Category: Pain

“It’s fine.”  “Everything is fine.”  “I’m fine.”  Have you ever strung together these three sentences and thought to yourself, “shoot, I think I might not be fine”. 

About a year ago I was in a car accident that resulted in emergency surgery, a stay in the trauma center at the hospital, and a long recovery (in addition to other challenges). It was the most challenging and scary time in my life. I didn’t think that I was going to make it, and yet I would find myself telling my loved ones who came to visit me, “It’s fine.”  “Everything is fine.”  “I’m fine.” 

Why is it so hard to admit that sometimes we are not fine? It has taken me a while to figure out why I was so desperately pushing myself to be fine. Though I wanted those words to be true, what I wanted more than anything was for my loved ones to think and feel that those words were true.

Whet ...

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Pain. A broken limb, a failing grade, a shattered relationship, or a “Closed on Sundays” sign at the Chick-fil-A drive-thru. Pain can be experienced in a multitude of ways. It’s never fun at the time, and it leaves you longing for one thing, comfort. It is in this cycle that so many people can find themselves trapped. They feel pain, they seek comfort; wash, rinse, repeat. Many begin to program themselves to receive a steady intake of minor comforts throughout the day to mitigate any potential pain that comes their way. Simultaneously they begin to decrease their tolerance for pain, while increasing their need for comfort. The very comforts they pursue begin to fuel the pain they feel in the first place. Alcohol was supposed to relieve the stress from work. Social Media was supposed to alleviate my loneliness. More money was supposed to make the anxiety go away. Why isn’t it working?

The answer does not rest simply in our understanding of ...

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