The objective of getting through each day is to continue to live past the pain. Take steps that bring happiness and quality of life forward above the pain. You may have lost the support of friends and family while suffering under debilitating pain. This loss elicits feelings of unwarranted shame. Make pain management your number one priority and those around you will see how serious of a condition you are coping with.
This action, may bring those people back to you that had written you off as a chronic complainer. Regardless of where your close relations stand you will benefit from making pain management your imperative.1
Chronic pain survivors often feel alone in their suffering; however, this debilitating condition is shared among 100 million adults in America.2 Through your struggle to overcome your pain you will regain hope. Find a new identity as a “pain self-manager” not a patient.
1. Dennis C. Turk, Frits Winter, (2006). The Pain Survival Guide How to Reclaim Your Life. Port City Press. Baltimore, MD.
2. Bement, M. K. H., St Marie, B.,J., Nordstrom, T. M., Christensen, N., Mongoven, J. M., Koebner, I. J., . . . Sluka, K. A. (2014). An interprofessional consensus of core competencies for prelicensure education in pain management: Curriculum application for physical therapy. Physical Therapy, 94(4), 451-65. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.pointloma.idm.oclc.org/docview/1522798459?accountid=13223
