New stories create new possibilities.

Stories of recovery can open up new ways of understanding what’s possible when living with chronic pain or other long-term health conditions. They are not meant to set expectations or imply a ‘right’ way to heal, but to offer perspective, possibility, and connection.

In recent years, podcasts, YouTube channels, and websites have increasingly shared personal stories of recovery from complex chronic pain, ME/CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome), long COVID, and other chronic health challenges.

These recovery stories can be inspiring and motivating. They often offer hope, insight, and a sense of companionship. For many people, hearing how others have navigated similar struggles can help expand the range of what feels imaginable—and possible.

What recovery means, however, is deeply personal. In my research on chronic pain recovery, I explored the concept of personal recovery: living well, with or without ongoing symptoms. From this perspective, hope, meaning, purpose, agency, and empowerment are often more central than the complete elimination of symptoms. Recovery stories exist along a wide spectrum—from powerful accounts of personal recovery to stories focused primarily on symptom reduction or remission.

Below, I’ve listed a selection of places where you can find recovery stories, along with a few specific examples. Over time, I plan to continue curating and expanding this list. If you come across a recovery story that you find particularly helpful or inspiring, I’d love to hear about it.

My Research on Chronic Pain Recovery

My research was originally published as a document of over 200 pages. To make the recovery stories more accessible, I created a website to share them. On this website, you can read about what led me to pursue this research, as well as the in-depth recovery stories of the 10 research participants who took part in the study. www.chronicpainrecovery.ca

Other Places to Find Recovery Stories

Below are several platforms where people share recovery stories related to chronic pain, chronic fatigue, long COVID, and other persistent health conditions.

I’ve reviewed a selection of recovery stories from each of these sources—though certainly not all of them—and feel confident suggesting them as meaningful places to start exploring.

• TametheBeast.org – Seven recovery stories in audio format. Tame the Beast was co-created in collaboration with renowned pain researcher Lorimer Moseley and focuses on contemporary pain science education and the lived experience.
• Dr. Andrea Furlan’s YouTube Channel – A channel with a broad range of pain-related content, including video interviews sharing people’s recovery stories.
• Recovery Hub – An online platform, run by volunteers, endeavouring to share resources related to recovering from a wide range of chronic health challenges, which includes written recovery stories.
• The Cure for Chronic Pain with Nicole Sachs Podcast – Nicole Sachs has been sharing recovery stories on her podcast for many years, and the stories she shares are limited to those who have recovered using approaches taught by her and Dr. John Sarno. You can usually tell which episodes are recovery stories from the name of the episode.

Some Specific Stories

Below are specific recovery stories that may be of interest to you. These stories are shared to offer perspective and possibility, not to suggest a single pathway or outcome.

• Widespread Pain and Chronic Fatigue Recovery (34-minute video) – Fiona lived with chronic pain for 25 years and chronic fatigue for 14. Throughout this time, she was diagnosed with ME/CFS, POTS, EDS, FM, and CRPS (RDS).
• Chronic Neck and Back Pain Recovery (41-minute video) – Jayne lived with chronic pain for 37 years.
• CPRS Recovery (26-minute video) – Cheryl lived with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) for 18 years.
• CPRS Recovery (46-minute video) – Susan lived with CRPS for 24 years.

Stories with a “Selling Something” Warning

Similar to the stories above, these are individual recovery stories that may be of interest, with the caveat that they include some direct or indirect marketing—most often for an online program or service. I’m less concerned about book promotion, as books are often accessible for free through the public library.

If you tend to be wary of anything with a salesy feel, you may want to skip these. That said, I wouldn’t share anything that felt overly promotional to me, and if you’re able to take what’s helpful and leave the rest, there may still be real value in these stories.

• Fibromyalgia Recovery (35-minute video) – Helen was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2012, but lived with chronic pain and chronic fatigue symptoms long before that.