Managing a chronic pain condition can be a full-time job. In addition to living with symptoms on a daily basis, individuals living with pain must find providers, understand health insurance, attend appointments, pick up prescriptions, make phone calls, pay bills, and more. But if managing pain and seeking health care is complicated and time-consuming for someone with a single diagnosis, what is it like for those living with multiple conditions?

Mental health is often inextricably linked to the chronic pain experience. One aspect of chronic pain that is sometimes overlooked is the mental health of caregivers or care partners. Like the patients they care for, care partners are also faced with mental-health challenges: many share their feelings of frustration, hopelessness, and depression at navigating a broken health care system, compounded by limited sleep and, often, difficulty getting time for themselves.