The single most important part of the Walk, Book, Articles...everything!
It's all based on this chart. I drew this while I was in the desert and wrote the accompanying words as I ended the Walk in LA in 2006. It is fresh, unedited and written at the end of a solid year of walking!
The inset box is the Pain Amplifier, describing a better way to rate how pain affects an individual. Pain, as you will see, is very unique and personal. What works for one may be the exact wrong thing for another.
So the book, written from this chart, is an "in general" study of people going through the Pain Cycle. As you read it, take what appeals and applies to you and forget the rest.
It's all based on this chart. I drew this while I was in the desert and wrote the accompanying words as I ended the Walk in LA in 2006. It is fresh, unedited and written at the end of a solid year of walking!
The inset box is the Pain Amplifier, describing a better way to rate how pain affects an individual. Pain, as you will see, is very unique and personal. What works for one may be the exact wrong thing for another.
So the book, written from this chart, is an "in general" study of people going through the Pain Cycle. As you read it, take what appeals and applies to you and forget the rest.
The Pain Cycle
The information contained in this report was acquired by talking to thousands of patients and professionals in clinics along the routes I walked in 2005 and 2006. It represents my conceptual understanding of what the Pain Cycle is, how we enter it, flow through it, and usually, end up stuck in it.
You will notice that this chart has three sides to it; the Negative, “Swinging the Curve”, and the Positive.
The negative could also be called “Falling in” and the positive, “Re-invention”.
The Negative side. The entrance to the Pain Cycle is the negative side. Usually, we enter or “fall in” and start tumbling due to an injury or the onset of disease. Some injuries can set off a chronic pain condition and some diseases have chronic pain as one of their symptoms. The negative side is connotated mostly by Loss. If you look at the chart will notice how these losses are a natural effect of constant and chronic pain. Loss of Social activities. Loss of job, finances, security, family and friends, and eventually, self identity. Loss is always and naturally accompanied by grief. So it stands to reason that if we do nothing to deal with the grief, or to deal with the stages of grief, we will be forever stuck in one of the stages. Each stage of Loss on the chart has its own road, a “road to despair”, mild, then deeper and deeper depressions which have a very tragic and untimely end.
It could be said that we're lucky to be stuck in one of these stages because it's better than heading down the “road to despair”. Being stuck in any of these stages leaves us in stagnation, but this stagnation can be an angry, bitter existence. If you're clever enough to put up with all the losses and have even accepted the loss of your identity, there's an excellent chance that you've reached this understanding by adopting the attitude “oh well, I guess I'm stuck with this. I can't work, I can't be with my friends, they don't want to be with me, my family doesn't believe me, my insurance dropped me and I have become my pain. But somehow I'll get by and I guess I'll just have to live with this pain and I'll deal with it, but it just won't be a good thing.”
Sound familiar? This is resignation. We are resigned to our fate. It sounds like we've accepted it, but in reality, we run from it. We are now existing, not living, we are surviving, but not with quality. If we do nothing about dealing with the grief of these losses we will end up depressed, angry and bitter. We will never enjoy things again or ever be truly happy. This is resignation.
“Swinging the Curve” implies, not dealing with the phases of loss and grief, but, readying yourself to deal with them. Before any battle the warrior must prepare, mentally, physically and emotionally, and in the war against the enemy of pain, this is how we prepare. This is a battle like none you've ever fought before. Preparing yourself for this fight means giving up your old notions of how to fight. You need to learn new ways and learn to think differently than you've ever thought before. For this you will need an open mind. Let me say this again, loudly, FOR THIS YOU WILL NEED AN OPEN MIND! You will need to prepare yourself for your first major attitude adjustment. Surrender.
Surrender should not be thought of as giving up. We must never give up. It should not be thought of as accepting that it's okay that bad things have happened to you. It's not okay. It should not be thought of as not fighting. It's just the beginning of a different way of fighting, a new style of weapon in the war against Pain. You are, after all, a pain patient, a chronic pain sufferer, and the last thing you need right now is to be fighting against the tide. Like swimming upstream you expend a lot of energy, getting nowhere, and this can make you very tired. As if you're not tired enough.
Surrender is learning to go with the flow, to do “what you can when you can”. To accept the things you cannot change and to accept that there's things you just don't know. Fighting the battle will come later but first we must learn our weapons and adopt our new attitude and our war cry will be “I will do what I can when I can, and will stop hurting myself.”
