What Chronic Pain Has Taught Me | Alison Hatch Photo
Pain is a part of life. That isn't a very comforting statement, but one that is very true. No one is exempt from it. How is touches each of us can be very different, like specific life situations. Or it can be collective, like the shared humanity we feel for those who are suffering.
For most people, the past few weeks have felt heavy. Maybe it's because of what is happening in the world. Or just life has had some tough stuff for you, maybe.
Pain can be emotional or physical, or if you are lucky enough (enter sarcasm here) both.
I struggle with TMS or Tension Myositis Syndrome. A fancy diagnosis for chronic pain that isn't treatable by traditional medicine. It is a mind body connection illness. The emotional suffering that I have felt over my lifetime has been held in my body for so long that it is translating into the physical.
This diagnosis wasn't accepted 3 years ago. My head, face, and neck were in so much pain every minute of every day that I was desperate for a quick fix. A pill, a procedure, anything to make it stop and fast. It took time and many failed modern medical treatments to come to accept that my pain was caused by internal emotional hurting.
Pain is something that we usually avoid and for good reason. It is uncomfortable and unwelcome like it was for me in the beginning. In our culture, the emotions that we have been taught to want are happiness and pride. Sitting with pain through a lens of patience and curiosity isn't something that the Western World teaches.
But that is the only treatment for my TMS. And it may be the only treatment for your current pain now.
Allowing ourselves to feel pain creates empathy. It opens our views to other's suffering. It strengthens our humanity. It prompts change.
So wherever you are right now in your personal pain journey, know you aren't alone and be proud that you are doing the work to become a more complex and stronger human than you were before.
Alison Hatch is an analog film photographer, educator, podcast host, and artist. Alison offers her Albuquerque and San Diego clients a stress-free and memorable experience getting photos taken. She has been featured in Shoot It With Film and published in the Front Steps Project Book. Alison splits her time between New Mexico and Southern California with her husband and three boys.
