Many of us living with chronic illness and disability feel completely alone, never meeting anyone going through something similar. Society pressures us to keep quiet about our health challenges. Sometimes even our doctors don’t understand our needs. It’s time to break through these norms and let our voices be heard.
The Major Pain podcast is an ongoing project highlighting the experiences of our chronically ill and disabled community. Each week we ask our guest “What is your major pain?” Through the resulting conversations we spread knowledge, awareness, empathy and community, proving time and again that we are not alone. In fact, there are countless individuals going through similar challenges. If feel that you are the only person living through a rare disease or invisible illness, the only person for whom doctors can’t provide a diagnosis, or the only disabled person in a sea of able bodies, then this show is for you.
Whether you have a Major Pain of your own, are a caregiver, or you’re looking to learn about medical conditions from the perspective of those experiencing them, this podcast is a great resource that is growing every week. You can subscribe on all major podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or listen right here on our website.
Major Pain features interviews from real people living with chronic illness, chronic pain, undiagnosed conditions, rare disease, invisible illness, mental health challenges and disabilities of many kinds. The show is hosted and produced by Jesse Mercury, a content creator with a long history of chronic undiagnosed illness.
Jeff lives with a medical mystery that has stumped doctors in multiple specialties. He experiences episodes that strike about once a week, and leave him almost catatonic. He will become hypersensitive to his environment, unable Read more…
In 2015 Karen noticed that her right arm was not swinging as normal when she walked. She was sent to a neurologist who quickly diagnosed her with Parkinson’s disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disorder that affects Read more…
Tyler Roope is a 25 year old TikTok star, who blends comedy and education while advocating on behalf of the disability community. He lives with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 2, which severely limits his Read more…
Troy is a nurse practitioner at a LGBTQ healthcare clinic in Seattle, Washington. He refers to it as gay providers taking care of the gay community, allowing a rare opportunity for himself and his colleagues Read more…
Myotonia congenita is a genetic disorder that Amelia recently discovered she has been living with her whole life. The disease is characterized by an inability to quickly relax muscles after contraction, which can cause muscle Read more…
Courtney refers to herself as a hot potato patient, being passed from specialist to specialist in search of a diagnosis to her mystery illness, but none of these providers have been willing to keep digging Read more…