I know that I say "an acid burn in my brain", "someone ripping my eye out" and "a burning hot poker through my eye and ear" because most people have never felt pain like this and I want them to understand that it's not a normal, everyday headache. That it's worse than the worst migraine I have ever felt. What upsets me is that I know that people around me just expect me to suck it up, but they just don't understand how bad this pain is. I say this so they can understand that this pain is so beyond what is "normal pain". I tell them that it is nothing compared to broken bones (which I've had many including, fingers, elbow and ribs) and worse than any pain I have ever experienced (and I have had open heart surgery).
I think we just really want people to understand us and these are the only ways we can try to explain it. BTW: I think the whole 0-10 pain scale doesn't really help. I know pain is subjective and I think that's why we use such descriptive words: so that people get that it's not a normal 8; it's a TN8. lol It's kind of like "Yeah, your pain feels like a 7 to you but compared to TN you'd say that pain was a 3."
And as someone else said, I don't like the whole "mine is worse" game and I'm not dismissing others' pain and I hate seeing anyone in pain. I just so desperately want others to get why I'm in a bad mood, why I'm scared to eat certain things, why I can't do certain things, why sighing with my mouth open causing air to go out through my mouth makes me cringe with pain... I don't like to complain, but I want them to know that when I complain it's because I can't stand it anymore. It's funny because I have asked my Drs before if they could just sedate me for a while so I can get a break. Forget pain meds; just a little uninterrupted, pain free sleep for a few days. Aaaahhhh.
I can't wait til the day we don't have to use these analogies anymore.