Pain: The gift nobody wants.

"If I held in my hands the power to eliminate physical pain from the world, I would not exercise it. My work with pain-deprived patients has proved to me that pain protects us from destroying ourselves. Yet I also know that pain can destroy, as any visit to a chronic pain center will show".

"Having spent my life among people who destroy themselves for a lack of pain, I treasure these signals. Pain signals in stage one report in loudly and insistently so that their message will seize consciousness and bring about a change in behaviour. To silence the signals before changing behaviour is to invite the risk of far greater damage: the body will feel better while getting worse".

Having read this book I mostly agree with this, that pain in it's largeness is normally a good thing. Sure there are exceptions, like terminal patients who experience pain only as a reminder of their coming death. But if we did not feel pain, we would essentially be lepers. Wouldn't that be exciting. For now all I can do is suggest that you read the book, it is rewarding and thought provoking. Thank God for pain.