Solid concept, but overpromises
I participated in the 12 week Aivo study (stuck around for an extra month), and was excited to do so. I have extensive experience with mindfulness, meditation, CBT, and DBT - and I am a strong believer in the mind/body connection and the importance of delivering tools patients can use to own at least some control of their pain. I used the app 6-7 times/week as instructed, and was very open minded. Unfortunately, while I am 100% behind the concept, the execution has issues. The lessons were frustratingly short, and offered very little in the way of practical exercises that could be used in real life when it comes to dealing with pain flares. They also seemed to come from an “it’s all in your head” perspective. While there is certainly a strong mind/body connection with chronic pain, it is not helpful to highlight without also stressing how that is *very* different from mental illness. Chronic pain patients are already struggling with invisible disability that is hard to justify and explain to friends and family, and are frequently treated as drug seekers or hypochondriacs by the medical community; so the “it’s all in your head” approach used in some of the lessons takes a complicated relationship and simplifies it in a way that sends the wrong message. The coaching aspect of the program was almost non existent during my experience. The short, broad spectrum lessons felt very impersonal (many referred specifically to back pain, and my chronic pain is in my ankle), so I had hopes that receiving feedback from the coach would dial in the uniqueness of my pain experience, but it didn’t. Communication was sporadic at best, mostly initiated by me, and tone and style varied enough that I often felt like there was a different person answering me several times. Specific inquiries by me lead to very general responses of things to try like “mindfulness” or “body scans” with no real sense of personalization. And again, nothing concrete I could use to get me through an active flare. In reflection (and I’ve waited months to leave this review - so it isn’t reactionary) I feel like at best Aivo didn’t help me; and at worst it offered hope that, when unrealized, left me feeling worse than when I started. Chronic pain patients are grasping at straws. They are suffering physically, and have oftentimes been underserved or abandoned by the medical community. This program oversells itself. If you are feeling fragile, or looking for community, I HIGHLY recommend mindfulness, me
