I don't see it like that at all- it's more like *feeling or believing* things are better than they are, less like a rash that spreads than a biopsy that reveals a tumor is larger than we would've guessed. You may not've felt any pain from the cancer, but the chemo is a *****.

My 'worse' was not wanting to own pretty much any of my first 18 years, because they were so damned painful. I went on, like I had no past whatsoever, until all the anger and feeling of being out of control surfaced when I had difficulties mothering. Buying them back in order to defuse my triggers and gain clarity, made things hurt more before they got better. But therapy didn't create the pain or injury, it revealed them, more like draining pus from a deep wound.