(REVISED)
“Some facts about chronic pain:”
1. Your pain has been with you since birth, often for positive reasons. It’s just the intensity of it that has changed.
2. Your pain is subjective. It’s your experience that counts.
3. Your pain is multi-dimensional. You have physical pain, emotional pain, pain from life stressors, pain from negative thinking, or pain from lack of fortitude.
4. You may always have pain.
5. To move on, you need to “let go” or mourn “the way you were”, before having chronic pain.
6. Your pain is different than others. Perceive it as a ‘challenge’, as an ‘opportunity’, rather than feeling despair.
7. You may differ from others in your motivation to change.
8. There are many ways to reduce your chronic pain. Some ways are better than others.
9. You are free to choose how to deal with your pain.
10.The times are changing rapidly. There are situations you can control and there are many you can’t control.