you better learn everything you can about pain." What i learnt about the science of pain first gave me my life back, but then became the idea for the PAIND app."

What was the process like when you decided, “Let’s turn this idea into an app”? Who were the key players in bringing it to life?

"I flipflopped from thinking it would be realllyyy easy (turn a book on pain science into an app) to thinking it was super complicated so I needed to involve lots of people far cleverer than me (clinicians, PHD's, most domestic pets 😂). The one constant has been my co-founder Greg Hamilton, who has put up with the various false starts and just generally been the best business partner I could have ever created in a lab."

What unique features or aspects of the app set it apart from other pain management tools on the market?

"There are two things that people keep saying they like the most: 1) the authenticity. Whether that is from my story, or they just feel they can relate to the way the product feels to them - it seems to be coming across as very authentic 2) how easy it is to use. Chronic pain is no joke - it impacts our cognition like there's no tomorrow. Every step of the way I have built PAIND as though it is something I need to be able to use during my worst flares of 2018."

How do you see the app evolving in the future? Are there any upcoming updates or new features you can share with us? 

"Long-term, I just want to help as many people living in pain as I can. Pain doesn't discriminate geographically, so getting PAIND to all corners of the map, particularly deprived areas, is the mission. In terms of updates, we have version 1.2 of the app coming out in the next week or two. There should be another course released with this (that includes captions!) as well as the ability for people to select their chronic pain conditions and how they heard about PAIND."

Currently as it stands, PAIND has been my eye opener to the world of Pain. And I am now invested in PAIND for life, and I can not wait to see what’s to come for both PAIND as a company and the app too.. So my final question is.. Looking at the bigger picture, where do you see PAIND as a company heading in the next few years? Are there plans to expand into other areas or develop new technologies related to pain management?

"This is a tough one. I think there are a lot of concepts in good pain management which translate into just good health, such as the importance of social connection or moving your body when you are able to. So I think one day PAIND could act as a platform that supports people who are just trying to improve their general health, but for now, all we are focused on is helping people who have had their lives rudely interrupted by pain!"

Speaking with Charles, finding the PAIND app and meeting others who also use the app has most certainly left a big impact on me. I always say Knowledge is power and once you have that knowledge, the doors opened are limitless. The things I've learnt, that this time last year I didn't know but now that I do I've been as much as I can to help and better myself. And managing my pain as much as possible is one of those.

And as you can see.. Charles fully understands pain, what it can do and how it can fully flip someone's life around. He truely understands that's it's not just managing paint but also understanding it too.. and PAIND does just that.. it's all broken down, in easy and simple terms and giving us the information we've never recieved. 

If your on Instagram or you'd like to download the app and see for yourself and learn all about pain, I've attached pictures above. 

PAIND, Charles and all of his PAIND team have put so much time, effort and compassion into this. And it's clear it's not just for themselves, but for people like me, who want to live life with less pain or at least being able to manage it. 

I can honestly and safely say I am now a life long supporter of PAIND.. it is my go too. I do go back over the Foundation course as and when needed and I can excitedly say Course 2 is now available! 

For me, I now use information I've learnt from PAIND, to help my manage and understand my pain better. It's helped me see things different so I can ultimately combat my pain better. Even if it is just understanding it by learning about it. So..

For me.. it's TEAM PAIND all the way!