Has chronic pain replaced the person you love with a shell of their former self? This grief is real, and it’s okay to acknowledge it. It's a difficult reality to face. As someone who has not only watched my loved ones suffer but also survived nearly 20 years of severe chronic pain, I understand the grief and frustration you and your family are feeling. Let me share a bit about my journey and how I found both hope and healing through an unconventional approach. Once upon a time, I was a high achiever, and life seemed full of promise. But a skiing accident shattered my L5 vertebra when I was 17 years old, and everything began to change. Chronic pain took over my life, bit by bit. Over the course of 13 years, my struggle with worsening chronic pain slowly transformed me. I started out as a driven individual who attended college on a full-ride academic scholarship. But somehow, I eventually found myself as an unemployed loser in a wheelchair, considering each day of not swallowing a bullet a success. The constant physical agony drained my spirit, leaving me feeling helpless and hopeless. I spent years in this state before I even started to turn it all around. This is when my family really began to suffer. Watching them carry my burden made me feel even worse. I know your loved one is suffering too, and it's heartbreaking for you to witness. The person you remember—their energy, enthusiasm, and zest for life—seems to have been replaced by a shadow of who they once were. Here is where we need to shift our perspective. These changes are not just physical—they're spiritual wounds. Chronic pain, of course, inflicts physical agony, but it also brings deep spiritual wounds that are often overlooked and not well-understood by Western medicine. Chronic pain strips away one's confidence, purpose, and joy, leaving behind despair and a sense of loss for both the person and their entire family. Chronic pain disrupts the very core of a person's being, leading to mental health struggles like depression and anxiety. It disconnects them from their true selves and the world around them. Understanding this is crucial because it opens the door to healing in ways you might not have considered.