When you live with chronic pain, sometimes it can feel like no one gets it because most people do not have chronic pain and have no idea what it’s like. It can be difficult for people without chronic pain to understand pain that they cannot see, and sometimes people don’t believe your pain is real because you aren’t crying endlessly and don’t look like you are in pain. People without chronic pain often have some idea of what they think chronic pain is like, but often your assumptions are wrong because although you can sympathize with someone’s chronic pain, you can’t fully understand something you have never experienced. Living with chronic pain is hard, and so many people lack understanding because most people look for visible signs of pain, and if you don’t look like you are in pain. they assume you’re not. There is so much about chronic pain that someone without chronic pain completely misses because you only see the part of my pain that I want you to see. In this post, I am sharing some realities of living with chronic pain that isn’t talked about enough.
You never have any energy– Most people who live with chronic pain have very low energy all the time because when your body is constantly fighting pain, you often have poor sleep and any energy you would have had is completely gone. Fatigue from pain is different from tiredness that you would have after you worked a ten-hour shift, and it feels like you have a dead weight lying across your entire body. Most people feel better when they are tired and take a nap, but when you are fatigued from pain, napping often doesn’t help. Living in constant pain is hard, but sometimes the fatigue is even harder to navigate because you want to do all these things but live in a body that is never motivated and wants to rest all the time. I enjoy the days my fatigue is not that bad because I don’t get very many of them, and most days all I want to do is lie in bed. Most people have gotten aches and pain at some point in their life and may have some idea of what it’s like to live with pain, but what we don’t talk about enough is how much less energy you have.
Some people may not believe your pain is real– Most people who live with chronic pain don’t fit the description of what they think pain is supposed to look like because chronic pain is often invisible. It can be hard for people to believe pain that they can’t easily see, and one of the harsh realities of living with chronic pain is that you will probably be accused of being a faker. People without chronic pain often think that everyone with chronic pain sits in bed all day and can’t do anything productive, but that is only true for some people. Some people with chronic pain are completely bed-bound, but not everyone is, because you can work while living with chronic pain, and even though someone doesn’t look like they are in pain, that doesn’t mean they are not. People sometimes are not going to believe your pain is real, and it is so important to remember that it’s not your job to convince others that you have real pain.
Pain medication doesn’t take away the pain- Most people who live with chronic pain have access to some form of pain medication, whether that is something over-the-counter or prescription strength. Pain medication can help some people get to a level where they can function, but despite what most people believe, it does not take away your pain. People with chronic pain who take medication still have bad days when they can’t get out of bed. Pain medication doesn’t cure your pain, and it only gets it to a level you can function, and sometimes it may not even work at all. I take prescription-strength pain medication for endometriosis, and sometimes my medication works great while other times it does nothing for me. We can only hope that our pain medication will work, but the reality is sometimes it doesn’t work as well as we would have hoped it would. Some people with chronic pain have very little they can do for their pain because medication doesn’t always help.
Sometimes you may lose or gain weight- Diet changes can help improve pain, but sometimes it can be hard to eat because pain affects your energy levels and your appetite. If you live with chronic pain, it is not uncommon for your body to change because sometimes people get depressed and don’t want to eat, or are taking a medication that increases your appetite. People with chronic pain often can’t exercise to the extent someone without chronic pain can, if at all, and body changes are often inevitable. It is so important that you try not to beat yourself up if you notice body changes because it’s not your fault. You do what you can to stay at a healthy weight, but at the end of the day, you can’t change the fact that you have chronic pain and can’t be as active.
Doctors may dismiss your pain as anxiety- When you go to the doctor with invisible pain, it can often be difficult to find a doctor who takes your pain seriously because doctors usually look for visible signs of pain. It is not uncommon for someone with chronic pain to be dismissed by doctors and told that their pain is not real and just anxiety because they don’t look like they are in pain. One of the harsh realities of living with pain is that it’s not uncommon for people with chronic pain to be dismissed by several doctors and struggle with severe pain for years because no one is listening to them. Untreated chronic pain causes preventable mental health issues, but unfortunately, it is something that I see happening all too often. Not every doctor dismisses chronic pain, but a lot of people do, and it is doing so much harm to patients.
Sometimes it feels isolating– When you live with chronic pain, sometimes you may feel alone because most people don’t have chronic pain and have no idea what it’s like. People with chronic pain often spend a lot of time in bed with crippling pain, and no one prepares you for the feeling of loneliness and isolation. Sometimes you are going to have to cancel plans because of an unexpected pain flare and are going to be frustrated with yourself, and it is okay to feel that way because pain is isolating.
Chronic pain can be very difficult for people without chronic pain to understand because there is so much about my pain that you don’t see. You only see the part about my pain that I want you to see, but you don’t see all the tears that are shed because of it. Chronic pain is not just physical, but it also affects your mental health because it’s hard to be happy when your body is hurting all the time. Make sure you are checking in with your chronic pain friends because you never know what someone is going through by what they post online. People sometimes may look happy but are struggling with severe pain and can barely get out of bed most days. Living with chronic pain is hard, but the physical aspect of it isn’t always the hardest part, and sometimes it’s not being believed by loved ones. What realities of living with chronic pain do you think are not talked about enough? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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