Chronic pain and illness change the way we move through the world. Through my own experiences, I’ve come to understand how deeply these challenges can affect every part of life — physically, emotionally, mentally, relationally, and spiritually.

I created this page to offer support, resources, and encouragement for others living with chronic pain or chronic illness, in hopes that something here may help lighten the journey, even a little.

When Pain and Illness Persists

When it dawns on us that our pain and illness has been around for a while and everything we have done hasn't made it go away, we face the realization that it is probably here to stay. If that's happened to you, you know it's easy to feel hopeless and in despair sometimes. Our lives will never be the same and our future looks very different from what we had planned. So much has changed. My pain journey began as a child, as have many of our journeys. Irreparable nerve damage from a botched surgery in 2012 cascaded into invasive lobular breast cancer and a dysregulated autonomic nervous system.

The loss of my beloved son Chris during the pandemic was like a tsunami, on top of a tsunami, on top of a tsunami. But this saying from Michelangelo has helped me to understand my life journey,
“The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work.
It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.”

Suffering of every kind strips away the superfluous all of us often show to oursselves and the world. It's possible to get to the essence of who we really are, deep down whe pain persists and when illness has no cure, reducing the suffering aspect of chronic pain and illness by discovering tools that might work for us.

Lately, reflecting on my journey,

I'm more compassionate when I see others who are suffering than before.
Because I live in a slower world, I notice beautiful things around me more than I did before. There is so much good in our world, often unnoticed by the hurried and the distracted.
I'm becoming better able to not do, that is, to "do" nothing, to listen, see, and feel what the universe shows me and what it asks of me. But I have a great deal more to learn here! I'm finding that "doing" is a big part of my identity and is hard to detach from.
Acutely aware of the precarity of life, I try not to let stuff, small and big, get into my head too much. When I set aside time to think more intentionally about what matters most to me, my day seems to go better.
I appreciate the good days and try to make the best of the not-so-good ones - and to be grateful for all of them. As the poet Mary Oliver asks in the poem "Summer Day",
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

Chronic Illness and Persistent Pain Support Group (virtual)
Beginning in Fall 2026. Now open for registration. Email me at JudyFoy2023@gmail.com for more information and to register.

Presentations

I am available to speak virtually (and in person at select locations in Southern California and north-west Montana) on the following topics, :

The Spirituality of Pain and Suffering
Three Good Things: Staying Optimistic Without Being Toxically Positive
The Brain in Pain (introduction and a series)
Empowered Relief (see tab): Held virtually (an in person at select locations), this 2-hour evidence-based pain management class was developed by a Stanford pain specialist. Email me at Judyfoy2023@gmail.com for information and to register.
Support Groups: I am a trained facilitator of the American Chronic Pain Association (ACPA) and facilitate/co-facilitate no-charge support groups that meet monthly/bi-monthly. These meetings are held virtually and in person at select locations in Southern California and northwest Montana. In all ACPA support groups, facilitators have chronic pain themselves. The groups address the 10 steps “From Patient to Person” as well as topics selected by the members. Email me at JudyFoy2023@gmail.com for more information and to register for the one-hour meetings. For more information and other providers on the ACPA

For more topics, please see my "Talks, Webinars, and Workshops" tab.

Certification:

Empowered Relief (see tab): Held virtually (an in person at select locations), this 2-hour evidence-based pain management class was developed by a Stanford pain specialist. Email me at Judyfoy2023@gmail.com for information and to register.
ACPA Groups: I am a trained facilitator of the American Chronic Pain Association (ACPA) and facilitate/co-facilitate no-charge support groups that meet monthly/bi-monthly. These meetings are held virtually and in person at select locations in Southern California and northwest Montana. In all ACPA support groups, facilitators have chronic pain themselves. The groups address the 10 steps “From Patient to Person” as well as topics selected by the members. Email me at JudyFoy2023@gmail.com for more information and to register for the one-hour meetings. For more information and other providers on the ACPA

Feel free to reach out to me directly: JudyFoy2023@gmail.com