About Soula Mantalvanos

“I felt I had lost my independence, I could not communicate and express my personal experience and that no one understood me.” Soula combines her many years of chronic pain with her professional design experience to advocate about misdiagnosis and injured Victorian workers. Soula founded pudendalnerve.com.au and PainTrain My Health Summary to help raise the quality of care for those enduring and treating chronic pain.
October 30th, 2014 9:59 am

My interview with the Australian Pain Society

By |2017-12-11T14:10:27+11:00October 30th, 2014|Categories: Advocacy, Online|Tags: , , , |

APS: How important are support groups for both you and your close family/community? Soula: I can’t say I feel there is much support for my husband and family/community. It’s difficult with invisible pain, it’s a similar scenario with depression, we still don’t get it. Society seems to have been given an immense right to provide their opinion (e.g. with social media platforms) and this has opened up some kind of authority to encourage opinions and much judgment. Not many tread carefully or really think from someone else’s perspective. Although we have more information accessible to us, we seem to be learning less.

October 22nd, 2014 10:07 am

‘The Hurting Strings’ wins International Film Festival Reel Health Award 2014

By |2017-12-11T16:40:26+11:00October 22nd, 2014|Categories: Advocacy, Blog, Events, Film, Online, The Hurting Strings|Tags: |

I must sound like a broken record by now, but once again, I am left bewildered by my chronic pain journey and the contrasting experiences that go from excruciating pain to exhilaration. Above all, I feel incredibly privileged at the opportunities presented to me and so happy to be able to help others by communicating my story. I could not have done this without Theo, my family and of course Peter Lamont and Jacinta Cashen.

October 15th, 2014 11:05 am

Semi Finalist for the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize 2014

By |2017-12-11T13:40:37+11:00October 15th, 2014|Categories: Blog, Creativity|Tags: , |

Very chuffed to be selected as a semi finalist regardless of the outcome. The portrait was flown up to Sydney for a second round of judging. She didn't make the final cut of 30 finalists but I feel so content that Ms Soula is going to great lengths to create awareness for invisible pain.

October 7th, 2014 10:42 am

ANZCA Bulletin: Simple Accident Leads to Life of Pain

By |2017-12-11T15:03:47+11:00October 7th, 2014|Categories: Advocacy, Print|Tags: , , |

It took nearly five years of chasing answers, of tests and interventions, frustration, grief, and constant, unbearable pain to reach a diagnosis. The fall caused nerve damage in the pelvic area, very real but invisible on MRIs, examinations, X-rays and CT scans. “It is still a primitive time in pain. Being told for four and a half years ‘this is chronic pain ... go home and live with it, there’s nothing that can be done’ is brutal not to mention primitive.”

September 21st, 2014 9:08 pm

Commitment, sacrifice and granting myself the right permissions

By |2023-01-26T14:46:01+11:00September 21st, 2014|Categories: About, Blog, Living, My treatment|Tags: , , , |

Last week, I attended my last acupuncture appointment and for the first time in over seven years, am therapist free. Hang on, I have to just repeat that: I am therapist free Did I ever think this day would come? Of course I did and I believe that's why I am here. I have had my moments, but what I didn't realise through all that heat and whilst pacing like a snail, was that each flare up and pain episode was actually not an indication that pain was here to stay, but rather that it was actually beginning to leave. Although just a difference of minutes initially, eventually I felt the flare ups spreading further apart. And with recognising that change and NOT increasing my capacity past a snail's shell weight, I began to make progress.

August 16th, 2014 9:51 am

Interactions Between Injured Workers and Insurers in Workers’ Compensation Systems: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Research Literature.

By |2023-01-24T16:13:29+11:00August 16th, 2014|Categories: Workcover|Tags: , , , , , |

Most research on the effects of compensation has concentrated on examining outcomes rather than considering the compensation process itself... The majority of interactions were negative and resulted in considerable psychosocial consequences for injured workers

August 9th, 2014 8:46 am

Cathartic collage, my self portraits

By |2024-01-21T15:26:16+11:00August 9th, 2014|Categories: About, Blog, Creativity|Tags: , |

Collage has been a little more therapeutic for me than my usual art forms. I think it must have been finding a technique that I could manage and one that didn't add to the fatigue and pain. Cutting small pieces of paper and glueing, drawing, attaching was just so light and easy. The painting of small pieces of paper and the careful ripping and tearing was like rocking. So gentle, so calming and at the same time feeling like I was handling my pain, expressing it and getting it out of my body and onto the art piece.

August 4th, 2014 1:24 pm

Yet Another Comedy of Errors: Act III, the Outcome

By |2023-01-24T16:12:30+11:00August 4th, 2014|Categories: Workcover|Tags: , , , |

But we are grateful to the Conciliator and to WorkCover Assist who helped me to show that through Theo’s and my own initiative I have created my work position. Had we not done this I would have remained in receipt of full compensation payments and Theo could have found a job. Theo was allowed to explain the printmaking process to the VWA-appointed Agent (K) and to point out that it was impossible for me to undertake this task without significant assistance, as was the case for the creation of my book and for my daily work and living. However, their support, although most welcome, failed to make any impression on K or his successor, X. The roles of the Conciliator and WorkCover Assist in this comedy have been reduced to the pointless exercise of pushing pieces of paper around.

July 13th, 2014 10:18 am

Blog | Sexology 101 | The Internal Clitoris

By |2017-12-11T16:42:00+11:00July 13th, 2014|Categories: About, Learn, Professional Resources, Pudendal Neuralgia|Tags: , , |

Hallelujah! Pardon my pun here, especially as I'm preaching sexuality on a Sunday morning but finally, here is some thorough research and attention for the clitoris. Thank you Louise Smith for sending this link to me.. I think it's essential info for everyone, not just women with PN. Thank you melodiousmsm for writing this and thank you to artist and sex educator, Betty Dodson for the fabulous artwork.

June 30th, 2014 7:21 am

My Documentary: The Hurting Strings – An Artist’s Story on Pain

By |2023-02-18T10:27:08+11:00June 30th, 2014|Categories: Advocacy, Film, Online, The Hurting Strings|Tags: , , , |

Handmade Films - The Hurting StringsLet's watch The Hurting StringsI'd like to express my biggest thanks firstly to Peter Lamont for taking this project on and for communicating my invisible message with [...]

Go to Top