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When we feel pain, our first impulse is often to eradicate it
with medication. This is an understandable response, but sometimes in our
hurry to get rid of pain, we forget that it is the body's way of letting us
know that it needs our attention. A headache can inform us that we're hungry
or stressed just as a sore throat might be telling us that we need to rest
our voice. If we override these messages instead of respond to them, we risk
worsening our condition. In addition, we create a feeling of disconnectedness
between our minds and our bodies.
Physical pain is not the only kind of pain that lets us know our attention is
needed. Emotional pain provides us with valuable information about the state
of our psyche, letting us know that we have been affected by something and
that we would do well to focus our awareness inward. Just as we tend to a cut
on our arm by cleaning and bandaging it, we treat a broken heart by
surrounding ourselves with love and support. In both cases, if we listen to
our pain we will know what to do to heal ourselves. It's natural to want to
resist pain, but once we understand that it is here to give us valuable
information, we can relax a bit more, and take a moment to listen before we
reach for medication. Sometimes this is enough to noticeably reduce the pain,
because its message has been heard. Perhaps we seek to medicate pain because
we fear that if we don't, it will never go away. It can be empowering to
realize that, at least some of the time, it is just a matter of listening and
responding.
The next time you feel pain, either physical or emotional, you might want to
try listening to your own intuition about how to relieve your pain. Maybe
taking a few deep breaths will put an end to that headache. Perhaps writing
in your journal about hurt feelings will ease your heart. Ultimately, the
message of pain is all about healing.
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