Take your Power Back

Living with chronic pain often means living with an invisible illness.

It's chronic, meaning that there is no end in site. And it's invisible, meaning that nobody can see it from the outside.

On top of that, if you are one of the lucky people who also cannot get a diagnosis, or even any abnormal lab work or medical test results, it can leave you feeling extra invisible, invalidated, angry and hopeless.

Can you relate to any of this? If so, I would love to hear from you.

Please know that you're not alone, and that your pain is just as real and valid as the person who broke their leg, has a cast and crutches that everyone can see, and therefore gets to have the care, support, and validation from everyone around them (along with an end in sight).

I see you.

​I had two definitive diagnoses through my long chronic pain journey that was coupled with a multitude of symptoms.

The first one was Lyme disease, which I received in 2015. The second was endometriosis, which I received in 2016.

Both of those moments of receiving a diagnosis were incredibly relieving, because I finally had a "valid" reason to be in pain.

A diagnosis confirmed by a doctor! Something explicit and definite I could say and show to other people, and therefore know that I would be somewhat understood and maybe even cared for.

In short, the Lyme diagnosis did nothing for me other than destroy my gut microbiome with the year-long heavy duty antibiotic "treatment". The endometriosis diagnosis resulted in a surgery that did indeed significantly reduce the extreme abdominal pain, but did nothing for the other symptoms I was dealing with like headaches, joint stiffness, fatigue, etc.

Figuring out treatment options is such a tricky road to navigate when you are already having to navigate the pain itself. Certain treatments can work for some things, and not at all for others. It's hard to know what treatment may work for you. And the frustrating part is that you won't know until you try. And that gets expensive very quickly.

Living with chronic pain and other related symptoms can leave you like a pendulum, swinging between desperately between wanting to be cared for, and then feeling like you have to just pull yourself together and keep going because this insensitive world doesn't care about your pain that's invisible to the naked eye.

If you have been in pain for months or years, you have probably learned how to be self-reliant to some degree, especially for folks who don't have back-up systems of financial support and resources.

If this is you, please know that I see you, too.

Living with chronic pain is no walk in the park, and it can leave you feeling powerless. Chronic pain can be the result of being powerless, and it can leave you feeling even more powerless. So, what's the chicken and the egg here?

I'll talk more about the link between nervous system dysregulation and pain in coming emails, but feeling trapped, stuck, or anxious for extended periods of time can result in increased likelihood of developing a chronic pain condition. Trauma, chronic stress, and childhood adversity are ripe conditions for setting up a sensitive nervous system.

Are you giving your power away over and over again to doctors and practitioners, hoping to find an answer? Don't get me wrong, it's totally okay and sometimes necessary to seek professional medical help, and I would never discourage anyone from doing so. AND, you know your own body and self more than anybody else.

Do you have a plan to take your power back? Is there some way you can take empowered action to work with your symptoms?

If not, please stay with me. I'll be sharing bits and pieces on some steps you can take for yourself that will cost you zero dollars. And, if these steps do not help you, they will not harm you.