Rewilding Pain
More people suffer from chronic pain than heart disease, diabetes and all types of cancer combined. Read that again. Research frequently shows that one in every five people globally suffer from chronic pain at some point in their lifetime.
Chronic pain is defined as pain that persists beyond the usual recovery period or pain that lasts longer than three months. One in every five people, twenty percent of the population, that is an insane number for something that is completely misunderstood and treated so terribly in our medical system.
20% of the population! I still can't process how chronic pain is so common yet so invisible in our society. So if you are reading this because you are in pain, know that you are not alone. Even when it feels like nobody understands and you are completely lost, you are not alone.
How often do you see fundraisers, support groups, non-profits and entire organizations dedicated to serving people impacted by diabetes, heart disease and cancer? A lot more often than you see anything to serve people with chronic pain! I have my own ideas about why this is. As a medical professional that has worked with patients in pain for 11 years, I have learned a lot. One lesson I learn over and over is that chronic pain is one of the few diseases that the patient is blamed and often dismissed. Because pain is so misunderstood, doctors don't know what to do. Instead of admitting the lack of understanding, I often see the weight of the diagnosis land back on the patient. They are told they are not doing enough, they are not doing the right things, it's all in their heads, and there is nothing to be done. Imagine going to a doctor with a disease and a doctor saying there is nothing they can do but not explaining why.
I do not claim to understand everything about pain. I don’t know more than I do know. Yet here I am attempting to explain why. I believe with every ounce of my being that patients in pain deserve an explanation. Starting with how the medical system is failing them and ending with how pain can be an integral part in each of our lives. There is a lot to discuss in between those points and I want to dig into every messy conversation possible.
I am not here to give answers and tell you I can cure your pain. Pain is not a problem that needs to be solved. Pain needs a healthy dose of rewilding and that is what I hope to do. Rewilding is a concept I am borrowing from the ecological world. We are a part of nature so it flows well into many parts of human existence. Rewilding is the idea that nature can best take care of itself. It does this best without the structures and constraints that our society has placed on it.
The idea of rewilding pain is to allow pain to serve its natural purpose. To introduce pain as a part of our existence instead of ostracizing it to the periphery. Our bodies do not create pain for shits and giggles. Our bodies are efficient and do not do anything haphazardly. Our bodies are begging to get our attention with pain. If we didn't fear pain so much, it would be much easier to hear and understand what it is trying to communicate to us.
Pain always has a purpose. When we do not allow it to do what it needs, it will cause problems.
Again, I am not here to fix you. I am here to teach you the lessons I’ve learned. I am here to make you feel less crazy and less alone. I am here to encourage and support with kindness and compassion. Only you have the power to choose to transform your life. I am simply another being that wants to walk along side you as you begin your journey.
How does the idea of rewilding pain land with you?
More people suffer from chronic pain than heart disease, diabetes and all types of cancer combined. Read that again. Research frequently shows that one in every five people globally suffer from chronic pain at some point in their lifetime.
Chronic pain is defined as pain that persists beyond the usual recovery period or pain that lasts longer than three months. One in every five people, twenty percent of the population, that is an insane number for something that is completely misunderstood and treated so terribly in our medical system.
20% of the population! I still can't process how chronic pain is so common yet so invisible in our society. So if you are reading this because you are in pain, know that you are not alone. Even when it feels like nobody understands and you are completely lost, you are not alone.
How often do you see fundraisers, support groups, non-profits and entire organizations dedicated to serving people impacted by diabetes, heart disease and cancer? A lot more often than you see anything to serve people with chronic pain! I have my own ideas about why this is. As a medical professional that has worked with patients in pain for 11 years, I have learned a lot. One lesson I learn over and over is that chronic pain is one of the few diseases that the patient is blamed and often dismissed. Because pain is so misunderstood, doctors don't know what to do. Instead of admitting the lack of understanding, I often see the weight of the diagnosis land back on the patient. They are told they are not doing enough, they are not doing the right things, it's all in their heads, and there is nothing to be done. Imagine going to a doctor with a disease and a doctor saying there is nothing they can do but not explaining why.
I do not claim to understand everything about pain. I don’t know more than I do know. Yet here I am attempting to explain why. I believe with every ounce of my being that patients in pain deserve an explanation. Starting with how the medical system is failing them and ending with how pain can be an integral part in each of our lives. There is a lot to discuss in between those points and I want to dig into every messy conversation possible.
I am not here to give answers and tell you I can cure your pain. Pain is not a problem that needs to be solved. Pain needs a healthy dose of rewilding and that is what I hope to do. Rewilding is a concept I am borrowing from the ecological world. We are a part of nature so it flows well into many parts of human existence. Rewilding is the idea that nature can best take care of itself. It does this best without the structures and constraints that our society has placed on it.
The idea of rewilding pain is to allow pain to serve its natural purpose. To introduce pain as a part of our existence instead of ostracizing it to the periphery. Our bodies do not create pain for shits and giggles. Our bodies are efficient and do not do anything haphazardly. Our bodies are begging to get our attention with pain. If we didn't fear pain so much, it would be much easier to hear and understand what it is trying to communicate to us.
Pain always has a purpose. When we do not allow it to do what it needs, it will cause problems.
Again, I am not here to fix you. I am here to teach you the lessons I’ve learned. I am here to make you feel less crazy and less alone. I am here to encourage and support with kindness and compassion. Only you have the power to choose to transform your life. I am simply another being that wants to walk along side you as you begin your journey.
How does the idea of rewilding pain land with you?
Rewilding Pain
Learn more about my relationship to pain and why I am so passionate about this subject.