What Causes You Pain?

Goal

To identify what causes you pain.

Psychological Pain (p. 12)

The constant possibility of psychological pain is a challenging burden that we all need to face. This doesn’t mean that you must give up and trudge through your life suffering. Pain and suffering are very different. The word “suffer” implies that there is a burden you are unwilling or unable to carry, which means that we play a part in our own suffering. We can learn how to respond to pain in a way that does not make our suffering worse.

Suffering Inventory Exercise (pp. 12-13)

Instructions: Write down a list of all of the problems that are currently psychologically difficult for you. Be honest and thorough in creating your suffering inventory but don’t overthink it. Just write down what plagues you and causes you pain-including any of your thoughts, feelings, memories, urges, bodily sensations, or habits that may distress you.

Notes

Tip: Remember to include your reactions. For example, “my boss” would not be a good example of a difficult problem but “getting frustrated with my boss” or “feeling put down by my boss” might be.