Forgiveness is another important attitude to adopt. As in surrender, forgiveness does not mean naively approaching your past and allowing your mind to think that it's okay that these things happened. It's not. But ignorance about pain is prevalent, it is far too common. Forgiveness is about letting go of the past. What happened has happened and you if plan on marching forward to face this enemy called pain, you first have to move forward. You must learn to learn from your past, to forgive yourself, to forgive others, for you know not what you do. You make decisions out of guilt. Family and friends make decisions out of fear of seeing your frail or weak. employers and doctors and insurance companies make decisions out of not believeing you.
Enough can not be said about this last part of “Swinging the Curve”.
Belief. The single strongest energy in the universe. The one thing no one can stop, except you. The thing that makes everything else work. When you understand this, you're ready to accept your new weapons, you're ready to begin the journey. If you read no other chapters in the book “Journey through Pain, the Walk for Healing”, read the chapter on Belief. When you really understand this you will become unstoppable. No one will ever again be able to dent your armor. Your life will again be yours and will be happy and productive. You'll find your true spirit again and you, like me, will take your walk.
Maybe at this point you will join me in the fight against and ignorance. Maybe you will become a warrior in the big army, teaching others, teaching doctors about us, bringing awareness and education about chronic pain treatment to the forefront. Help us to legislate changes in insurance policy. Or maybe you'll just move on with your life, happy and productive again, renewed and reinvented, just simply wanting to enjoy your friends and family, your new work, your new strength, and all the things you've missed in those years of pain and negativity. That would be very good too.
Education, awareness and above all, reinvention!
The Positive Side - Re-Invention
This part of the cycle is where all the rest of the cycle makes sense. It is the part where everything starts working. All the therapies, medicines, treatments, education, alternative treatments and meds, the spiritual aspects, essentially all of the weapons of healing now can be more effective and you will have a positive response to them. You still must find the right “mix” that works for you, though. If I've learned anything from the two years of walking and visiting clinics around the country, it would be that we are all very unique and individual.
This is a lesson we all need to learn, professional and patient alike. Anyone involved in the medical community. We are all unique. The medicines, therapies and treatments that will end up working for us will also be unique and individualized. We, as patients, must search out and find that which works for us. We must try new things, as long as they are non-damaging, and we must narrow it down to that which we can believe in. Belief is paramount to success.
We will always have to deal with the negatives as we traverse the medical system. It is unavoidable unless you've been blessed with an adept community of doctors and therapists. Unfortunately, the uneducated are everywhere. We must endeavor to never be part of them. We can accomplish this through our own education. We must learn to do “What we can, when we can.” We must learn to relax our muscles, and our mind.
Another great benefit of the positive side of the cycle is the peace of mind that comes with “Swinging the Curve”, Surrender, Forgiveness, and Belief have this calmness built in and as they fill your heart, your countenance will take on this look, the look of peace.
As you follow along this chart, remember some key things. The negative side is not your fault. No one will believe or understand your pain, that's why you must. Always keep thinking, I don't want to be like this. I don't want pain to control my life any longer. I will begin this journey of education and belief and I will triumph over this pain to regain my life and my spirit.
You will notice that this chart has three sides to it; the Negative, “Swinging the Curve”, and the Positive.
The negative could also be called “Falling in” and the positive, “Re-invention”.
The Negative side. The entrance to the Pain Cycle is the negative side. Usually, we enter or “fall in” and start tumbling due to an injury or the onset of disease. Some injuries can set off a chronic pain condition and some diseases have chronic pain as one of their symptoms. The negative side is connotated mostly by Loss. If you look at the chart will notice how these losses are a natural effect of constant and chronic pain. Loss of Social activities. Loss of job, finances, security, family and friends, and eventually, self identity. Loss is always and naturally accompanied by grief. So it stands to reason that if we do nothing to deal with the grief, or to deal with the stages of grief, we will be forever stuck in one of the stages. Each stage of Loss on the chart has its own road, a “road to despair”, mild, then deeper and deeper depressions which have a very tragic and untimely end.
It could be said that we're lucky to be stuck in one of these stages because it's better than heading down the “road to despair”. Being stuck in any of these stages leaves us in stagnation, but this stagnation can be an angry, bitter existence. If you're clever enough to put up with all the losses and have even accepted the loss of your identity, there's an excellent chance that you've reached this understanding by adopting the attitude “oh well, I guess I'm stuck with this. I can't work, I can't be with my friends, they don't want to be with me, my family doesn't believe me, my insurance dropped me and I have become my pain. But somehow I'll get by and I guess I'll just have to live with this pain and I'll deal with it, but it just won't be a good thing.”
