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What Nursing a Physical Wound Taught Me About Emotional Pain
As a nurse, I learned a lot about physical and emotional wounds
I was a nurse for 20 years. I worked mainly in mental health, but I also did some acute medical/surgical nursing as well.
Over the years, I’ve assessed and facilitated healing for many physical and emotional wounds.
There are differences between the two for sure. For instance, I can see, touch, and smell a physical wound, but I can’t do those things for an emotional one.
The senses I use to assess and treat a physical wound, help me understand what’s required. But I can’t put those same senses to use for emotional wounds.
Many say, that because physical wounds are tangible, they’re easier to treat. And this may be true, but it’s not the whole truth.
The challenge facing many people with invisible illnesses speaks to an underlying belief in medicine — if you can’t see it, you can’t treat it.
This means that many invisible wounds go on to fester and take over.
Did you know that there are many similarities between physical and invisible emotional wounds? It’s true, but it’s rarely talked about.
