Taking a shot in the dark

“I can’t see a thing. Hello? Is anyone out there?"

The topic of chronic pain been on my mind lately as this is a major issue that I help my clients with in practice. One of the most common attributes of someone in chronic pain is they feel they are alone. Even with support around them, even with loving friends and family, many times they feel isolated in their pain. They can even feel like a burden. They feel sometimes like it may be better if they just don’t talk about it and push it down because people don’t understand.

That’s a lonely feeling.

Finding answers when you are suffering with a chronic condition can feel like taking a shot in the dark.

Every step you take could set you back, bring you forward, or make you start all over again. If this is true, then you can imagine searching for someone as a guide through the dark can be shrouded in uncertainty and leads to questions like, “How will I know if I can trust someone to walk me through this journey?”, “Have they walked through this journey before?”, “Are they taking advantage of me?”, or even worse, “Will they not know what they are doing and accidentally take me down a path I don’t want to go?”

Can you imagine how frightening that would be?

That’s just a glimpse of living day to day with chronic pain.

So why do I bring this up now, in the month of “love”? I think one of the most important ways we can show love is to be there for one another. We don’t always need to try to fix problems for someone else but being there matters.

Another way you can help someone in chronic pain is to introduce them to someone you know who can help them as a trusted guide. Because you know there are certain people out there you trust. It could be me, another doctor, therapist, community or organization.

Sharing the people you trust with others helps them find the help they need.

Who do you know suffering from chronic health issues despite their best efforts to improve? 

If you have a friend, family member, gym buddy or co-worker who is looking for hope, tell them to reach out to me. I would be happy to provide a 10-minute phone consultation with them completely free of charge.

This way, I can try to answer their questions and see if I’m the right person to help them. If, after the phone call, I find I cannot help them, I promise I will do my best to find them someone else who can.

In case you are not sure how I can help - here are some of the things that I regularly help with: headaches, migraines, vertigo, fatigue, TMJ pain, Trigeminal neuralgia, full body chronic pain syndromes, chronic anxiety, fibromyalgia, neck pain, back pain, numbness and tingling into the arms or hands.
 
Simply forward this blog to them or send them here and they will get set up for their 10-minute phone consultation.