THE PERSON IN PAIN (translated by F. G. Mailenova)

Abstract

A person confronted with pain is transformed. Their ability to perceive and listen, also their capacity to act, are all changed and impaired. These changes must be taken into account in order to support and reduce the suffering of the person in pain. The phenomenology of pain to which this translated article is dedicated allows for a larger and more humane approach to the person in pain, who is often in total isolation, left alone with his or her pain. Is it possible to understand the pain of others the way they experience it, when pain tears one’s body and soul, gradually changes one’s personality? What is a person in pain? Does one remain the same person as one was before the disease, or transform as the illness progresses? The article asserts that one’s personality is radically transformed by pain, and that we should be able to take this transformation into account both in medical care and in our everyday conversations with the patient. The transformation of personality can be so profound and at times irreversible, that it is hard to believe that this is the person we knew before. The multi-year patient monitoring of the author working in palliative care and his reflection on these experiences of observation and empathy lead to the philosophical question “Can we understand another person’s pain?” by examining the elements of visualising suffering and setting the optics of the empathetic look.