Do we heal from a broken heart, or we become tolerant or immune to the pain that we think we are heal?
I have been thinking about this question for time to time. The pain of a broken heart can be for the lost of a parent, a child, a friend, spouse, a pet or like me a brake up. When my ex broke up with me my heart broke in a way that is unbearable to describe. The pain was so agonizing that living and breathing hurts so bad. I was going crazy, could not eat or sleep, did not wanted to clean my house or shower. I just wanted to hide in the darkness of my room. Sometimes the darkness of my closet, because it was the only place, I felt isolated from the planet. Panic attracts became the order every few hours. Nightmares will show up to disturb the little peace I will feel during my sleep. Only a person with a broken heart will know what I’m taking about.
I had an incredible family and small group of TRUE friends (the ones that don’t believe in Fucking unicorns, mermaids & lucky charm rainbows) that were there for me when I most need it. I look for ways to identify & eliminate the triggers of my panic attacks. And ways to help me feel better. Like eliminating process foods and soda, one cup of coffee in the morning, exercise (Running, CrossFit & Karate), no alcohol, silence my phone, no radio or music (because certain songs will make me sad) and I even talk to a therapist. Little by little I started to be ok.
But to be honest I don’t know if my heart is healed or build tolerance to the pain. I don’t know that I got so use to feel it that now is part of the norm of my life.
Biologically we have that capacity to build pain tolerance. That is what we do when we exercise. We expose our bodies to uncomfortable physical stress to get better. That is how the Navy Seals & Army Rangers train to become the best in the world. Wikipedia says that :” Pain tolerance is the maximum level of pain that a person is able to tolerate”. And WebMD says:” Past experiences, as well as trauma, can influence a person's sensitivity and perception of pain. Pain researchers believe regular exposure to painful stimuli can increase one's pain tolerance. Some individuals learn to handle pain by becoming more conditioned to it. So, do I have conditioned myself to this broken hard pain so well that I have been able to think that I can live a normal life? Sometimes I believe the answer is YES.
Is not about missing my ex parse. Because at the end he was terrible to me. He did not care about how I feel and did not wanted to confront the consequences of his actions. I knew and I know I don’t want that in my life. Is about missing the happiness I felt in certain moments in my life. Is about missing someone that will hold your hand when you are walking on the street. Missing the good night kisses and the I LOVE YOUS. Missing that you are love and desired. That is the pain that I feel occasionally. That is the pain that makes me think I have been tolerant enough that I can live my life a look I have all my shit back together. But at the same time, it hits me like a baseball bat on the chest and knock me out.
I think I have learned “deal” with the pain. I workout hard. So hard that the physical pain suppresses the emotional pain. Run half a mile faster, or one more rep when I’m lifting weights or one more round when in sparing are my ways to suppresses or maybe are ways to increase the pain tolerance. I do really wonder… Does our hearts capable of healing or we just conditioned ourselves that we are immune to the pain?