// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
I am now the boss of my pain - it no longer controls me
Julie-Ann Walkden had relied on pills and injections to cope with chronic pain
For years Julie-Ann Walkden had relied on pills and injections to cope with chronic pain, but it was an understanding of what was going on that helped her get her life back.
"I didn't want to take strong medication which made me feel ill, not in control and often so confused that I felt I'd dementia," she said.
She was among more than 100 patients who have completed a pain rehabilitation programme, using exercise, talking and psychological therapies to help them understand the source of their pain.
Walkden was speaking after a new study revealed that people in the most deprived socio-economic areas of Northern Ireland are at higher risk of chronic pain and three times more likely to face pain-related depression.
Ten years ago, Walkden, 58, was prescribed strong pain medication for a long-standing stomach injury, but said it only provided short-term relief and made her feel worse.
However, she found new ways of coping with her condition following a three-week intensive programme at Knockbracken Health Care Park in Belfast, which teaches psychological techniques to deal with pain rather than relying on medication.
"The tools have allowed me to become the boss of the pain instead of it controlling me," she said.
"I am not afraid to exercise, especially to walk, I even talk to the pain but I no longer allow it to prevent me from living a life.
"Understanding the source of my pain and what it is doing to me mentally, never mind physically, has been life changing."