Former Bridlington man’s book covering chronic pain could prove to be readers’ gain

A former Bridlington resident has written a detailed account about his battle with inflammatory arthritis, looking at its impact and possible solutions to relieve chronic pain.
By The Newsroom
Published 18th Oct 2021, 14:03 BST
Updated 27th Oct 2021, 10:34 BST
Tim Atkinson, the author of Where Does it Hurt? The book covers his battle with inflammatory arthritis and the chronic pain that comes with the condition.Tim Atkinson, the author of Where Does it Hurt? The book covers his battle with inflammatory arthritis and the chronic pain that comes with the condition.
Tim Atkinson, the author of Where Does it Hurt? The book covers his battle with inflammatory arthritis and the chronic pain that comes with the condition.

Tim Atkinson, whose parents still reside in Bridlington, is a teacher, award-winning parent blogger and author of over half-a-dozen books including “The Glorious Dead” (2018) about the creation of the Great War military cemeteries.

He hopes that his book Where Does it Hurt?, sharing his experiences, might lead to people gaining a better understanding of pain, leading to less suffering.

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Mr Atkinson said: “The book is a memoir about life with chronic pain and I wrote it I because I suffer from inflammatory arthritis. The pain that comes with swollen, damaged and deformed joints can be immense, so for years I’ve been dutifully taking my tablets as instructed. But little did I know that they could be making things much, much worse.

“I started researching the alternatives, from yoga to acupuncture and began to discover that “pain” is far from straightforward: as many as 80% of amputees feel pain from non-existent limbs; others seem to feel nothing from what are quite serious injuries.

“Over two fifths of the UK population, or approximately 28 million adults, live with chronic pain. 50% or more of them report symptoms consistent with clinical depression, and persistent pain is a recognised risk factor in suicide. I’ve become passionate about sharing my own experience in the hope that by understanding pain better, people won’t needlessly suffer.”

Where Does it Hurt? is published by Dotterel Press (ISBN: 978-0-9562869-3-2).

It is priced at £9.99 (paperback) £4.99 (eBook).

Related topics:Bridlington