This work isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about being willing to stay in the room when things get real. That’s what I needed. And that’s what I try to offer now...

Tucker Robinson, a therapist with Seattle-based Self Space, said chronic pain can trigger a “massive identity shift,” from losing physical ability to adjusting to a new reality of living with pain, he said. “A lot of the emotional pain in the beginning comes from grief and isolation.”