MyCuppaJo on Substack - Coming soon!

This is MyCuppaJo, a newsletter about pain, the power of stories, and being human.

Hey folks, I’m trying to get this Substack thing figured out and didn’t realize a post published already! So here I am editing it so at least there’s something in it.

My name is Jo Belton. I’m someone who lives with pain and anxiety and started a blog - MyCuppaJo.com - back in 2015 to share my thoughts as as I tried to make sense of things. I am in the process of migrating MyCuppaJo.com over here, weeding out some of the unrelated and/or terrible posts (way back in the day I tried to post recipes and other nonsense - what was I thinking!?), and will get to writing some new content soon.

I hope you’ll join me here. I’ll be sharing thoughts on pain from my lived experiences - both of pain as well as of being a patient partner in research, education and advocacy - and share musings on current pain research, the power of storytelling, narrative-based approaches to care, and justice in health care. Justice is one of the four pillars of medical ethics, along with autonomy, non-maleficence, and beneficence. My focus will be on epistemic justice as a way toward more equitable and ethical pain care.

I am a fierce advocate for people living with pain and believe their experiences, knowledge, perspectives, and expertise should be valued and integrated into the study, research, and treatment of pain. We need the science of pain, but to truly understand pain (and what to do about it) we also need to understand the lived experiences of pain, including the experiences of living with pain, seeking treatment, and navigating health systems and society with pain.

I’ll be sharing some nature stuff, too. I live in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and love to share the rugged splendor of this place. Below is a pic from our campsite last week.

Thanks for checking out this first post. I hope you’ll subscribe (or stay subscribed) and stick around for more. Please note that free subscribers will see all my posts. I have paid subscription options for those who would like to support my writing and advocacy and are able to do so.