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By Crystal Lindell

As the old cliché goes: clichés are clichés for a reason. They tend to convey a lot of fundamental truth about the world and life itself.

While dealing with chronic pain for more than a decade now, I have come to appreciate certain clichés in ways that I couldn’t before I got sick and lived to tell the tale.

They may sound corny, but below are three clichés that I have found really do help me get through a day with chronic pain: 

Cliché #1: This Too Shall Pass

When I first started having chronic pain, flares felt eternal. I genuinely worried that the pain would last forever. Any relief felt like an impossible dream.  

But eventually, the pain would ease a bit. Over time, I was also able to find calming techniques, as well as pain medications and supplements that helped relieve my symptoms. 

Even during the worst pain flares, I take heart in knowing that it too shall eventually pass.

It goes both ways too. On the other side of this equation, I’m also now significantly more aware of just how fleeting my health truly is. While the bad pain flares will pass, that also means the good days will pass as well – making it that much more important to savor them.

As it turns out, losing your health is the best way to finally learn how to appreciate the good days.

Cliché #2: Other People’s Opinions Don’t Matter

This concept is, for me, the simplest and yet the most difficult to truly internalize. 

But when you have chronic pain, you have to learn to ignore other people’s opinions about what you’re going through. And trust me, people will rush to share their opinions with you as much as possible, whether you ask for them or not.

You have to tune it out though, otherwise you’ll just fall into a dark despair of guilt and impossible standards.

I also have realized that what people say they would do if they were in pain, and what they would actually do are two very different things. 

People love to say they would never take opioids, or that they would just use yoga to “cure” their chronic pain. But I have been dealing with my own pain long enough now to see those same people eventually have to put their money where their mouth is, and they always fail their own test.

People who are the most judgmental of your choices are also the first to crack under the pressure that pain causes. It then becomes clear that most of their judgmental comments are reflections of their own issues, rather than anything to do with you.  

People claiming they would never use opioids are trying to convince themselves of that, as opposed to making a statement about your choices. 

And people who quickly say they’d just do yoga to cure their pain are trying to mentally process the fear they have at the thought of ending up like us. It’s a coping mechanism that allows them to think that even if it did happen to them, they’d be fine.

If you’re struggling with chronic pain, it’s good to remember you’re doing the best that you can, under the circumstances. Whether or not other people agree is irrelevant.

Cliché #3: The Best Days of Your Life Haven’t Happened Yet

This cliché is honestly the most magical for me, and it has truly helped me get through some rough patches in my own life.

When you’re drowning in chronic pain, it’s easy to spiral physically and emotionally, and to assume that nothing good will ever happen to you again. But take it from me, good things will still happen.

When I first developed chronic pain in 2013, I still had not met the love of my life, I’d never had a cat, and I had never gone to Paris. In the years since though, I met my fiancé; I acquired six cats (all of whom I’m obsessed with); and I have been to Paris not once, but TWICE!

There are incredible things in store for you, too — and that’s worth hanging around for. 

While none of these clichés can cure chronic pain, they do make it a little easier to endure. And sometimes, that little extra is all you need to make an extraordinary life. 

If you have any clichés that you find helpful, I’d love for you to drop them in the comment section below. After all, we could also use a little life advice, especially when that advice has been tried and tested by people strong enough to survive chronic pain.