Life with Chronic Pain and Illness
When we hear the word “grief,” it is often in relation to the loss of a loved one. However, when someone lives with chronic pain and illness, they, too, experience grief.
Life with chronic pain and illness involves so many losses. It varies for everyone, but those losses can include independence, career, hobbies, relationships, and financial stability. Each day can bring a different form of loss and grief. It can be overwhelming. These feelings are constant since the pain and illness are chronic, meaning they are there every day. As a result, one may experience various stages of grief throughout the day. Some days will be easier than others.
The grief associated with chronic pain and illness is similar to mourning the past, present, and future at the same time. Share on X The hopes and dreams you may have had that no longer seem possible. You remember daily life before you were sick. You look back on activities or spontaneity that once came easy to you. You think about a future where you may need to sit on the sidelines or alter plans you once had.
For many people, the hardest part to come to terms with may be in the present moment. The sadness of missing out and watching friends and loved ones participate in something you would love to do. Or pushing yourself a bit more than you should, knowing you will pay for those few moments for days, or even weeks, after the fact. There is also a loneliness associated with it, since people who do not live with chronic pain and illness don’t truly understand the struggles.
I have found that focusing on what I am able to do, instead of what I am unable to do, helps … at least most of the time. It’s not a perfect fix at keeping away the grief. But it does help to refocus my mind and remind myself that, despite my disabilities, if I am still here, God still has a plan for me. It is a daily process to come to terms with the fact that while I may not be who, or doing what, I thought I would be, I am still the person God created me to be. And those truths are the same for you, my friend.
I hope you have a low-pain day.
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