Pain and Art

This is Frida Kaolo's self portrait. I'm a fan of her work. It's very graphic and interesting. This is one of many of her works that illustrate her battle with physical pain. As a young woman, she was in a bus accident that left her in a full body cast, and unable to have children.

Not a lot was known about Fibromyalgia back then. Okay, nothing was known about Fibromyalgia back then. She never fully recovered from that bus accident and was in pain for the rest of her life. Now, looking at her work and reading accounts, it is thought that she had Fibromyalgia. One of the major causes of Fibromyalgia is thought to be brought on by physical trauma. Car accidents, falls, things like that. However, I met a woman once that was never the same from simply bracing with her hands on the airplane seat in front of her during a rough flight. Nobody really knows what causes it for sure.

I have it. So does my aunt.


I don't have a physical injury story to go with my case. Emotional trauma is also thought to be a major cause; and I fall into that category. Sometimes I feel like a wimp because of the fact that I do. I let someone get so under my skin that it made me ill. I didn't want to be that girl. I can say that my heart and head are almost four years past healed, but my body's down for the count. Better my body than my head though. I don't want to be in that jail.

I'm not using this post to share a sob story. I don't really even like to talk about it. The people that talk and complain a lot are the ones that are never taken seriously. I'm just trying to stir up a little awareness.

As silly as it sounds, I feel like Frida and I are kindred spirits; with the Fibromyalgia, and the inability to have children. Except she is insanely talented, and I am not.