I just started listening to a book that has really made me think a lot about my own struggle with RSD. I feel like the author has described in a nutshell what my journey with RSD is like and also the methods I personally have come to discover for "overcoming" my pain.

It's called Elantris by Brandon Sanderson...a fantasy novel. In it, there is a group of people who are infected by a "disease" where their bodies won't heal from any pain or injury, whether it is stubbing their toe or pains from hunger, and the pain is ALWAYS there, constant and never ending. There are obvious differences from RSD in the way it manifests itself but I can tell you that I feel so connected to these characters in a way I don't think many could. Anyway...at the beginning of this story half of these people (who are all locked away in a single city) have given up and are barely functioning while the other half are crazy. This is the situation when one man (who is struck down by this "disease") end up stuck there and he decides to give himself and the people reason to live, purpose, and slowly the city of people starts to come back to life and the people find that the "secret" to taking away their pain is to have purpose again.

I haven't finished the book yet but I am just so astounded by the way this story has really hit home for me. I never expected to feel this way...especially not reading a work of fantasy fiction. See...things have been going incredibly well for me lately with my return to work and to "life" in general...but my RSD is still there, always present and always crummy. The pain never stops, never even really subsides, but when I am at work or even at home and have things that can distract me from that pain I am much happier and feel better mentally even if not physically.

I find listening to audiobooks a good distraction for me when I am at home and they help keep my mind off the pain when I am doing things around the house. This one has definitely hit home for me in a pretty big way. I don't know that it will be everyone's cup of tea (I know not everyone is big on these types of stories) but I recommend it. It just reminds me so much of my own mental journey of how I have worked to get past the limits that RSD has placed on me. Now I just hope it has a happy ending or I might be seriously depressed when it is over.