Living with pain is like walking around holding an invisible gorilla. It’s always distracting. It’s always a burden. But...no one can see it but you. Sometimes, the gorilla is a baby and it is just clinging to you. It’s hard to carry all day, it weighs on you, but it’s not too too bad and you can still get things done. Sometimes it’s a juvenile gorilla. It’s climbing all over you, making noises, sticking its fingers in your ears, and grabbing at your eyes. You’re talking to someone and they don’t understand why you can’t remember something or why you’re not really present. You’re trying to concentrate, but that damn gorilla is screaming in your ear.
And then there are the very bad days, when the pain is a full grown silverback gorilla. It’s so big that you’re being crushed under the weight of it. It makes it hard to breathe. It’s impossible to think or to move without your breath being taken away. You will do almost anything to get that gorilla to shrink or to move over a bit, so that you can have a thought in your head. Some of us are lucky enough to resolve the pain and live without it. Others, especially, after years of suffering, are depressed and will seek out any comfort they can.
Think of your friends who live with chronic pain differently now. Understand that life is not the same for them as it is for you. Compassion is key. You walk around without a gorilla.
