The Business of Advocacy
Over some years and after a third time being banned in some way or form from an official pain organisation's social media, I now feel encouraged to make a point - advocacy is not a business. I began this website to advocate for people living with chronic pain and share helpful resources to avoid the impact of misdiagnosis on their lives. I aimed and achieved gratitude on a global scale, which has fed me. I also started this website to connect people living with chronic pain to professionals who understood them very well and could possibly treat them. I've asked none of these amazing professionals to pay me to be included on this website – we're all working for the same cause, right? This was never intended to be a business. What I'm seeking is more respect and understanding for the voluntary position of the advocate. So let's pull the bandaid off and frankly define it: Advocacy is costly and time-consuming. It earns us no income; it causes pain and uses a significant portion of the little and precious uptime we get and, advocates are also much greater than their cause. I repeat; advocacy is no business.