Chronic Pain: Navigating its Unpredictability with Skillful Awareness

Photo by Gadiel Lazcano on Unsplash

Chronic pain can be a strange and mysterious experience. Unlike acute pain, which is a normal response to injury that usually goes away once the underlying problem has healed, chronic pain persists for months or even years.

One of the weirdest aspects of chronic pain is its unpredictability. It can come and go seemingly at random or be constant and unrelenting. Specific activities or movements can trigger it, or it can occur for no apparent reason at all. Another strange aspect of chronic pain is that it moves around. A friend saw me for knee pain yesterday, but he pointed to areas of his knee that hurt that were not part of the original injury.

Another reason why chronic pain can be difficult to understand is that pain perception can vary widely from person to person. Two people with the same condition or injury may experience pain in very different ways. Additionally, chronic pain can be influenced by a person's emotional state, past experiences, and other factors that are unique to each person.

There are ways that a person with chronic pain can skillfully relate to their pain, however. One approach is to practice skillful awareness, which involves bringing awareness to the experience while being careful not to overreact emotionally. Skillful awareness helps a person with chronic pain observe the pain without becoming overwhelmed or caught up in negative stories and emotions.

By cultivating skillful awareness of their pain, a person can learn to accept it without letting it control them. This approach creates an emotional environment that may lead to healing. If you're suffering from chronic pain, reach out. I'm happy to help you understand and work with it more skillfully. Indeed, if you'd like to take my class, Project SkillfullyAware, simply click this link, and you'll be on your way to more skillful awareness. Guaranteed.

Wishing you well,

Mark