Gail Blanke, a personal life coach, wrote an article for Real Simple magazine called “Thriving on Insecurity.”  She believes that those times when “you don’t know where you’re headed – or even who you are” can be good.  “Life is running along smoothly, everything in its place, and then, wham!” – these can be times of growth.  “Wham” certainly sounds like chronic pain to me!

Along with teaching people many skills to decrease and cope with pain, I have an overarching conversation with patients about how to cope with what life’s thrown at you, how to accept it, and still thrive.  Having chronic pain often takes a major re-inventing of one’s life.  This is NOT easy work, but a slow, uphill process.  I’ve read that major changes can take 4 years to adjust to. 

Blanke writes that most of us don’t volunteer for life-altering events – most often, they’re thrust upon us.  But these can be times you ”grow, adapt and flourish.”  You do, however, need time and support to do this, as well as a gentle, forgiving attitude towards yourself.

We’ll continue to look at re-inventing your life and searching for the “silver linings” of the pain experience.