#ThisIsPain | Pain Awareness Month 2025

Every day, more than 1 in 4 Americans navigate chronic pain. Yet for too many, their suffering remains overlooked, doubted, or dismissed. This Pain Awareness Month, we’re unmasking the hidden realities of chronic pain—because it’s more than a number on a pain scale or a symptom in a chart. It’s a lived experience. A lifelong challenge. A call to compassion, reform, and justice.

Behind the Mask: Why Pain Remains Misunderstood

Pain is often measured clinically—by diagnosis codes, intensity ratings, or medication usage. But behind these metrics lies something deeper: a profound disruption to identity, relationships, livelihood, and hope.

This year, the U.S. Pain Foundation conducted a comprehensive national survey, revealing a series of deeply concerning trends that demand urgent attention.

• 87% of people have lived with chronic pain for more than 5 years
• 93% reported pain significantly limits physical activity
• 88% experienced anxiety or depression tied directly to their pain
  

This is not just pain. It’s isolation. It’s exhaustion. It’s being labeled “dramatic” or “drug-seeking.” And most of all—it’s being misunderstood. 

“Behind every pain statistic is a person—often unheard, unseen, and disbelieved,” shares Nicole Hemmenway, CEO of the U.S. Pain Foundation. “‘Unmasking Pain’ is more than a theme; it’s a mandate. It’s time to honor lived experience and push for compassionate, evidence-based care that sees the whole person.”

Pain Begins Early—And Is Dismissed From the Start

Pain does not spare youth. Nearly half of surveyed kids and teens said they’ve lived with chronic pain for over five years. Despite this, only 9% always felt that others believed them when they talked about their pain.

• 70% of children with pain missed significant school time
• 89% felt lonely
• Many were told it’s “just growing pains”—a minimization that delays care and deepens trauma
  

For families, the pain is collective. Parents face broken routines, career loss, insurance battles, and the grief of watching their children suffer. Almost 70% felt constantly overwhelmed and stressed—and 61% live with pain themselves.

“Our child’s pain affects the whole family,” one parent said.

Another added, “I am sick of people and doctors blaming my child for not ‘trying hard enough’ to not have pain.”

Caregivers: The Unseen Lifelines

Almost 95% of caregivers report emotional strain, and nearly half live with chronic pain themselves. Yet most receive no training, financial support, or relief.

• 94% experience emotional distress
• 73% have lost income due to caregiving
• 83% want peer support—but few find it
• 82% felt overwhelmed
  

Caregivers hold lives together in silence. It’s time we listen.

Even the Experts Struggle

Health care providers want to do better—but they, too, are trapped in a system that underprepares and overregulates them.

• Only 50% feel adequately trained in pain care
• Only 17% have strong training in trauma-informed or culturally responsive care
• 92% want more education on pain management
  

Doctors, nurses, therapists, pharmacists—they are part of the solution. But they need tools, support, and policy reform to offer care that truly heals.

Unmasking Means Reframing: Pain Is Biopsychosocial

Pain isn’t just a physical problem. It’s deeply tied to mental health, identity, income, and social roles. Patients need more than pills or procedures:

• Multidisciplinary, integrated care models
• Coverage for complementary and behavioral therapies
• Access to peer support and education
• Recognition that opioids, medical cannabis, and alternative therapies each have a role when used responsibly
  

Pain Is Universal—But Not Treated Equally

BIPOC, disabled, LGBTQ+, low-income, youth, and rural populations face greater hurdles:

• Delayed diagnoses
• Dismissal of symptoms
• Lower access to specialists
• Higher stigma around treatments
  

Equity must be central in pain policy and practice.

Looking Ahead this September

This Pain Awareness Month, we’ll unmask pain—amplifying the voices behind the statistics and spotlighting the realities too often overlooked, by sharing:

• Daily stats on social media from our survey findings
• Weekly articles on uspainfoundation.org spotlighting:
• The lived experience
• Youth with pain
• Caregivers and care partners
• Parents of children and teens with pain
• Health care providers
• Findings reports from our surveys
• Opportunities for individuals living with pain to share their stories online

This Is Pain—And It’s Time We See It Clearly

Unmasking pain means telling the truth: Pain is more than physical. It reshapes entire lives. It often begins in childhood, and stretches through decades. It strains families, breaks systems, and is compounded by disbelief.

But it also reveals resilience.

People with pain are not defined by their conditions—they are educators, caregivers, advocates, and essential voices in health care reform.

This Pain Awareness Month, we honor their stories, spotlight their needs, and demand a health system that listens. 

Let’s unmask pain—because behind every chart is a life.

To learn more, click here.