Sound familiar? This is resignation. We are resigned to our fate. It sounds like we've accepted it, but in reality, we run from it. We are now existing, not living, we are surviving, but not with quality. If we do nothing about dealing with the grief of these losses we will end up depressed, angry and bitter. We will never enjoy things again or ever be truly happy. This is resignation.
“Swinging the Curve” implies, not dealing with the phases of loss and grief, but, readying yourself to deal with them. Before any battle the warrior must prepare, mentally, physically and emotionally, and in the war against the enemy of pain, this is how we prepare. This is a battle like none you've ever fought before. Preparing yourself for this fight means giving up your old notions of how to fight. You need to learn new ways and learn to think differently than you've ever thought before. For this you will need an open mind. Let me say this again, loudly, FOR THIS YOU WILL NEED AN OPEN MIND! You will need to prepare yourself for your first major attitude adjustment. Surrender.
Surrender should not be thought of as giving up. We must never give up. It should not be thought of as accepting that it's okay that bad things have happened to you. It's not okay. It should not be thought of as not fighting. It's just the beginning of a different way of fighting, a new style of weapon in the war against Pain. You are, after all, a pain patient, a chronic pain sufferer, and the last thing you need right now is to be fighting against the tide. Like swimming upstream you expend a lot of energy, getting nowhere, and this can make you very tired. As if you're not tired enough.
Surrender is learning to go with the flow, to do “what you can when you can”. To accept the things you cannot change and to accept that there's things you just don't know. Fighting the battle will come later but first we must learn our weapons and adopt our new attitude and our war cry will be “I will do what I can when I can, and will stop hurting myself.”
Forgiveness is another important attitude to adopt. As in surrender, forgiveness does not mean naively approaching your past and allowing your mind to think that it's okay that these things happened. It's not. But ignorance about pain is prevalent, it is far too common. Forgiveness is about letting go of the past. What happened has happened and you if plan on marching forward to face this enemy called pain, you first have to move forward. You must learn to learn from your past, to forgive yourself, to forgive others, for you know not what you do. You make decisions out of guilt. Family and friends make decisions out of fear of seeing your frail or weak. employers and doctors and insurance companies make decisions out of not believeing you.
Enough can not be said about this last part of “Swinging the Curve”.
Belief. The single strongest energy in the universe. The one thing no one can stop, except you. The thing that makes everything else work. When you understand this, you're ready to accept your new weapons, you're ready to begin the journey. If you read no other chapters in the book “Journey through Pain, the Walk for Healing”, read the chapter on Belief. When you really understand this you will become unstoppable. No one will ever again be able to dent your armor. Your life will again be yours and will be happy and productive. You'll find your true spirit again and you, like me, will take your walk.
Maybe at this point you will join me in the fight against and ignorance. Maybe you will become a warrior in the big army, teaching others, teaching doctors about us, bringing awareness and education about chronic pain treatment to the forefront. Help us to legislate changes in insurance policy. Or maybe you'll just move on with your life, happy and productive again, renewed and reinvented, just simply wanting to enjoy your friends and family, your new work, your new strength, and all the things you've missed in those years of pain and negativity. That would be very good too.
Education, awareness and above all, reinvention!
The Positive Side - Re-Invention
This part of the cycle is where all the rest of the cycle makes sense. It is the part where everything starts working. All the therapies, medicines, treatments, education, alternative treatments and meds, the spiritual aspects, essentially all of the weapons of healing now can be more effective and you will have a positive response to them. You still must find the right “mix” that works for you, though. If I've learned anything from the two years of walking and visiting clinics around the country, it would be that we are all very unique and individual.
This is a lesson we all need to learn, professional and patient alike. Anyone involved in the medical community. We are all unique. The medicines, therapies and treatments that will end up working for us will also be unique and individualized. We, as patients, must search out and find that which works for us. We must try new things, as long as they are non-damaging, and we must narrow it down to that which we can believe in. Belief is paramount to success.
We will always have to deal with the negatives as we traverse the medical system. It is unavoidable unless you've been blessed with an adept community of doctors and therapists. Unfortunately, the uneducated are everywhere. We must endeavor to never be part of them. We can accomplish this through our own education. We must learn to do “What we can, when we can.” We must learn to relax our muscles, and our mind.
Another great benefit of the positive side of the cycle is the peace of mind that comes with “Swinging the Curve”, Surrender, Forgiveness, and Belief have this calmness built in and as they fill your heart, your countenance will take on this look, the look of peace.
As you follow along this chart, remember some key things. The negative side is not your fault. No one will believe or understand your pain, that's why you must. Always keep thinking, I don't want to be like this. I don't want pain to control my life any longer. I will begin this journey of education and belief and I will triumph over this pain to regain my life and my spirit.