Day 2 — Self-compassion letter to self to pain

The 5-Day Self-compassion challenge continues. I am curious about the long-term benefits of happiness that the study (Shapira &Mongrain 2010) cited.

Yesterday, I felt amazing, I was at peace and in a continuous flow state even if the covid symptoms are still bothering me. The chills-feverish symptoms during the night, the stabbing headaches behind the eyes, fatigue, and muscle pain are not really something to wish for, but with self-compassion and paracetamol, I gracefully carry on.

Day 2— Self-compassion letter to pain

Dear adolescent Elena,

Since your adolescence, chronic pain has touched your body and carried physical symptoms that become more and more intense during the years to come. Like many other female adults, you have received the same message, it’s normal, but deep down you always knew something was not right. Seeing a couple of different doctors, in the end, you found somebody that has heard your pain and put a name to it, endometriosis.

Being forever grateful, for this great doctor, you have carried on with treatment to alleviate pain. Most of the time it worked, but for many others, it didn’t. During those challenging moments, you have opened yourself to seek help because the long-term pain also affected your emotional well-being. Constantly living in fear of physical pain and pushing through some of the violent episodes that can randomly occur was not easy to manage.

But rather than turning against your pain, which you did for a couple of years, like many others, you have learned a new way, to turn towards it. Using Accepting and Committed Therapy, you have learned to accept and be kind toward your condition and started searching for alternative treatments.

In the end, the pain simply became bigger and bigger, and the last resort was surgery. Another amazing doctor has completed a very successful surgery. It has improved your life, but you kept your body scars, as a sign to remember your journey, for how brave you were.

The scars are ways to accept yourself fully, broken, brave, kind, and imperfectly beautiful.

With love from adult Elena