It was a seemingly ordinary day in the small town of Wellington, Ontario. The summer heat intensified as longtime resident, Janice, finished her shopping at the local market. Pondering what she would make for dinner, she settled into the cool relief of her car and began the familiar drive home. Suddenly, everything changed in an instant.
“I was in a car accident, and that’s what started the chronic pain,” Janice shared. The severity of the accident resulted in back pain that later developed into chronic pain. In an attempt to piece her life back together, she was prescribed Hydromorphone and OxyContin — powerful prescription opioids intended to ease her pain, but seemingly had other effects. “I stopped working after the car accident, so I got back to volunteering at nursing homes. I always kept doing things but struggled with pain all the time. Eventually, I never went back to work.”
Following the accident, Janice began a new chapter with a silent companion that controlled each moment — chronic pain. From regular physio appointments, to recreational therapy in the pool, Janice strived to remain active. “I tried my best to keep up with things, but it was still pretty hard. So, I ended up adopting Gracie, a beautiful Golden Retriever.” Recognizing the positive impact Gracie had, Janice decided to have her trained through St. John Ambulance to become a certified therapy dog. “From there, I was visiting nursing homes and hospitals, taking her to meet people, it always made me feel good” she recalls.
Then, suddenly, Gracie passed away.
Exhausted from the emotional pain of losing her beloved dog Gracie; while also managing pre-existing chronic pain, Janice began to see how emotional wellness connected to all aspects of health. She realized that tending to her emotional wellbeing could be a key part of her recovery journey.
“After my dog passed away, I started to really look inward and realized I couldn’t keep living this way. I was so unhappy — the pain, the anxiety, it all felt connected. I knew something had to change, but I didn’t understand how my emotions and my pain were linked. I remember being 58 years old, in tears, thinking, I can’t keep taking medication and living like this. I have to do something different.”
So, she began immersing herself in self-help and positive-thinking books, determined to reach recovery. And with the support of a caring friend, she gradually weaned herself off her pain medication, drawing on her knowledge of pharmacology from her work experience. “I went through withdrawal, and it was tough, but I stayed at my friend’s house, watched movies, and had her support,” she recalls.
After years of back-and-forth appointments, connecting with new doctors and traveling across the province, she was introduced to Nicole Bartlett, Occupational Therapist at the Interprofessional Pain and Addiction Recovery Clinic (IPARC) at CAMH.
“When she first came to IPARC, Janice had already taken steps to support herself, including reading books about the mind-body connection and how it might influence her pain”, Nicole recalls. “While she was still experiencing significant back pain, she also identified a lot of important goals she wanted to achieve, and I thought Pain Reprocessing Therapy would be the best approach.” In recent years, many therapists at IPARC have trained in a type of psychotherapy called Pain Reprocessing Therapy.
“In Janice’s case, she was experiencing a type of pain called nociplastic pain, which is common in people whose pain persists long after an injury has healed. In these cases, there’s no identifiable structural issue or nerve damage, but the pain is very real and can be debilitating. Pain Reprocessing Therapy targets this type of pain by addressing the way the brain interprets pain signals. While therapies like CBT teach ways to cope with pain, PRT goes a step further by helping you retrain your brain to see pain as safe rather than dangerous. Through a technique called somatic tracking, you learn to notice pain sensations with curiosity instead of fear. Over time, this can calm the nervous system and, for many people, greatly reduce pain.”
Today, Janice lives pain-free, without the shadow of her past to haunt her. “For about 10 years, I was mostly on the couch, struggling with pain and sleepless nights. It was a daily battle, but I made a choice: I’m not going to let this control me.”
These days, Janice is making up for lost time – spending time with her grandkids, participating in community events and connecting with friends. “Slowly, I realized it was as much a mental challenge as a physical one. I started telling myself, ‘Not today,’ and trained my mind to focus elsewhere” she explains. “It was very hard—but I’ve changed my life and never been happier. Now, I want to encourage others that they can do it too.”
