"There is nothing funny about a broken rib. In fact, laughing hurts, so humor is better left out of the equation. There is irony in a former college hockey player slipping on the ice and breaking a rib. This happened after I escaped most of my career without a major injury. Still, here I am, and I am determined to learn from the situation. One week in, here are some takeaways that I would like to share."
"Not all injuries are visible. As a psychologist, I know this all too well. It is discouraging to be in intense pain, as with a broken rib, or chronic pain, without anyone being able to see it from the outside. This is also the case with depression, grief, and other forms of mental and physical illness. This feeling is isolating."
"Trust the process. I am told by my doctor that my rib is healing. I would not know it from the pain I am experiencing. I am also told there is "nothing I can do." The parallel with mental illness is strong here, too. When we are grieving or depressed, we tend to feel very little hope that we will ever feel better. It seems to be baked into the illness itself."
A broken rib demonstrates that not all injuries are visible and that intense pain can be isolating when others cannot see the injury. Invisible conditions like depression, grief, and chronic illness produce comparable pain and social isolation. Sharing pain with trusted people enables practical help and reduces judgment, while stigma makes disclosure harder for mental illness. Medical guidance may emphasize that healing is occurring even when pain persists, requiring trust in the recovery process. Prior clinical experience shows that many patients improve over time, reinforcing the importance of patience, support, and not keeping suffering a secret.
Read at Psychology Today
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