September is Pain Awareness Month. 

But what the heck does that even mean? Because when you live with chronic pain, you’re managing it and trying to handle it 24 hours a day/7 days a week/365 days a year.  

Pain is complicated, because no one can ever truly know someone else’s pain. Plus, there’s this inclination to compare pain, to determine if someone else “has it worse” or someone else’s pain “isn’t as bad” which is all pointless. Pain is pain.

Many years ago, I participated in a very small (three patients including myself) chronic pain support group. I remember something the therapist said at the time, something that I often need to remind myself of — there could be a terrible, horrific natural disaster somewhere on the planet. Mass destruction. Severe injuries. (Which, as I write this, I can think of several instances from just the last week alone.) And, at the same time, if I fell and broke my leg, for example, I would absolutely be in pain. This therapist helped me see that my pain is no less valid simply because my situation and circumstances are different from someone else’s. I shouldn’t try to hide my pain or discount my pain because I think someone else’s pain is more intense than mine. 

Maybe that’s also the point of Pain Awareness Month. 

In the past, I’ve written blog posts suggesting Pain Awareness Month is for the general population of folks who don’t live with everyday pain. This year, however, I’m thinking I am also the target audience of Pain Awareness Month. Because I’ve gotten so used to being in pain, I don’t take the time to acknowledge my own efforts. I don’t just sweep the patio and water the plants, for instance. I sweep the patio and water the plants while my left calf feels like it’s stuck in a perpetual charley horse. I don’t just stand at the stove preparing dinner. I’m standing at the stove while my thigh aches, a painful sensation that has been with me since I woke up that morning. 

Yes, we need to practice kindness towards others, because you never really know what someone else is going through, and let’s face it, everyone is going through something. 

But also, I need to practice some kindness towards myself. 

I’m working on it.