Ostomy Memories of Pain

ONE OF THE BAD GUYS in Stieg Larsson’s ‘The Girl Who Played with Fire’ had a distinct advantage over anyone who sought to do battle with him.  He had a rare disease known as congenital analgesia which causes an individual to not experience pain.  Motor and sensory neurons do not develop normally and so, for example, a punch in the nose won’t hurt, or even some more grievous injury.  Yet this is not a condition to wish for in real life.  Yes, pain hurts, and we have all felt its cruelty.  But this was a fictional character Larsson was portraying.  Pain could be perceived as a protective signal.  It helps to identify diseases, for example, such as a tooth infection or, more seriously, a bowel obstruction.  If a person cannot feel pain, the disease progresses and worsens, only to be discovered at an advanced stage.  I recall, however, back when I suffered from ulcerative colitis, that all the belly pain that I was experiencing didn’t seem to be helping those doctors to come up with a means to provide me with relief.  At night, alone in a hospital bed, I thought that a bird with sharp talons was attempting to escape from my insides.  I could have used a little of that congenital analgesia.  I suppose it all depends upon one’s perspective.

Hello HenryM. 

You are so right about pain depending upon one’s perspective.

The phenomenon of personalised analgesia in extreme physical circumstances is well documented. The body/mind appears to have a pain ‘threshold’, above which it will cut out and, despite the serious injuries, the person feels no pain.   

I suspect that many people think of pain as that type of unpleasant physical sensation in a particular part of the body. However, there is another manifestation of ‘pain’ which is more to do with emotions and psychological perspectives than it is to do with physical discomfort. 

Many of my former ‘clients’ informed me that the reason that they physically self-harmed was because the pain it caused helped to distract their minds from the emotional pain – which they felt was much worse. My former drug-addicted clients also gave similar reasons for their addictions and said that the drugs simply gave them some relief from the ‘pains’ of life as they were for them. 

Most of the rhymes I have written about ‘bullying’, attempt to describe the ‘pain’ that has been inflicted on the victims. However, those same victims invariably indicate that the greatest distress/pain is emotional & psychological rather than physical. 

I feel sure that many people will recognise the concept of emotional ‘pain’ when it refers to the emotional distress causes by the loss of a loved one. Indeed, some people have been said to have died themselves as a result of this sort of ‘pain’. Some even describe it as a quasi-physical event by calling it dying of a ‘broken-heart’.

Once we begin to delve deeper into the concept of ‘pain’, it becomes more complex and sometimes more debatable. Thus, I will curtail my own discussion at this point as it is likely to digress into the many other areas of human existence that appears to cause ‘pain’ to others.

Best wishes

Bill  

Hello HenryM. 

Sometimes I need to grasp the opportunity to write a rhyme on the subjects that present themselves in everyday life. This needs to be done at the point of discussion, for if it's left for any length of time, the concept is either forgotten or replaced by something which appears to be more important. As I am presently compiling some rhymes on alternative perspectives, the concept of 'pain' seems to be a suitable subject to place into a rhyming format. 

Thanks for the prompt!

Best wishes

Bill

ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES –PAIN. 

Sometimes concepts surrounding ‘pain’ 
are complex and hard to explain,
for what may feel like pain for some 
may not be so for everyone. 

There is no single referent,
where people’s pain is different 
and feelings are affected by 
their what, their who, their where and why.

When someone’s pain threshold is low 
potential pain won’t seem to grow,
unlike when that threshold is high 
and feeling pain might amplify.

And what about the variance 
in people’s past experience?
or if they’ve built resilience
due to any antecedents?

Often, what lays the foundations 
are attitudes and expectations,
with further complications 
emerging from our medications.
 

Those who rely on potent pills
to alleviate their pains and ills
will have a different point of view
to those whose self-will pulls them through.

Then, when we look at pain again
it’s not just body strain or sprain,
but can emerge from heart and brain 
and they are harder things to train. 

Much of the pain we see today
from one perspective comes by way
of what the human-race has done
to everything and everyone.

I therefore think we should reflect
on better things we should expect.

                                                 Be Withers 2022

Very nice, Bill.  Oh, and see if you can find the typo in the fourth line of the second stanza...  HenryM

Many words of wisdom here describing pain. Then there is that other position- not feeling any joy which is worse.  Not a bad condition that, not feeling any pain, either emotional or physical. I'll take it with both hands.

Hi all i,ve had both kidney stone pain and blockage pain, i,d say both top the 1-10 scale and both have had me vomit and black out but i,m still above the sod so life goes on.

I’ve had partial blockage pain about 2 weeks ago. I don’t wish that pain upon anyone. Drink your fluids people. 

Hello HenryM.

Thanks for the complementary comments and thanks for pointing out the typo. And, in the interests of following the theme of alternative perspectives, I have edited 'them' out!

Best wishes

Bill