I’ve been on a good run of low pain day’s up until a couple of weeks ago when I shaved my head and triggered my neuralgia pain. Neuralgia is also known as the ‘suicide disease’. It’s intense pain and just another symptom of my central pain syndrome.
Over the last few year’s I have tried everything from hot and cold compresses to cutting my head to see if it would release some of the pain. Not a smart move but it gives you an idea of the seriousness of the flare ups.
It’s taken me this long to finally accept that there is nothing I can do about my neuropathic pain. Other than adjust my medications I have to live day to day with varying degrees of facial and head pain.
It’s not an ideal situation because I have also deal with work and home-life. I’ve chosen to suffer in silence because I have no choice but to get on with life. My wife doesn’t need to know I’m in pain every 10 minutes so I’ve learned to hide it well. Complaining doesn’t help either of us.
The main problem I’ve experienced in the past is that I got angry at my situation. Frustration at my health condition has just caused me further stress. It’s so easy to fall into self pity. ‘Why me’ is a prominent thought I need to just observe and not get pulled in to. I suffered a period of deep deppresion last year and it’s a dark place I don’t want to go back to. Especially with my history of serious mental illness.
I have found the most simple way to cope with my health problems is to manage my mental health, first and foremost. Overthinking is a real problem as you could probably imagine. Getting lost in negative thoughts is easily done. So as a defence against intrusive thinking and the bombardment of negativity my mind is subject to I practice a simple meditation.
Every morning on awakening I sit still and meditate for around 15 minutes. By doing this I am pulling back from the stream of thought, separating from it so I can just observe what passes through my mind. In a place of conscious awareness, good and bad thoughts loose their power to pull me in. Leaving me in a place of neutrality, safe and protected from them.
When I am conscious this way I am less inclined to react to any stressful events that may happen throughout the day. I am not burning up energy as I would have done in overthinking. There is a real freedom from negativity that comes from the stillness of non contemplative meditation.
I know, I plug this meditation a lot. But for good reason. Everyone has the ability to overcome overthinking and recover from deppresion and anxiety through this simple, free exersise.
Maybe it could help you.
Triplet Dad 
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