hang·o·ver : A thing that has survived from the past.
After 3 weeks of intense pain, the pain levels are finally reversing their trend and going down instead of up. I was ecstatic when upon waking up after a good night’s sleep, I discovered that the deep, throbbing pain had been replaced by a manageable ache. Mentally, I pulled out my to-do list and was prepared to hit the road running.
Easier said than done. It was excruciatingly difficult to get out of bed. My head hurt. My body was sore. My limbs just wouldn’t cooperate and do what I wanted them to do. My mouth was dry and my eyes didn’t want to look at anything. I had trouble waking up.
A dear friend, also a veteran of pain, took one look at me and asked if I was in the middle of a ‘pain hangover’. I had never heard that term before – what a perfect description!
Wikipedia: “The most commonly reported characteristics of a hangover include headache, nausea, sensitivity to light and noise, lethargy, dysphoria, diarrhea and thirst, typically after the intoxicating effect of the alcohol begins to wear off.”
Replace ‘alcohol’ with ‘pain’, and ‘intoxicating’ with ‘debilitating’ and there you have it.
I decided I needed to extend grace to myself and give my body the time it needs to recover from this. I’ve learned not to fight it and go about my day like everything is perfect.
grace: a temporary exemption : reprieve, disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency (http://www.merriam-webster.com)
~shini abraham, ©2013, duco divina – contemplative doodling
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