wow. it is good that you are reaching out - be proud of that. You have made a step away from this pain.

I don't mean to pry, but pain is usually in reaction to something. No need for specifics. Have you suffered a loss? Are you grieving a relationship? Perhaps you are even grieving a sense of loss of yourself. What matters is that you are hurting - and that you are apparently alone.

I will not say it will get better because I don't know your circumstance. But what I will say is that we can TRY to make it better. You've made the first step - you've reached out. You get a big pat on the back for that.

I suppose the next step is finding a way to cope. All over this board I have talked about tactile coping - using touch to calm ourselves down. I use a stone. I use stretching and breathing too. And my other recmmendation is looking closely at and visualizing an object.

These methods are great at calming ourselves down - from depression, from anxiety, from what troubles us.

I've recently made some successes moving away from my own pain and grief. It hasn't been easy but learning to cope with it has given me some freedom to move on.

And that is the biggest gift you can give yourself. Give yourself PERMISSION to be in pain. But also give yourself the permission to say goodbye to it.