"The moment I received my official diagnosis, I dropped all my assumptions about chronic pain. It was so freeing." -Member of MyChronicPainTeam

Living with chronic pain can be difficult and even a burden, but also an opportunity to rid yourself of what you think you know. Have you heard the saying, "People don't get it until they get it"? That is so true about chronic pain.

"The more I learn about chronic pain, the more I realize that it's not my fault." -Member of MyChronicPainTeam

A chronic pain diagnosis forces us to drop our negative assumptions about life with a chronic condition. Members on MyChronicPainTeam gain perspective from other members' experiences to become better informed about what it's really like to live with pain.

Here are recent conversations from members of MyChronicPainTeam:

• "It sounds like you are relatively new to chronic pain. Take time to develop a new life around those things that you can do."
• "I have a headache and I know just from where it is that it's from the tumble and jarring. Now if I can only learn to be careful and not to rush!"
• "I am in the process of trying to figure out a way to get the chronic nonstop pain to at least be in a manageable state."

What negative assumptions have you let go of about chronic pain? Tell us about it in the comments below or directly on MyChronicPainTeam.com.