Chronic Pain

Categories: Blog Oct 09, 2016

Have you ever heard the saying that pain is your friend? Pain is your body's way of telling you something is wrong. In that sense, I guess pain could be your friend. If you needed to know there was a problem with your body, pain is the "friend" who shows up to let you know. Right?

But.... "Seldom set foot in your neighbor's house (your friends house), lest he become weary of you and hate you." - Proverbs 25:17

Pain, if it is your friend, can be that friend who doesn't know when to leave. It can quickly wear out it's welcome, not that it was ever welcome. How many of us have "friends" who aggravate us so much we become angry, bitter, sad, afraid and depressed? I would venture a guess that none of us really do. Who would keep a friend like that?

It may be better to think of pain as a messenger and not a friend. Sometimes the message is a clear indication that something is wrong and the response to the message may be quite simple. Sometimes the message is not so clear at all and the needed response to acknowledge the message may not be that simple. Whatever the reason for the message, one thing is clear: the purpose of pain is to get your attention.

And that is what it does. Pain strives to get your attention. Chronic pain even strives to consume your attention. Again, this is when pain is certainly not your friend, but more your hated neighbor...

I was recently at a Strength Matters Summit and I was fortunate enough to hear Dr. Perry Nickelston of Stop Chasing Pain speak. He said pain was an invitation for change. What he meant, I think, was pain is the brain's way of telling the body something needs to change. Perhaps a person has a habit or movement pattern that is causing the body harm. Perhaps a person is inflicting damage to their body by something they are ingesting; food, mineral, chemical, etc... Perhaps a person has pain because of thoughts they keep in their heads or emotions they hold in their hearts.

There are all sorts of reasons for pain and pain may indeed be the messenger that is inviting us to make a change. But pain is not supposed to be the neighbor (the "friend") who won't leave. Pain is not supposed to be the chronic thought consuming, joy stealing, life suffocating, black hole that leaves us discouraged and defeated. No. We were not meant to live in pain, or live with pain. So, what then, is the change a person needs to make if they are dealing with chronic pain?

I really don't know. But what I do know is this: The body is designed to heal and pain is designed to go away after its mission is complete. I also know our outlook determines a great deal how our brains deal with pain. And what I mean by that is we should not settle to "live with pain". We should not just resolve to "deal with it" and let it take up residence in our body like the unwelcomed neighbor. Maybe the absolute best "change" we can make when it comes to fighting (not dealing) with chronic pain is knowing (deciding) that this pain will pass - there will be an end. There will be a "suddenly" when we don't hurt anymore. We may not know when it will be, but we must know it will be.

Listen, if you are dealing with chronic pain, don't give up and don't give in to depression. Decide the pain will pass. If there is change you need to make, make it. If there is a stand you need to take, take it. Examine your habits, how you move, how you eat, etc... Examine your thoughts, what you know and believe versus what you imagine. And whatever you do, don't let pain defeat you. You were made to be strong and courageous. You were not made to be defeated and discouraged by pain. That, my friends, is the truth.

---