2 Important Life Lessons I Learned While Having Chronic Pain
Chronic pain has taught me very important lessons over the past 3.5 years. I had to go through challenging experiences at a young age, and this allowed me to mature faster and learn what is most important to me. Here are 2 life lessons chronic pain has taught me:
1- Don’t compare yourself to others: you are doing the best you can
My whole life, in sports and academics, I have been a competitive person. Going into junior year, there are many stresses: college, sports, and extracurriculars. When hearing other people’s stories and how they are taking rigorous classes and excelling in their extracurriculars, I tend to compare myself to them. Am I doing enough? Should I take harder classes? However, I know that you cannot compare yourself to others because everyone has different stories. For example, I know I cannot take 5 rigorous AP classes my junior year because of my headache, and needing to find a balance between pacing and doing well in school. From week-long hospital stays to nights in the ER, I know that I have gone through more than the "average" teenager. Therefore, when I get into a “competitive mindset”, I remind myself of the progress I have made throughout these 3.5 years.
2- You are not alone
For the first 1.5 years of having NDPH, I thought nobody could relate to my struggles. After all, chronic pain is an “invisible illness”, and I did not know of a single person who went through similar adversities. After participating in a pain rehabilitation program, I realized that there are other kids like me. I could relate to their experiences and we formed strong friendships. The main reason I started Stronger Than Pain is to share my experience and remind other kids and teens that they are not alone. If you wish to share your story and be featured in a blog post, please contact strongerthanpainstp@gmail.com. Every story makes a positive impact on others, and I would love to create a community where kids and teens like me know they are not alone and feel empowered to share their journey.
Categories: Blog
