How To Live With Chronic Pain

How To!

Slate Magazine

Business, Education, How To, Self-improvement

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 10 June 2025

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Mavi was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis more than 15 years ago. Since then, she’s managed her symptoms and myriad life changes—but the past several months have been dominated by intense, chronic pain. On this episode of How To!, Carvell Wallace brings on Toni Bernhard, author of How to Be Sick and How to Live Well With Chronic Pain and Illness, to talk with Mavi about making peace with this new normal. If you liked this episode check out: How To Withstand Pain. Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen. The show is produced by Rosemary Belson, with Kevin Bendis. Our technical director is Merritt Jacob and our supervising producer is Joel Meyer. Want more How To!? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the How To! show page. Or, visit slate.com/howtoplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.8	Amazon offers term time working to their employees, like Anton,
0:07.4	who's home to look after his daughters during their holidays.
0:10.0	Hello!
0:10.8	To him, this is the best sound in the world.
0:17.2	Actually, maybe that's the best sound of all. Now that's term time working.
0:23.6	Offered at Amazon.
0:24.6	10 weeks off guaranteed per year.
0:26.6	Mix of paid holiday and unpaid time off.
0:28.6	Conditions apply.
0:30.6	Every runner knows the moment when everything clicks.
0:33.6	When your legs lock into a rhythm, the aches float away and doubts fade, replaced by a feeling
0:40.3	of euphoria.
0:42.3	It's why you lace up at dawn, why little rain doesn't stop you, why one run turns into a habit.
0:50.3	So next time you go for a run, chase that runs high.
0:54.9	Learn more about running and go wild at puma.com.
0:59.7	She was in chronic pain and I think it might have been rheumatoid arthritis.
1:05.4	And she said, I wish I had cancer.
1:09.4	Because then people would believe me and support me.
1:17.3	Right.
1:17.6	Yeah, I know.
1:19.5	We do a terrible job of preparing people for what life has in store.
1:35.3	Welcome to how to. I'm Carvel Wallace. I want you to think back to the last time that you were in pain. I mean, some of you could be experiencing pain right now, but if not, do you remember what it felt like?
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