The Organisation for the Prevention of Intense Suffering (OPIS) has just launched a survey to collect data on the intensity and duration of suffering associated with a wide range of diseases and life conditions. The survey is part of a project to provide a more comprehensive overview of human and non-human suffering on our planet.

While pain and suffering are often evaluated numerically in clinical settings, we think this initiative is novel in the attempt to collect data across many different conditions, with a specific focus on the phenomenon of suffering. An ethical underpinning is not just that suffering has an inherent urgency to be relieved, but that even very different situations involving physical or psychological suffering may in principle be compared on a single axis of intensity. We plan to submit our findings to a scientific publication in addition to communicating them as part of the larger overview.

We would appreciate your help in filling out the survey if you are currently suffering significantly, or have in the past, from any condition or life situation. We would also appreciate your sharing it with any friends, family, acquaintances or colleagues who are suffering from a particular condition and may also be interested in contributing to this research project.

This is the survey link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfMDXXSA-6MtPlDhhbzVv8XYIh6zvXbZcqeZJBPbHwMBIIhww/viewform

Many thanks for your support!

Jonathan