A Way Forward with Chronic Pain
written by Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski
“And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. ”
Chronic pain creates suffering in several ways. Chronic pain is more than just physical. Our chronic pain has emotional dimensions that can be even more debilitating. When stress takes emotional control, our body responds by tightening up. The more we tighten, the more muscles seize up, and we experience spasms and pain compounds. Physical pain has an emotional connection. Ignoring the physical/emotional connection keeps our body from healing.
The emotional side of pain comes in surprising ways. When we talk about physical pain, the term “guilt” isn’t the first term that comes to mind. We feel guilty that our pain makes other’s lives more uncomfortable. We feel guilty, thinking we deserve, in some way, the suffering we are experiencing. Do not even bring up the guilt over the financial drain pain places on the pocketbook.
“Anxiety” is another emotional response to physical pain. Pain pops our bubble of pretend control. Pain demands that we pull back the curtain of illusion. The pain lessens when we stop fighting the false illusions we try to retain. We acknowledge we do not have all the answers. We do not know if we will ever be pain-free or where the money will come from. We may not even know if our loved ones will treat us the same way the longer we struggle. Admitting and then addressing our anxiety will help our relationship with others and our mental health.
Finally, shame is never far behind the pain. Whether or not our poor decisions led to our present suffering, not being perfect always leads to shame. We might address the guilt and anxiety, but the shame is a whole other level of emotional hurt. Our way through the pain and its anxiety, guilt, and shame is to embrace our faith and trust in God. Trusting God to lead us through what we cannot control calms the body and allows the body to heal. Body and mind are one in us; when we invite the divine One, we become whole. Even when the pain remains, our ability to relax allows us to endure gracefully.
