Being In Pain Vs Being Hurt

This topic is difficult to talk about because there are so many strong emotions associated with it, but hopefully it’s a valuable perspective. I think there is a significant difference between being in pain and being hurt. In understanding the difference I think we can become better at managing both.

Being in pain is more a matter of fact. Physical pain is literally your body’s pain receptors sending signals to your brain that something is happening. While people by nature have different pain tolerances, the process of perceiving pain is undeniable. The same goes for emotional pain. There is biochemical, physiological evidence that something is affecting you and causing you pain. Experiencing pain is a universal process, and thank goodness we have it because it provides really meaningful feedback about our environment and circumstances.

After having taken in that feedback, you have a choice to determine how you’d like to respond to the pain. One of the choices you can make is you can choose to be hurt. This is simply your interpretation of the pain. Choosing to be hurt is choosing to allow the pain to limit you, restrict you, and have power over you. Choosing to be hurt takes the power away from you and hands it to whatever is causing you pain.

You can probably hear my recommendation here, but let me make it clearer. Instead of experiencing pain and letting it hurt you, you can choose to relate with it differently. You can be grateful for the intuition of your body. You can take a step back and think about how the pain is actually serving you. You can be empowered by the pain and really control it rather than let it control you.

Let's wrap up by being self-aware for a minute on this - Are you the type of person that lets yourself get hurt?

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