Naming the pain

Yesterday I totally misread a section in TGPD about naming the pain.

After reading the section on proxemal space I named my breathlessness Dietrich (after Marlene, I want to be alone, Dietrich) as I know the tightness comes on when I feel suffocated and need air/space. This can be physical or emotional, as in when I feel judged or my attention is demanded.

This actually worked well a few times it happened and I told Dietrich to "shut the f**k up". The tightness pretty much vanished and I could take a full breath.

However this morning I reread the paragraph and I now see that what Steve O was saying was that naming his pain probably slowed down his progress. The idea is to render the pain meaningless, not give it an identity, which is somewhat disappointing after yesterday's successes.

Oh well, all a learning curve I suppose.

Adios, Dietrich. It was fun while it lasted...