There are all kinds of pain and the word has also come to symbolise something we don't want to. Actually, that kind of pain usually refers to the part of the anatomy we sit on
Pain is such a general word though that doesn't really cover the whole range of feelings associated with it. There is the emotional pain of a broken relationship or the death of a loved one. There is the psychological pain that is associated with bullying, harrasment, perceived underachievement, disapproval, self doubt, and the pressure we put ourselves under, which affects our self esteem and can also lead to emotional pain as we seem to reject ourselves.
Then there is physical pain where one person's discomfort can be another person's agony, depending on the circumstances. It's also not widely appreciated that both emotional and psychological pain can result in physical pain. This is not 'imaginary pain'. It happens when the brain somatasises what's going on in the mind. In other words, it translates what you are feeling into physical symptoms. People do die of a broken heart, severely stressed people may develop ulcers, or irritable bowel or migraine or asthma or a skin condition, among other things.
Generally however, physical pain can be divided into two types. Somatic pain which is the result of an injury or specific illness, in other words there is a real physical cause for the pain, and neuropathic pain.
Neuropathic pain is what I suffer from mostly. OK, I get physical pain because some muscles go into spasm, because some muscles work harder than others to compensate for other muscles that have decided to have the week/month/year/rest of my life off I get that 'after exercise' discomfort. And I have pain from the arthritis too. But neuropathic pain is the most frustrating.
This type of pain occurs because the signals between the brain and some parts of the body don't get through properly. Examples for me include trigeminal neuralgia, numbness and tingling in my legs, feeling like water running down my face or ants crawling under my skin. There isn't any physical stimulation for this pain and therefore it's very difficult to treat. The most common drugs used are anti-epileptics, and they are horrible so I gave up on them years ago and now more or less just put up with it.
So, a nice depressing topic leading up to Christmas, thanks Simon, just what I needed
But it's not all bad, I do have a special herb I cultivate, recommended to me by my neurologist many years ago. I don't know how effective it is really but after inhaling it I don't really care :nuts:
On a much 'happier' note, this is the last weekend before Christmas and I'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and to say thank you to all of you who have supported me through this year. And I think you are right Marcus, I've got a lot more friends than I thought I had
SCARY PICTURE WARNING!!!!
(Just in case I'm wrong)
from me. That's very kind of you John
(not just a pretty face are you
).