“That’s when I went from just existing to beginning to live.”

In this episode of The Conditions for Recovery Podcast, Ann Livingstone shares her journey from living through six decades of persistent pain, fatigue and opioid dependency to taking back control of her life and finding a new sense of purpose.

For 60 years Ann experienced physical injuries, medical dismissal repeatedly framed by clinicians as "what do you expect?" and years of zombifying pain medication before being warned during a hospitalisation that organ damage from her drugs could kill her before the pain did.

Ann now uses her experience as a pain advocate, founder and director of Community Pain Hub Somerset CIC, Live Well with Pain facilitator and Footsteps Festival organiser to champion early intervention and community peer support. ...