Pain is inevitable. Whether it is physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. Pain is a biological reaction to a stimulus and a response.
Suffering is the interpretation of the pain and the meaning and belief that we have about the pain. When people suffer it creates an imbalance of physical, emotion, spiritual wellbeing. Suffering creates thoughts of "why me?", "this isn't fair", "I can't bear the pain". The emotions that resonate with suffering include anxiety, depression, hopelessness, frustration, irritably, guilt, shame, and helplessness.
Pain is unavoidable, suffering is a choice. Meaning, its how one responds will dictate the amount of suffering one will endure or accept. There is a small space between a stimulus, and the thought and emotion that follows to take ownership of how to respond.
The correlation between pain and suffering creates a vicious cycle. Pain creates negative self-talk and thoughts which leads to an emotional response of anxiety, fear, depression, helplessness, and hopelessness. The physical response to these feelings is more stress, and pain which leads to additional negative self-talk and thoughts which creates even more pain which leads to more suffering.
To break this cycle, it's crucial to become of aware of the chain reaction that leads pain to suffering. Incorporating mindfulness and acceptance strategies help detach from the negative cognitions and beliefs we have about pain and will steady the ship of our emotional, physical, and spiritual wellbeing.