What I'm going to write about is not pleasurable, or fun. It won't tell you how to get discounts at Disneyworld or SeaWorld or Six Flags, or how to put together the best-tasting fudge brownies or Chicken Piccata this side of the Mississippi. It will however reveal an aspect of human existence that one rarely talks about to another. It's something that, for the people afflicted with it, is an all-encompassing daily (and nightly) burden to carry around.
I'm talking about chronic pain. In my case, it's arthritis that caught up with me when I was 30. I'm now 57 and have endured pain for some 27 years.
Let's face it: pain hurts. Pain is, well, a pain. As with any kind of therapy it's okay to say whatever you feel. Sharing whatever form of treatment has helped you -- whether it be copper bracelets, ion generators, cherry jello with marshmellows, artichoke hearts with peanut butter, or the widely-accepted western medicine drugs -- is encouraged. If you have had chronic pain you, like me, have probably had the gamut of these prescription drugs over the years, as well as tried out more than a few holistic ideas. Truth is, everyone that has dealt with chronic pain has their own system of relief. But through all these, isn't it interesting, and quite diconcerting, to discover that even though these can and do help, bottom line, the pain is still there?
This blog is about using "mind over matter," how to integrate, manage, and overcome this huge "thing" called pain, how to face it on a daily (even hourly) basis, ideas to help you cope, and how to accept what pain has done to you and what your existence on this planet has become because of it.
They always say "write what you know" -- well, I know pain. I know it inside and out, up one side and down the other. And I'll bet, if you've read this far, you do too.
Don't be afraid to join in on this blog. We can all help each other. And the best way is to talk. I'm going to start talking about my pain. Maybe we won't be able to take away the physical causes of pain, but we sure as heck can kick it squarely in the behind and help diminish its effect by facing it eyeball to eyeball.
