If someone in my life asked me, "Brandy, what's the hardest thing about having a chronic pain condition?" my answer would be, "the intense feelings of loneliness from feeling so misunderstood". Number 1, I've never been asked that. Number 2, when I learned that over 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain...NEARLY 1/3 OF OUR POPULATION...I thought, how is this possible? How is it possible my number one issue (aside from the pain) is loneliness & being misunderstood when there are so many sufferers? Chronic pain has more sufferers than diabetes (which effects approximately 26 million Americans including diagnosed and unstimated undiagnosed). More than heart disease (which effects approximately 17 million Americans), and more than cancer, (which effects approximately 12 million Americans). It all just seems crazy that I see commercials on TV for medications to aide symptoms of the other conditions, and characters in movies with diabetes, heart disease, and cancer but rarely hear or see anything spoken about chronic pain conditions. I feel that since I often don't outwardly look unhealthy (unless it's right after an activity, that I really pushed my way through) people think the pain is not there. It is an invisible condition, and it's been damaging my life since I've been 38.
If you're not a sufferer of chronic pain, you probably don't know what I even mean when I say "chronic pain condition"...that's OK, I don't blame you. I do not know what every illness is myself; I'm not a doctor, nor do I claim to be. That said, the label of having chronic pain typically applies to someone who has experienced pain for a few months or longer, and it doesn't go away. When the majority of the population experiences pain, perhaps from an injury or illness, they are treated, begin healing and ultimately recover to not experience the pain again (at least to a much rarer extent). A chronic pain sufferer's pain never goes away; it's with us all throughout the day, making life a living hell. Some cases of chronic pain can be traced to a specific injury that has long since healed-for example, a serious injury, infection or surgical incision. Other cases have a no apparent cause; they just flared up one day and never went away. Some of the most common cases of chronic pain are related to lower back or neck pain. forms of arthritis, headache, multiple sclerosis (MS), Fibromyalgia, shingles, CRPS/RSD, or nerve damage (neuropathy).
I have never met a fellow chronic pain suffer that is only afflicted with just one type of pain condition. I myself suffer from multiple including(but not limited to): RA, daily headaches and nausea, a sleep disorder, and in general feeling like I've been in a car accident & shaken around violently every single day. Those awful feelings don't even take into account the side effects of the medication I take, or the side effects of being in pain for so long (I'll save that for another post). Just like anyone else, I also randomly have acute issues from time to time with no explanation. In general, people who have chronic pain have "exaggerated experiences" of acute pain. How I explain that to others is: I have a lower than average pain tolerance. It makes me sound like I'm not capable of handling pain...if people only knew.
Why am I putting this information out for all to read? Because since being officially diagnosed I've been very lucky despite my physical health issues. The psychological impact of chronic pain cannot be understated. Negative emotions, including sadness & anxiety can aggravate the pain. Depression is common in chronic pain patients. If you had always been an active person and then you develop chronic pain, you very well may become depressed. People who think pain is "all in the head" are not being realistic.
It's the biggest blow to your ego when the mind tells you that you're capable of one thing, but your body does not cooperate. For example, I'm mentally competent to work, however physically right now, its extremely painfully challenging for me. Another example is, I'd love to go on an amazing vacation, but I would be so physically and mentally in pain. I have a million examples of situations like that, and if I think about them for too long I start to feel terrible. I'm only 40 years old, and have been battling with different levels of chronic pain problems since I was 38. I had no idea it was the beginning of major pain problems which would effect all aspects of my life. Fortunately, I've always had the insurance to be treated medically. The fact that there is only treatment and no cure for the pain conditions I listed above causes great distress. Just imagine feeling "this may be how the rest of my life is spent: trapped with pain."
If you know someone who has a chronic illness...please make sure you understand that they are not being lazy...they are having to obey the pain that suspends their activity.
With Love,
"B"
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