What is "Inner Pain"?

        Part of daily life is loosely called "inner pain," as in "Pat is in a lot of pain now." Few of my therapy clients have been able to explain what their "pain" is. Premise - When you can clearly describe your inner dis-comforts, you're better able to identify what you need to reduce them.

     Infants and adults live each moment somewhere in a range between delirious, joyful, thrilled, and blissful, through "numb" to awful, despair-ing, horrified, terrified, hysterical, suicidal, and agonized. From this, in-ner pain is an umbrella term for one or more specific uncomfortable emo-tions. These may cause and/or signal physical discomforts:

     Common discomforts are significant shame, guilt, regret and remor-se; fear, horror or terror; confusion or overwhelm, sadness; despair; frustration, anger or rage, disgust; aimlessness; "emptiness" and loneli-ness; disappointment; and helplessness. Naming current specific dis-comforts enables you to (a) learn which personality subselves bring them to you and (b) work to satisfy their needs so their (your) discomfort recedes. Lessons 1 and 2 here offer practical frameworks to help you and others do that. Follow the links.