Understanding spiritual pain | OSF Healthcare

It had been five years since I started at Osf Healthcare and I never intervened in the executive conference room, but I was there, wrapped in this room with a variety of members of the palliative and support team. As I looked around, I felt like the strange man. It was like being at the table of big children for the first time; I kept my eyes on my eyes and my mouth closed unless I am asked a direct question.

I spent time listening and taking notes on the subjects that we could use for this blog. One of the quietest but most passionate speakers in the table was sister Jacque (pronounced Jack-Ee) Schroeder and she continued to refer to this term: spiritual pain.

I was intrigued so I sat with Sister to discuss the spiritual pain. Here is what I discovered …

What is spiritual pain?

Spiritual pain is the pain that comes from “hidden” areas of our life. It cannot be indicated on a pain scale, but it is always very real and can have an impact on our physical and emotional health.

Spiritual pain is often broken down into four categories:

1. Meaning – struggling with “meaning” behind life, relationships and the world around you
2. Sorry – pain that stems from forgiving others, ourselves and God
3. Substituted – Manage relationships, whether good or bad
4. Hope – Feeling as if there is no hope or there is no

Spiritual pain does not discriminate according to sex or age; This affects everyone in different ways at all stages of life. As Sister said, everyone is in a spiritual journey from the moment they were born and this trip, we feel pain and, in turn, we grow. Our company does not often highlight this trip, so we have trouble managing the pain when it becomes too much to manage.

Face spiritual pain

After learning so much in a short time, I asked to sister if there was something we can do for ourselves or as caregivers for others to prevent spiritual pain from becoming too much. His answer was simple, but powerful: breathe and be silent.

Once, when sister was confronted with some of the most difficult choices of her life, she asked for advice from God, but the only answer she received was “breathing”. Our society and our life move far too quickly these days, so taking the time to breathe gives us something to concentrate our minds and keep them clear so that the answers we are looking for can go up to the top.

The hand in hand with breathing is silence. Again, we are bombed with messages and “noise” all around us every day. Having a place to deactivate and listen and breathe often creates this environment of spiritual and emotional healing that we are looking for. As the sister said, “God does not need time to speak to us; We just need to find time to be silent and listen to. ”

Doctor, heal yourself

As caregivers, it is difficult to know how to treat each part of a patient. This is why hospitals have social services, pastorals, palliative care and more in order to treat the whole patient. But, it is important that all caregivers remember one thing: we are the medication we bring.

You’ve probably heard someone say: “You can’t help others before helping you.” This is true with doctors, nurses and all our health care providers. Once caregivers take the time to be silent, breathe and confront their own spiritual pain, they are able to integrate this into the medical treatment and the coordinated care they provide in the bedside.

Last update: February 9, 2022