How To Mourn The Loss Of A Loved One While Suffering From Chronic Pain

On Christmas Eve, my nephew Noah passed away. I was very close to my nephew; I was in Denver with my sister when he received a heart transplant when he was only three weeks old.

I honestly can’t tell you how painful it is to lose your twelve-year-old nephew. But anyone who has ever lost a child knows how I feel.

Being in mourning has induced a pain flare-up, so I’m not just experiencing emotional pain, I’m also experiencing physical pain.

As a lot of you know, I am a chronic pain sufferer, and I am in pain every second of every day. When you add in emotional distress, everything becomes worse.

Depression is known to make chronic pain worse.

There have been studies that show depression and physical pain are closely related. Depression magnifies your pain, making your daily life unbearable.

Living with chronic pain affects your mood, and one who lives with chronic pain can often feel agitated, irritable, and anxious.

It’s hard trying to live your life, and be happy while living with chronic pain, take it from me.

Adding depression on top of chronic pain, you begin to feel like life is torturous.

With chronic pain, it’s hard to get up and do different activities around the house and at work because it’s too painful.

But when you’re dealing with chronic pain and depression, it’s not only hard to get up and do things because it’s too painful, but the depression makes you unmotivated to get up.

Being in mourning can trigger depression.

Mourning the death of my nephew has made me depressed, which in turn exacerbates my chronic pain.

Anyone can feel depressed while they’re mourning. Grieving the loss of a friend or a loved one can take its toll on a person emotionally, then possibly physically.

Suffering from depression won’t necessarily induce physical pain, but it could.

The likelihood is much higher when you already suffer from chronic pain, which explains why I’m experiencing a flare-up of pain while I’m in mourning.

How to go through the mourning process while living with chronic pain.

I’m not going to lie, trying to mourn while dealing with chronic pain without it overpowering you is tricky.

On the one hand, you’re trying not to lose control during the mourning process, and on the other hand, you’re trying not to break down from how much physical pain you are in.

I’m trying to work on doing that myself since, as I write this, I’m in a lot of pain physically I can’t even begin to think of the emotional pain that’s to come at my nephew’s funeral.

Mourning the loss of a loved one is hard, but living with chronic pain makes the mourning process harder.

The first step in helping you get through the stages of grief while dealing with chronic pain is learning how to understand your emotions and know that we all grieve differently.

Don’t feel guilty because you’re not grieving the way other people grieve. There isn’t a right or wrong way to grieve.

While mourning, don’t forget to take care of yourself.

Grieving can take a lot out of anyone, but if you take the time to focus on taking care of your emotional and physical wellbeing, you will start to feel a lot better.

Be sure to get enough sleep throughout your time of mourning.

Studies have shown that lack of sleep can result in one developing depression. No one feels good after only having a couple of hours of sleep.

It would help if you always remembered to go to bed at a reasonable time so you can wake up at a reasonable time while also feeling refreshed.

Keep track of your pain levels.

Being a chronic pain sufferer, you’re already in the habit of tracking your pain.

But when you’re going through an experience that intensifies your pain, you need to be a lot more aware of your pain than usual.

Doing so will also help you stay more on track of when you took your pain medication, so you know when you can take more.

This will help you keep your medicine well managed, so your pain doesn’t get out of hand.

Remember to stay well-nourished and hydrated.

One of the signs of depression is a decreased appetite, so even though you don’t feel hungry, you should always keep your body well nourished.

By not eating due to depression, you run the risk of abnormal weight loss and not getting enough nutrients to keep your body and mind healthy.

Talk to others.

Spending time with your friends and family can help you through the mourning process. Talk to them about how you’re feeling and ask them for help when you need it.

Always remember to reach out to someone who you trust when you’re struggling more than you can manage, you should never suffer in silence.

Continue to surround yourself with friends and family, and don’t isolate yourself.

I’m still trying to work on that last one myself. It seems all I want to do is lay in bed and not go anywhere since I don’t have the desire.

Experiencing a loss of a loved one is one of the most devastating experiences one should have to endure, and I wouldn’t wish this feeling upon anyone.

It’s going to be hard to live my life knowing my nephew is gone, he was my best buddy, and I will never stop missing him.

Hold onto your loved ones, and never take them for granted. If there’s one thing my nephew’s passing has taught me is that we should always cherish our family.

We should let our family know how much we love them and how much they mean to us regularly since we’ll never know when we won’t have that chance again.

My nephew’s passing has opened my eyes to how I need to be more involved in my nieces and nephew’s lives.

I want them to know how much I love them and how I would do anything for them.

I feel like I didn’t tell Noah I loved him enough when he was alive, so I want to make sure my nieces and nephew know that Aunt Jenny loves them always and forever.