Great post! I have my annual physical tomorrow, and I am preparing notes in advance, including information about pain and discomfort I’ve been having. I’ve explained to my doctor that I don’t always experience pain the way others do, and I sometimes need time to think about my answers. I’m extremely fortunate that she’s patient and compassionate and she gives me time to sort things out. I’ve dealt with plenty of other doctors who weren’t.
Appearing “normal” to the untrained eye is a pain. Literally.
I am not good at communicating my pain. It’s my greatest weakness. I am terrible at asking for help, I am terrible at reaching out to you, and I am worst at this when I’m distracted by physical discomfort.
I have often been told what a “coper” I am. How well I cope with stressful situations, how well I cope with shock and pain. Not because I am coping, but because I communicate these things differently.
What is pain? How do you quantify it? How do you get across just how much or how little you are in?
I am autistic, which means that I have a social communication condition, which means that I do not naturally or intuitively understand or (perhaps more importantly) perform social communication.
Most of the time I can do it all. I have learnt your ways, I may not understand why THIS QUESTION needs THIS…
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Autistic Ultra 