How I Utilized My Pain

We all feel pain at some level in different stages of our lives. It is an internal and subjective emotion. Some choose to share it with others while some keep it to themselves, where it can creep out at night and in moments of silence. It is an experience that you cannot escape. A natural part of our lives.

My Story of Pain

Like most of us, I’ve had my fair share of pain and loss across the years.

From migrating alone to another continent at 19 and facing a massive culture shock to blindly trusting my loved ones, only to know they were planning my downfall to losing my mother a year ago, that's a heck of pain to deal with, all within 10 years.

I get told endless times by family and friends that they applaud my strength and ability to get through what I did. I admit that the first big hits, I internalized my pain.

The more I did, the more resentful I became of my life and those around me. I silenced myself for way too long and that lead to chronic conditions, among them my recent endometriosis diagnosis last year.

Less than a year ago, I lost the connection with my mother which escalated my pain.

It was a massive wake-up call for me to stop internalizing and start utilizing, and only then did things start to change.

I got into a deep hole and spent weeks crying and denying the truth, only to feel stuck and angry with myself. My appetite dipped and my depression hit hard. A few months later, I wiped my tears, gathered my shattered pieces, and got to work.

I am not an artist, neither do I claim to be, but I used the tools in order to express my emotional state. I started drawing, which initially was of my mother, and then evolved to express my love for my motherland, Iraq. It features a traditional young Iraqi girl making a silent prayer for the peace and healing of Iraq, surrounded by its historical landmarks.

It's a work in progress and I come back to it from time to time to add my touch. I’ve added a few gems for decoration and a 3D effect and darkened the paint just recently. Overall, it's a wonderfully therapeutic activity.

I’ve also kept myself busy going on regular walks and building content for my wellness youtube channel, which is growing beautifully. Gardening has been an exciting venture and it helped me with grounding, whilst writing enabled me to reflect on my experiences with a brighter vision.

Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have — life itself.

- Walter Anderson

You can react in two ways

• either take responsibility for your pain and realize that no one can save you from the pain but yourself
• adopt the victim mentality, which the easiest yet most destructive choice.

Don't get me wrong, we don't want to suppress or deny the feeling of pain, loss, or grief. If we suppress it in any way, it will only come back stronger.

There are many instances where unprocessed or blocked emotional pain manifests into physical disease months or years later.

What we want to do is process the pain and redirect it to a better path. A path that leads to a positive transformation.

Mindset

Our mindset is a crucial component to battling through negative emotions and experiences. Our mindset can either break or strengthen our soul.

It shapes the way we view ourselves and the world. If you take the time and effort to improve your mindset, it can transform your thinking, which in turn redirects your life path.

Any obstacle or emotion that you face will have no chance of affecting you. This is because you have taken the time and energy to program your subconscious mind to view it in a positive constructive light. Affirmations, meditation, theta healing, and listening to 432hertz music are great ways you could initially help to reprogram your subconscious mind.

We are solely responsible for changing our minds. Yes, external factors can try to influence our mood, but if we have a strong mindset it will be very hard for them to cause chaos.

What I Do When I Experience Pain

If I experience pain at any stage, I aim to use it as a motivator, as a fuel for my soul to take action.

If I did not do that, then the other shadow part of me would take control. My subconscious mind would activate the victim mentality and my vibration will be lowered.

The key here is to change the pain into positive energy that has a potential to turn your life around.

Which one would you choose?

If our vibration becomes lowered, then we are likely to attract things and people from the same level of vibration as us.

A good example of this is why psychologists advise against going into a relationship straight after ending one. This is because, in most cases, we are heartbroken and suffering grief and loss after the end of a relationship.

Our soul needs time to heal, not invest in another relationship. Also, at that point where we are at a low vibration, it is more likely that we attract people at that same lower vibration as us.

We need to invest in ourselves first and this is where utilizing our pain is key to a successful life. Use it as a motivator. Change the pain or failure to massive energy that will turn your life around. It all depends on what you choose.

You take ownership of your life

You are the captain of your life. Despite external factors, you are able to push your life in the direction of your choice. Once you consciously realize that, you recentre yourself and gradually work on change your direction and approach by doing things that bring you joy and healing.

Activate your creative potential

Creativity is one of the most powerful healing outlets for pain processing. It not only helps you express your internal emotions of loss and grief in a healthy way for yourself and others.

It serves as a platform for creation. Whether it is art, music, or writing, creativity will enable you to process your pain and share it with the world.

You will be given the opportunity to reflect on your pain from a higher perspective. This provides a wonderful healing insight that sparks inner growth and transformation.

Coping With Types Of Pain:

Depending on the person and the trauma, some may choose to incorporate their painful experience with their healing method to create inspirational content or purpose, such as a book or a course.

While others find that they react better when they distance themselves from their pain. This can be through diving into a creative endeavor such as design, painting, music, exercise, or a school.

Here are a few examples of ways to cope and utilize different types of pain.

Loss

In a situation where a loved one is lost, their family redirects their pain and grief to work on opening a charity in the name of the person or make a tribute to their life in some way.

This is a lovely way to cherish and celebrate the life and achievements of a loved one.

Narcissistic Abuse

When it comes to abuse, it's a trauma that induces a pattern of pain and self-destructive thoughts. There are many successful examples where people have redirected their energy to writing a book, make a video to express their feelings, or teaching others about their experiences.

These are powerful forms of therapy that create wonderful effects on both the creator and the people involved.

It creates a healing cycle, where the victim’s experience serves as inspiration for others to identify and break off the toxic cycle.

Rejection

Getting rejected by a loved one, or from a job can be very painful. May people redirected their energy to becoming more successful in another field such as passive income or entrepreneurship.

Ali Abdaal is a great example of this. He dealt with rejection and being scammed from his then-life savings and turned it around and made a business. A perfect example of actively seeking out to turn his experience into a positive one. In some cases, when it comes to rejection sometimes you look back on the experience and thank god that it didn't go the way you wanted it to as your life would be different now.

Final thoughts

• Use your pain to redirect this energy to something life-changing.
• Simple small steps will be better than making life-changing moves.

Disclaimer

In no way, shape or form does this piece mean to downgrade those who struggle with dealing with pain. We all deal with pain differently and take time processing and coping with our pain and trauma. This is merely my personal positive experience of dealing with pain throughout the years. If you struggle to deal with pain or trauma, please consult a credited therapist who will provide counseling and advice on your specific trauma.

About The Author

Noor is a first-year business student at Tredu. She is passionate about marketing and content creation. She runs a holistic wellness blog and recently launched her YouTube channel specializing in holistic healing.