Enlightenment Through Chronic Pain
I bet you are rather surprised by the idea of enlightenment through chronic pain. The idea may seem strange, even a little far-fetched, but hear me out. Before you judge this thought, read what I have to say and then make your remarks.
What is Chronic Pain?
Chronic pain is typically defined as pain lasting more than three months or beyond the normal healing time of an injury or illness. It can be continuous or intermittent and may occur in any part of the body. Unlike acute pain, which serves as a warning signal for injury, chronic pain often persists even after the initial cause has healed or may arise without a clear cause, as in the case of idiopathic chronic pain.
Chronic pain can be categorised into different types, such as:
Neuropathic pain – caused by nerve damage (e.g., diabetic neuropathy, sciatica).
Nociceptive pain – due to tissue damage (e.g., arthritis, injuries).
Mixed pain – involving both nerve and tissue damage (e.g., fibromyalgia, migraines).
It can impact physical and mental well-being, leading to fatigue, depression, anxiety, and reduced quality of life. Effective management often requires a multidisciplinary approach, including medication, physical therapy, lifestyle changes, and psychological support. However, psychological support is frequently omitted.
This approach from a different perspective must include your own. You need to be an advocate for your treatment plan. Working in collaboration with your medical provider is key to finding the right plan for your pain. It is a different experience compared to acute pain. Particularly if the pain is consistent. To do this, you need to learn how to master introspection. By gaining introspection as a skill, you open the pathway to enlightenment.
How to Begin Using Introspection as a Tool
Embracing introspection as a tool is the first step towards achieving enlightenment through chronic pain. It is a necessary step to ensure that you maintain a level head when advocating for yourself. After all, introspection is about your physical and mental well-being. Introspection takes an immense amount of honesty and a good deal of clarity to get just right. Sometimes you will find that you question yourself and other times you feel steadfast in your approach. Regardless, it is a tool that will give you the foundation to step into your own, personal, enlightenment.
Take a moment to focus on the transition. Being able to be introspective doesn’t happen overnight. It is a skill that you hone over time. Through this, it becomes a tool in your arsenal. Your journey will begin by creating time for reflection. You will want time for yourself that is calming in a comfortable space to allow your mind to flow through the recent activities and past moments of significance. During the reflection sessions, you may find yourself feeling overcome by emotion. Do not fear these emotions or think they are bad. They are a natural reaction to a difficult situation.
Breathe deeply, then take a step back and look at your reaction as objectively as you can. Analyse-it and try to piece together each event in your chronic pain journey that has brought you here. Look into it as if you were telling a story. Try to be aware of how you feel, and grieve what you have lost. Then rejoice in what you have gained. Reflect on who were, who you are and who you want to be. Bring it all together. From here you will begin to understand your reactions better. Eventually becoming more aware of other peoples’ reactions and intentions. This is the moment that introspection goes from a learnt skill to a tool in your emotional survival kit.
Introspection Becomes Enlightenment
Now that you have the fundamental practice of introspection down, you can begin using it as a tool. Start by taking shorter moments of reflection during a doctor’s appointment. Think carefully about what the doctor has told you. You agree, disagree or perhaps you need time to process it before responding. Regardless of what it might be, you are now calmer and able to react accordingly. Saving you the headache of a completely emotional reaction and laying down the foundation for clearer communication.
Chronic pain is a highly emotionally charged experience. Towards medical professionals and loved ones in particular. It is important to realise that they do not understand your pain and they can only do their best to help. Often it is not enough. That doesn’t make it invaluable.
You can use this practice with your close family and friends as well. With time it will become easier to find compassion for yourself and those around you. One day you may even feel compassion for the healthcare provider that is doing their best. It is easy to place your pain on someone else or expect the world to know how to react to your pain. The truth is that they don’t. There are few people out there that will get you and your circumstances. By being more introspective with each interaction you can better evaluate your responses. Ultimately mitigating uncomfortable conversations and bringing more clarity to your life. Having chronic pain means that there is an intimate part of yourself you cannot control. But you can control how to deal with it. By learning how to recognise people around you and truly hear what they are saying, you can take back some of what you have lost.
Through this process, your empathy will grow. You will go through cycles of pain and despair followed by optimism and gratitude. Each cycle you will find new things to reflect on and deepen your understanding of introspection. Over time you will start to feel a sense of enlightenment. An acceptance of what is will wash over you. Keep in mind that it is a difficult journey. One of continuous growth that will challenge you each step of the way. The good news is that it gets easier and eventually even the bad days become somewhat bearable.
