2018-Sept-8
We had 34 people! On one hand, that was GREAT. On the other hand, it was too many people for everyone to have much time to talk. Mike presented some recent research results relating to Chronic Pain.
[Oh, how innocent he was. Oh, how much he did not understand about how chronic pain affects the lives of those who suffer with it. Oh, how much most of the world, especially doctors and most Americans in general, DO NOT understand about Pain. My blog article on Pain was a mid 2020 attempt. Now updated. ]
-What can a Support Group do? What should it do? Our September 8th meeting raised those questions. 34 people came.
- It allows people with something in common (often of great concern or hard to deal with) to get to know one another and safely share. That’s hard to do with 34 people; a smaller group can work better for that.
- It has a role in educating people about their shared issue. A big group has an advantage in that there may be people who can share a wide variety of experiences and levels of progress. That’s especially true of Peripheral Neuropathy (or any brain or nervous system disorder) where the “Settled Science” is so unsettled. But some who come may not need to come often or long once they clearly grasp what is happening. For that, a group needs to be just large enough so people have a chance to ask questions and be heard.
- It can serve as an organizational framework to attract speakers or other experiences that a small group might not be able to get. For that, a large audience is better.
- It can encourage spread of the techniques. For that, attracting and supporting leaders is critical. For that, we need to a wide variety of group sizes and makeups.