Many of us at some point in our lives have suffered from what some people refer to as a 'broken heart.' This of course is not referring to our physical heart but an emotional condition that can affect our physical well being as well other aspects of our lives. Even though we are not referring to a physical break, we often treat a broken heart
way we would a broken arm. We put it in a cast, a thick protective coating that nothing can penetrate. It is immobilized for an appropriate amount of time so that healing has a chance to occur. It is important not to disturb it to avoid further trauma.If you ever have broken your arm, you know what it looks like when cast is removed. It looks thinner, sometimes almost shriveled. It is covered with dead, discolored skin that has a pretty foul odor. It is weak from lack of use. In some cases, therapy may be necessary to restore full mobility. And for a number of years afterward, location of break, though healed, may occasionally ache.
When we have a broken bone, we are rushed to assistance so that further complications do not result. If left untreated, we might be left with mild to severe disability that can be more difficult to correct later. Depending upon type and severity of break, bone fragments may damage surrounding tissue, cause bleeding, and other types of internal trauma that might lead to more serious conditions.
At no time are we told to 'just get over it.' We are given pain medication if necessary and are treated with some kind of accommodation to help us adapt to our daily lives until bone is fully healed. The people in our lives treat us with extra caring and consideration.
You don't feel it necessary to hide fact that your arm is broken. You know how long cast should remain in place before removing it. The rate of healing can be checked by radiology to make sure cast isn't removed too soon. There is a specific treatment protocol and you are given instructions to follow. If circumstances surrounding what caused break result in anxiety, it is acknowledged as real.
Generally, one doesn't die from a broken arm. A broken arm doesn't feel humiliated, embarrassed, lost, or betrayed. There are some people, however, who have died from results of being broken hearted. Some felt they could not live with pain and ended it themselves. Others succumbed to physical illnesses that developed through complications caused by unrelenting stress of grief and an inability or unwillingness to forgive. Some are walking around with disabilities of varying degrees as a result of same factors. These conditions are not always obvious and sometimes deliberately hidden.
