Tags
Bipolar Disorder, Christianity and Depression, Christianity and Mental Health, Chronic Fatigue, CFS, CFIDS, & M.E., Depression, Mental Illness, Paranoid Schizophrenia, Personal Journal, Prayer, PUSH, Self-Harming, SHARE, Sharing, Suicidal Thoughts
In the world of Acronyms – this being a place where all the little words congregate and sort themselves out into groups where the first initials of their names form another word – PUSH stands for
Pray Until Something Happens!
When it come to the matter of long-term mental or physical illness this acronym (or rather the practice behind it) really comes into its own and is often tested to its limit.
I think this is sometimes because of the helplessness often experienced in these situations and thus the desperate need to believe there is a higher power we can rely on, and sometimes it stems from an already present understanding of the fact that there is that higher power that we can rely on.
Either way the whole Pray Until Something Happens concept, actually comes from a biblical precept – Pray without Ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17) for example and is a very good thing to remember.
Prayer is a very important part of my life and I know is also a part of others who read this blog and I am so very grateful for that and for the fact that in response to my posting last night lots of folk were praying for me and on my behalf.
Last night was a tough night for me and one that I really struggled through and on top of that things are not a lot better today. But here’s the deal and there is no getting around this. I still have a today.
Despite the self-harming and suicidal thoughts and everything else that I went through last night, and that are still present to some degree today, I am still here and still able to fight on. The power of prayer is essential to that and in no way a small part of that just as the power of encouragement and support are also essential.
I think that this is something that we often miss within the whole gambit of things. It is, or so it seems to me, fairly natural to focus on the suffering and the length of suffering as a negative thing and not to see the victories that have been won throughout it all. – A “glass half empty” versus “glass half full” situation if you will. Was last night extremely tough? Yes! But was I alone through it all? No! Perhaps in person I was but not in spirit or in support. These then are victories as is the fact that I am managing to survive it.
We also tend to miss that others are in a far worse position than we are, don’t we?
The lame man glanced at the person sitting next to him in the hospital waiting room and complained, “I really hope they can help me today, I have had trouble walking and have suffered these darned leg pains for years now.”
“I am sorry to hear that” smiled the legless man sat in his wheelchair next to him, “I can’t say as I know what you are going through but I imagine it is very difficult for you.”
You see pain and suffering is personal isn’t it? It can often make us blind to the needs of others.
Actually, we all have differing needs and differing pain and tolerance levels don’t we? And we need to understand that not only do we all have different pain and tolerance levels to each other but we also have different pain and tolerance levels in respect of the types of pain and/or discomfort that we personally experience.
Personally I can suffer the aches and pains that I go through each and every day as a result of my health and I quietly experience leg pains, back pains, headaches, chest pains and the such on a regular almost continuous basis but step on my toe I can assure you that I will not be so quiet about it 🙂
Actually the fact is that our pain and suffering should never become our primary focus and should never be made into a competition with someone else.
How many of us have experienced people who, on your mentioning that something that is causing you discomfort, will immediately respond by telling you how their discomfort was or is much greater or who bring the whole thing around to how they themselves also suffer?
Obviously it depends on how this is done and indeed how often this is done but I wouldn’t mind wagering we all know someone who is like this. Someone who has to top your suffering with their own or at very least use the situation to gain some attention for themselves?
It isn’t helpful when this happens is it? Often it leaves your feeling even worse than when you started and very often will deter you from sharing with that person again.
But consider this for a moment if you will….
The very self-same nerves that experience pleasure also experience pain. It is true. Put it to the test if you will…
Gently rub your fingers in a circular motion on part of your bare forearm and feel how pleasurable that sensation is. Now give that same spot a sharp smack using the same fingers. Not so pleasurable is it?
Let’s look at how that situation changed. In both circumstance the same spot for the sensation was chosen. In both circumstances the same fingers were used to deliver the sensation. BUT how the sensation was delivered and thus how it was interpreted have changed.
The same rule applies to how we deliver and how we interpret comments concerning our suffering and I truly believe that we should always try to be mindful of this when it comes to discussing and considering pain and suffering.
Last night I shared how I was really struggling and I have to say that I was am very grateful for all the support and encouragement that I received via comments, Skype calls and e-mails, in response to the struggles that I was and am still facing today.
Part of the reason for my sharing how I was feeling was my need for release. I needed to vent or to verbally express what was, and still is, going on with me. Part of the reason was because one of the very purposes of this blog is to chronicle what is going on with my physical and mental health. But part of the reason for my sharing was to let others who might be struggling know that they are not alone and that there is hope and that we can get through these things.
Back in our world of acronyms and specifically with long-term mental and physical illness in mind another group of letters have formed together to make a word using the first initials of their names is SHARE
Securing Help Accommodates Real Endurance
OK so it might be an acronym that I have just now penned but that doesn’t make it any the less valid does it.
I am convinced that none of us are required to suffer alone or in silence and I am convinced that none of us should ever be required to suffer alone or in silence.
Seeking and securing help informs others of our needs and invites their response. In turn their response and assistance affords us a greater ability to cope with or deal with what we are facing and this allows us to deal with it in a healthier way and for a longer period if needed.
But it also reciprocates and offers the same opportunities to the person you are sharing with because it invites harmony, togetherness, interaction, hope.
No matter what I am going through I hope I never lose sight of this and my need to PUSH and SHARE and I pray that no matter what you are going through you will never lose sight of your need to PUSH and SHARE or the fact that you are always welcome to PUSH and SHARE here with me.