Overcoming Our Heart's Pain
Everyone suffers. Every single person is touched by experiences that challenge or confound them. It can be physical misfortune- contracting HIV, becoming incapacitated with arthritis, or developing actual heart disease.
Recently in my cardiology practice, I took care of a nun who had battled first breast cancer and then ovarian cancer. I had been asked to see her because of chest pain, which proved to be significant heart blockages. When I told her about the findings, she just raised arms and said, “What else can happen to me?”
Still other people must overcome emotional hurdles. You may be saddened by the loss of a dear loved one. The loss could be a child, your spouse, or just a friend.
Or perhaps your job gets outsourced, and what seemed like a certain future is not cloudy. The road you are traveling on which once seemed smooth is now unsteady. Unexpected and unwelcome, twists and turns have surfaced.
Our hearts feel these things. They become pained. Research has shown again and again that psychological trauma doesn’t jut aggravate illness. It actually creates illness
Yet, the pain I’m referring to doesn’t just come from our physical heart (sure our physical heart can feel pain), but our heart’s pain is often psychologically and emotionally traumatizing.
So when out path becomes rocky and we stub our toes and fall and bruise our hearts, the question is “what to do?” How can we overcome our heart’s pain?
If you’re looking for solace consider examining the writings of Thomas Moore, the former Catholic monk who now is a regular contributor for Spirituality and Health Magazine. In his book, The Dark Nights of the Soul, Thomas Moore provides a convincing argument that one of the first things we should do when confronted by afflictions of the heart is to not run away from them.
Although our initial response might be to eliminate the pain we feel, he suggests that rather than bolting immediately for the door that we consider first acknowledging our pain. We should admit to ourselves that we do indeed hurt. Our hearts are troubled and sometimes feel broken.
Not that we just accept our pain in some masochistic way, but that we seek to examine the cloudy mist that is making our way treacherous. Rather than running, if we can stretch forth our hand, peer into the fog, and begin groping about, no matter how clumsily-we may be surprised by what we find.
Rather than obscuring our path, our heart’s pain may in some way be guiding us, so that what we thought of only as a problem may in fact provide us with a solution. Pain and misfortune may seem devastating, but they can also give us a new perspective into our lives, unleashing a time of transformation and self-growth.
Even though the events that created our suffering haven’t gone away, if we search deeply into our heart’s soul we may discover lessons that can provide a measure of comfort.
A wise sage once said, “With all your getting, get understanding.”
Truly, by looking past the clouds for greater understanding we can help to overcome our heart’s pain.
Kirk Laman, D.O., F.A.C.C.
Dr. Laman is a board certified, cardiologist interested in heart disease prevention. He is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Michigan State University. He offers a free monthly newsletter on his website called “Mending Hearts. ” His book, “How to Heal Your Broken Heart, ” is designed to help people struggling with issues of the heart. To purchase his book go to: www.healingyourbrokenheart.com For further information: www.drlaman.com
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