# Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional
> “Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. Say you’re running and you think, ‘Man, this hurts, I can’t take it anymore. The ‘hurt’ part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand anymore is up to the runner himself.”
> -- Haruki Murakami, [What I Talk About When I Talk About Running](https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2475030)
# Pain Is Inevitable; Suffering Is Optional cont.
> When it comes to how we respond to physical and emotional pain, we have a choice
> -- [Psychology Today](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/some-assembly-required/201401/pain-is-inevitable-suffering-is-optional)
> Suffering in general, as well as specific to chronic pain, is a function of imbalances in physical, mental, emotional, and/or spiritual functioning.
> Suffering is both a cause and an effect of the catastrophic cognitions and distressing emotions
> For people with chronic pain, there is a direct correlation between negative thinking and the level of pain they experience.
> Pain leads to negative thoughts/self-talk/beliefs lead to feelings of frustration/anger/anxiety/fear/sadness/depression/hopelessness lead to suffering leads to muscle tension and stress lead to more pain leads to increased negative thoughts/self-talk/beliefs lead to increased frustration/anger/anxiety/fear/sadness/depression/hopelessness leads to greater suffering, and so on. The longer such a cycle continues, the more out of balance a person becomes.
> Suffering can be modified when people become consciously aware of this chain reaction and learn how to respond differently to their pain.
