For the vast majority of human experience throughout the world, people recognized that the physical and the spiritual are intertwined. As a Christian I believe the universe is sacramental and reflects the glory of God. Importantly, the body and soul are a unity, and both are good. We are made in the image of God.

When it comes to pain and trauma, it can be helpful to have accompaniment and coaching from someone who has traveled similar paths.

I have traveled this path. I experienced abuse with people in my life who I trusted completely. In addition, I’ve been a “mental health” first responder as a military spouse for 2.5 decades. Sometimes we’d be living in non-English speaking countries, hours from the nearest military base. Active duty spouses would be gone, sometimes out of contact, for long periods of time. It was within this context that I decided to take my first class: trauma-informed care for the military community. I was already dealing with trauma—my own and that of other people—and I needed to know how to do it better.

Over the years I developed a collection of medical problems that are often associated with trauma: chronic migraines, trigeminal neuralgia, asthma, and fibromyalgia. There is no doubt in my mind that these were connected to trauma.

If you are reading this, you probably know how this works. Trauma can manifest as pain. Pain leads to further trauma. Both can potentially lead to increasing isolation. Loved ones, fellow church members, and medical professionals may just not understand this snowball effect. There may be individual traumatic events, but the overall experience may be more insidious.

Some people will not understand that what you are going through is not just physical. Others will think it is all “in your head”. Loved ones may leave. Churches may ostracize you in the midst of your deepest struggles, justifying it with unrelated excuses. Medical professionals often try to treat chronic pain with pain killers that are only appropriate for acute pain. They may throw other drugs at the problem just to see if it helps. You may get passed off from one medical professional to the next, none of them quite sure exactly how to treat your situation. Through it all, you are dealing with life: jobs, caregiving, bills, other medical problems.

A dear friend recently reminded me that Christ never asked the wounded to hide their wounds. The risen Christ still bore visible wounds. Whatever your experience is like, remember: You are a beloved child of God. This fact does not rely on anyone else’s understanding. This does not rely on anyone else’s acceptance.