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Pragmatic Wisdom

Simple lessons for our complicated modern times, drawn from philosophy, religion, and common sense

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LIFE LESSONS

Two Kinds of Pain: Pain That Hurts, Pain That Alters

A vulnerable exploration of how different types of pain shape us, break us, and ultimately rebuild us into something stronger

KayDee
4 min readNov 9, 2024

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You know that moment when you stub your toe against the furniture at 3 AM while sneaking to the kitchen for a midnight snack? Yeah, that’s pain that hurts.

But remember when your first love walked away, leaving you with a playlist full of sad songs and a heart that felt like it would never heal? That’s pain that alters.

Let me tell you a story.

Last summer, I wiped out spectacularly while skateboarding (mid-life crisis, don’t judge). The scraped knee healed in weeks. But watching my dad battle Alzheimer’s for the past five years? That’s reshaping who I am, one forgotten memory at a time.

Pain’s a funny thing like that. Sometimes it’s just plain old ouch-that-hurts pain, and sometimes it’s the kind that rewrites your whole life story.

Our bodies are pretty amazing pain-processing machines.

Physical pain? That’s your nervous system doing its job, sending those “Hey, something’s not right!” signals to your brain. Like nature’s own built-in warning system…

Pragmatic Wisdom
Pragmatic Wisdom

Published in Pragmatic Wisdom

Simple lessons for our complicated modern times, drawn from philosophy, religion, and common sense

KayDee
KayDee

Written by KayDee

Ex Investment Banker writing about Self Improvement, Spirituality, and Economy

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