Emotions Series
PAIN vs hurt
Pain is one of those emotions that has a full range of levels and various attributes but the main factor is that it causes a physical response within you. Pain many would think is directly connected with physical pain but as we know there is also the emotional pain body. Pain is different than hurt, which we will explore in this post.
To feel hurt means that you can cause yourself this hurt in a more mental way where pain is generally referred to as a physical experience. To clarify all emotions are caused and controlled by your thoughts, therefore everything in life is in fact mental but the way in which we categorize and explain certain things to be we will focus this directly on the emotion itself to feel physical pain.
We feel pain the most when something physically happens to us. This can be a physical injury, a gut reaction one can say or a traumatic event which can be manifested as feeling physical pain. Think about a child, how many times have you seen a kid fall down and hurt themselves, for instance scrapped their knee yet they don't register that they were in pain right away. Rather the parents are all freaking out asking the child if they are ok or not and it takes them a while to see if they are in fact in pain. This is the one grey area of how we in fact can get ourselves out of pain and see that life truly is mental. If the kid hadn't been told they were in fact hurt they would continue to process what it was that they were feeling and thus have created the response signal to either feel physical pain in the area that they scrapped their knee or not.
Feelings of hurt however are directly connected to feeling physical pain. Many times the two come together. Where there is hurt, pain follows. We can store our emotions within our body and this can manifest into physical issues, i.e. pain. When we are not dealing with the emotional feelings of hurt our body can thus produce this avoidance, repression or ignorance into showing up in a physical way to get our attention. How many times do you get yourself worked up over something someone said and continue to ruminate on it without finding resolution that you begin to get a headache, a stomach ache, or any other physical pain? Pretty often we don't connect our pain body with our emotional body and this creates an imbalance.
The way we feel emotionally directly impacts the way we feel physically. To feel this feeling of pain asks us as always to observe. Things can be so clear cut like, I accidentally fell down and scrapped my knee so I feel pain. This is a one time event and may not necessarily create another instance of pain but it can be reopened, infected or worsen if not treated properly. This is a huge factor in understanding the human being. If I do not treat myself with care, attention and urgency then I can in fact cause physical pain to myself. Should you ignore the cramps in your body, or ignore the stiffness in your neck or should you try and figure out what is going on? If you were badly injured like in a car accident you would just march into the ER and get checked out right? Why is it that we justify small pains and ignore that they could lead to worse things? How many people have ignored a cold symptom and then continue to do the things that they are doing and then they are full blown sick? I am not saying become a hypochondriac and go to the doctor at the slightest inconvenience but rather check in with yourself. Ask yourself, when did this first begin? Are there any triggers that cause this? How often does this happen? Is this getting worse? What are my thoughts when this happens? Is this a pattern? I am asking you to be your own doctor first and foremost.
The human mind can in fact heal everything! Period! If we ignore our body's cues however we are not listening to what our body needs and thus putting ourselves at risk. How many people ignored the signs of "cancer?" We see commercials for warning signs of if you are experiencing any of these symptoms this could be an early indicator of this illness yet we all use cognitive dissonance to say that my case is different. Yes, you can in fact heal yourself and not believe into something that isn't true for you but you can also easily ignore signs all together and cause yourself worse pain in the long run. It is important to observe yourself in all ways. Your thoughts, your emotions, your actions, your behaviors, your patterns, your beliefs and so much more.
When we finally do in fact experience pain it is usually felt immediately, almost without warning. It comes in and overcomes us to the point of almost being unable to do anything else but feel this pain. We are so engrossed in this feeling it feels like an eternity but in reality a mere matter of minutes. I know I have personally suffered many injuries and felt that rush of pain but eventually sucked it up as one would say and do something about it. The moment you do something about it your brain automatically tries to find a solution and is no longer sending that signal to the brain that you are experiencing pain. How many people have trained and conditioned their mind to overcome pain or be semi-immune to feeling it in the first place. You don't need to become a Shaolin master but this is here to remind us that all emotions are fleeting and temporary.
The more that you are focusing on the pain itself and that it hurts, its terrible it won't go away, without the determination to finding a solution you will in fact remain in pain. We cannot ignore these things. They ask us to address them head on, just like anything in life. We are pushed to go within to get to the bottom. Many people could argue about the people in the hospital with crazy illnesses and cancers and shit that are incurable and I am ok with being controversial and say, "who told you that they are incurable?" Did the person who is in pain tell you that it is incurable from their own discovery? Or did someone other than themselves tell them that they are incurable? Many take what others have to say to heart and because people have studied medicine for years makes them an expert. The only issue is they are not an expert of you. If you are able to learn and understand the mechanics of your own body and how your mind, emotions, and physical body are all directly connected then you will know your true power and ability as a human.
We can hear thousands of stories about people who took their pain into their own hands and miraculously they healed themselves. There is nothing miraculous about this, it just only seems this way because we have been taught to rely on other people to regulate ourselves. Our parents teach us from day one how to experience emotions. How many times did your dad tell you to suck it up so you denied yourself the opportunity to feel pain. So you ended up storing that pain in your body and would become unpredictable, erratic and aggressive because you stored that negative aggression in your body for not being able to express your emotions and thus creating ulcers or other ailments in your body. To the kid who was babied and everyone was protecting them from experiencing pain that any time the slightest inconvenience happens, it becomes the literal end of the world? The stories are endless of how many times we continued to stay in pain because we failed to take our pain into our own hands.
As we mentioned that hurt and pain go hand in hand and it is important to realize that many people hurt themselves and cause themselves pain without the help of anyone else but their own mind. We are the creators of our own reality it is important to take full responsibility for your perspectives on life for they directly impact your emotions and thus your physical body. When I was hurting and depressed I looked physically bad. I was overweight, I had a resting bitch face, I looked like I was in pain because I was. I had bad back issues, joint problems, intestinal issues the whole 9 yards. When I learned about myself, my emotions, my body, my mind, my spirit I transformed. Everyone always says you look and seem so happy, because I genuinely am. I am no longer in pain anymore. Whenever I do experience pain I deal with it head on and take it into my own hands, no one else's. I can ask for help and guidance in areas I am unsure but they are merely helping me go within to find the answers and deal with it head on.
Somatic healings and movement healing are key to one's overall well being. If you are experiencing pain I suggest looking into somatic healing and hobbies to help you physically move energy out of your body. Learn how to be an observer of yourself and be able to identify the triggers, the thoughts and emotions and how they make you physically feel. There's no right answer here, only yours.
Keep Shifting Your Perspectives and Finding The Delights In Everyday Moments!
Love and Light,
Kate