In my early pharmacist days, I worked in a number of retail pharmacies and got to know the customers pretty well. I remember one woman in particular who was dealing with breast cancer and came for prescriptions on a regular basis. She was always very polite, and well dressed too. On any given day, no matter how she was feeling, Anne was always dressed in a skirt with matching jacket and blouse, dress with scarf, or similar attire.
I will never forget. one particular occasion when Anne came to the store for her prescriptions. She was, as usual smiling and well dressed. In an effort to be complimentary and positive, I said to her:
"You're looking spiffy today!" I was totally unprepared for her reaction...she immediately began to cry and said, "Well, I really don't feel so spiffy today."
The lesson I learned on that fateful day will stay with me for the rest of my life. It was in those brief moments that I came to understand that you can't tell what's on the inside from the outside. And this has resonated over and over again over the years. It has helped shape my thoughts about pain management. I have two observations to share with you from that experience:
1) If you suffer from chronic pain/illness--put on your best game face. Your pain will not be any less or any more for doing so. Some people say that being well dressed improves mood --and you only stand to benefit from that!
2) For those of us who deal with other people--i.e. all of us... You can't necessarily tell from a person's outward appearance whether or not they are feeling healthy or feeling ill. Treat everyone you meet with empathy and compassion. Sometimes pain is not physical, but emotional. It's been said that everyone you meet is fighting a battle that you know nothing about. So,with that in mind, be kind!
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| Image source: Flickr |
I will never forget. one particular occasion when Anne came to the store for her prescriptions. She was, as usual smiling and well dressed. In an effort to be complimentary and positive, I said to her:
"You're looking spiffy today!" I was totally unprepared for her reaction...she immediately began to cry and said, "Well, I really don't feel so spiffy today."
The lesson I learned on that fateful day will stay with me for the rest of my life. It was in those brief moments that I came to understand that you can't tell what's on the inside from the outside. And this has resonated over and over again over the years. It has helped shape my thoughts about pain management. I have two observations to share with you from that experience:
1) If you suffer from chronic pain/illness--put on your best game face. Your pain will not be any less or any more for doing so. Some people say that being well dressed improves mood --and you only stand to benefit from that!
2) For those of us who deal with other people--i.e. all of us... You can't necessarily tell from a person's outward appearance whether or not they are feeling healthy or feeling ill. Treat everyone you meet with empathy and compassion. Sometimes pain is not physical, but emotional. It's been said that everyone you meet is fighting a battle that you know nothing about. So,with that in mind, be kind!
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