Pain and Identity
When you live with chronic pain it unfortunately becomes a part of your identity.
“How are you?” I’m in pain.
“How can I help you?” Relieve my pain.
“What do you do for a living?” I go to doctors and I deal with pain all day.
“Who are you?” I’m a pain patient.
“What do you want in life?” To not be in pain.
If I woke up tomorrow and I was not in pain, it would be a blessing, but it would also shake my identity. Being a pain patient has been the bedrock of my existence for 16 years, I would have to take time to redefine who I am and what I am. I know we are not defined by our illnesses, but after so many years it pervasively takes over our lives the hard part is to try and find some joy, to find some piece of who we were before the pain and build from there.
