Pain sucks.
I could just leave that there and call it done. Migraine day 130.
Pain is like bad gas. One nasty fart, maybe two is forgivable,
but if you sit in a room full of people and keep releasing toxic stench, they
get sick of it and walk away. They may stay friends – from a distance - and try
not to judge you or wish you’d just be done already, but they are uncomfortable
with your pain, so they keep their distance.
You, on the other hand, are living with the stench. Like Pigpen
from Peanuts, your cloud of pain is present, everywhere. Some people notice,
can see the pain, but others don’t, for a million different reasons.
The pain of life is real.
WHAT DO YOU DO WITH IT?
Here is where I give you the answer to that question…
NOPE.
I don’t have it. All I have is my experience, my choices,
and what those people around me have chosen.
How to deal with PAIN:
Ignore it.
Run from it.
Bury it.
Face it.
Lean in to it.
Push through it.
Make peace with it.
Run from it.
Bury it.
Face it.
Lean in to it.
Push through it.
Make peace with it.
I honestly believe all these answers are right depending on
the type of pain. However, each one of these are the wrong answer too.
For example:
If you are in an abusive relationship – you need
to run from it, not make peace with it.
· If you are in physical pain (discomfort) you can
ignore it or push through it, but if you are in physical pain (agony) you need
to face it and get help.
· If you are in emotional pain, leaning into it
can be very helpful if you have support systems/resources around you. Emotional
pain buried, eventually comes up and out like a zombie ready to destroy your
life as you know it.
In this very long season of being in pain with this
migraine, I have chosen to make peace with it. I have sought spiritual,
medical, physical, and emotional help for it. Despite major efforts in every
area – the pain remains. So, on many days, I decide to just be. In pain. The
answers in the list above are the right answer for me, and some days, none of
them are wrong.
A few things I KNOW for sure – Healing from pain requires
community. Pain in isolation is dangerous. When we are brave and face our pain,
we inspire others to do the same.
I’m praying for you. Pain Sucks.
Great post!
ReplyDeleteBeing in very severe physical pain all the time (pancreatic cancer and non-H lymphoma), I can sure relate. It's generally an I-want-to-beat-my-head-against-a-wall sort of thing. People close to me have strongly suggested assisted suicide (legal in my state).
And having no insurance (too expen$ive), there is no pain management protocol save what's within me.
What I've learned is that pain does have a limit, and if I can reach that limit without becoming emotionally involved with my own suffering, there's a point of liberation. Pain doesn't recede or anything, but I can work around it.
Yes, it's exhausting. But it can be done, though I do have to say that I was extremely well trained to put up with levels of discomfort and danger that most civilians (and most military, for that matter) would find both alien and panic-inducing.
https://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2018/05/your-dying-spouse-479-not-very-good-at.html